Summer in the Garden: SUST Senior Kiera Carpenter Reflects on Her REU Experience

by Kiera Carpenter

This past summer, I had the opportunity to be an REU intern at the Chicago Botanic Garden. REU stands for Research Experiences for Undergraduates and is funded through the National Science Foundation. As someone who has always loved spending time at the garden, the chance to go there every day was the fulfillment of a dream. My task as an intern was to absorb as much information as possible while working alongside my mentor, Dr. Alicia Foxx, and working on an original research project in the area of plant ecology.

Fig. 1: Experimental plants at the Chicago Botanic Garden (photo: K. Carpenter)

Our project was funded through the New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute and was focused on studying above and belowground traits of plants to understand how they impact each other. Spending time with scientists over the summer was a great way to experience their day to day work while learning how to conduct scientific experiments.

Fig. 2: Scanned root of Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) prairie plant (photo: K. Carpenter)

Our purpose in studying plant traits and roots was to determine how the plants interact with one another in order to inform ecological restoration. Through understanding these traits and how plants impact one another, we can make evidence-based decisions on how to restore a given area of land. We focused on three main plants: Little Bluestem, Rosin Weed and Purple Prairie Clover. For details about our research methods and experimental results, you can take a look at my research poster and video presentation.

Roots of Resilience: a Chicago Botanic Garden original video by Kiera Carpenter (2023)

Fig. 3: Purple Prairie Clover, Dalea purpurea (K. Carpenter)

Aside from learning so much about plants, their biological traits, and their ecological relationships, I learned a lot about myself as a student and as a human. Going into the program, I wasn’t sure what to expect but what I gained was an invaluable hands-on experience. Through my time as REU Fellow, I was able to take advantage of one-on-one mentoring while also mentoring a high school student myself. This unique feature of the REU research fellowship provides an opportunity for undergraduates and high schoolers to learn from one another. 

I highly recommend the REU program to other students who are considering undergraduate internships. To learn more about applying for the 2024 summer season, click here.

Fig. 4: Chicago Botanic Garden staff, summer 2023 (K. Carpenter)

I hope hearing about this trip inspires you to connect with land and the places you live in a new way.

Kiera Carpenter (BA ’24) is a SUST Student Associate in the Department of Sociology & Sustainability in the College of Humanities, Education, & Social Science at Roosevelt. She was also the RU Student Steward for 2022-23 in the Resilience Studies Consortium, in which capacity she attended the 33rd Headwaters Conference in December 2022.

As part of a student team leading last year’s revision process for Roosevelt’s Strategic Sustainability Plan, Kiera’s effort and dedication to this multifaceted project were recognized with the Presidential Social Justice Award in the spring of 2023. Kiera also earned a prestigious 2023 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) summer fellowship through the National Science Foundation, when she studied plant ecology and learned field and lab research techniques at the Chicago Botanic Garden.