Oak Forest HS Ecology Club Selected to Present at Chicago 'Wild Things' Conference

Getting sleepy Oak Forest High School students out of bed on a summer day is a challenge. Getting them out of bed at 5:30 am is near to impossible. This is the challenge Oak Forest High School teacher Dawn Sasek faced this summer when formulating the OFHS Ecology Club Migration study with the National Audubon Society.

Five Ecology Club students were up for the challenge. OFHS Sophomores Josh Bruno, Yosra Abdulwahid, Michelle Madej and Augstin Tilca, and Senior Nick Kyle formed the kernel of the group who met with Mrs. Sasek at the Bartel Grasslands.

The students met with Dick Riner, the Steward of Bartel Grasslands in Matteson, and Mrs. Dawn Sasek, the Steward of Yankee Woods in Oak Forest, to monitor the migrating Bobolink as well as conduct a study of habitat preference of migratory songbirds, especially the Henslow sparrow.
The students were outfitted with binoculars and boots purchased using funds received from the Chicago Audubon Society and secured by Dick Riner. The students will present their findings at the biennial “Wild Things Conference” in January of 2017.

This is the second time the Oak Forest High School Ecology Club will present at this prestigious event. Oak Forest High School is the only high school level participant that has ever been selected to present. The “Wild Things Conference” is sponsored by the Chicago Wilderness, Habitat.org, and The National Audubon Society, and is held at the University of Illinois Pavilion in Chicago.

The study the students participated in was very exciting. According to Mrs. Sasek, “The Bobolink population was reduced by 90% since the 1970 due to loss of prairie habitat. The Bobolink population has experienced a rebound due to prairie restoration efforts and the students’ data will play an important role in monitoring this recovery.”

Sophomore Josh Bruno described the project. “Basically, we were finding what grass Bobolinks preferred, burned or not burned. Prairies were naturally burned over time before humans settled (such as by a lightning strike). Sometimes burns are required to bring back natural plant life,” he said. Students counted the number of Bobolinks on burned or non-burned plots during a period of time.

Over the past several year, the OFHS Ecology Club has been a part of several controlled burns in the Bartel Grasslands in order to help the prairie regenerate. Sasek said that there was “an additional study to determine the habitat preference of the Henslow Sparrow, a bird only found on the tallgrass prairie. The study was designed to determine if prescribed burning has any effect on nesting behavior. Students were excited to find that Henslows specifically nested in areas that have been burned and this evidence supports the need for diverse habitat within the prairie since the Bobolinks, studied in the same general area, nested in the unburned sections.”

Students enjoyed working together to develop data for the study. “I enjoy ecology,” said Sophomore Yosra Abdulwahid, who plans a career in international relations or business after high school. “I learned that science is everywhere and shapes everything. It was interesting how the humidity, the moisture in the soil, how everything affected how the Bobolinks reacted.”

Bruno, who plans on studying medicine with the intent to become an orthopedic surgeon after high school, agreed that the study was pretty fun. “While it wasn’t perfect, I learned that I liked setting up data and studying topics related to science and ecology. Also, I enjoyed the scientific process in general.”

Good luck to these students and to Mrs. Sasek when they present their findings in January at the “Wild Things Conference” in Chicago!

Pictured are OFHS Ecology Club members Josh Bruno and Yosra Abdulwahid, who along with Michelle Madej, Augstin Tilca and Nick Kyle, studied the natural habitat preference of the Bobolink and Henslow sparrow. The students, along with OFHS teacher Dawn Sasek, have been selected to present at the prestigious “Wild Things Conference” held in January at the University of Illinois Pavillion.