What do sustainable and resilient ecosystems look like after a long period of dramatic disturbance and deconstruction, and what are the best approaches to restoration for ensuring a highly functioning alternative state? During the summer program, students conduct research with faculty and professional mentors focussed on anthropogenic disturbance, while immersed in the landscape of Appalachia. Students live on campus at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY, and spend large parts of the summer at the Lilley Cornett Woods old-growth forest ecosystem, and at other field sites in the region.

• The EKU Disturbance Ecology in Central Appalachia summer research program is open to current undergraduates from all institutions.
• Students must be currently enrolled in a 2-year or 4-year school. Students graduating before August will not be eligible.
• Participants must be US Citizens, US Nationals, or permanent residents.
• We strongly encourage applications from underrepresented groups in the sciences, first-generation college students, students that attend colleges with limited research opportunities (small liberal arts and community colleges), financially disadvantaged students, and students with physical disabilities, and US military veterans.
• Participants must be able to show proof of health insurance during the project period.