Every spring, the Biology Department at Missouri Western State University offers a Field Natural History study away course (BIO 220). The class spends a half a semester or more studying the biology and ethnology of a location before travelling and experiencing the ecosystems and cultures they have learned about. Previous trips have included the Sonoran Desert, Belize and Costa Rica. These courses have few prerequisites, usually just a single semester of biology, in order to encourage any interested undergraduate student to register.

In the spring of 2025, we offered BIO 220 for the first time as Field Natural History of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, taught by the departmental geologist. Most of the students in the course were Wildlife Conservation majors, with the remainder being Biology and Criminal Justice. The field trip took place after classes ended in May, so a full semester was spent in the classroom before travelling to Yellowstone.

Students engaged in applied learning throughout the trip. They measured temperature and described the morphology of the microbial mats found at geothermal sites within Yellowstone National Park in order to identify the dominant microbes within the communities. they then connected the microbial communities to the bedrock geology. Students also choose a geologic feature (such as Grand Prismatic) or organism (like the Yellowstone sulfur flower) on which to become the class expert. They had to give a full presentation to the class during the semester, and when their topic was encountered in the park, they had to give a short presentation to everyone present at the time.

This Biology study away class focused on the deep interconnectedness between the geologic history and features of Yellowstone and its ecosystem. Combined with other stops in Wyoming and Nebraska during the trip, the students came away with not only a basic geology education, but a greater understanding of the importance of geology and geologic processes in ecology and evolution and on North American history and culture. This broad, interdisciplinary experience has recruited students into the Biology program in the past, and it's expected to recruit students into the geosciences courses in a similar way. In addition, we hope the positive experiences increase retention for our students.