Checklist of Essential Items for Ecology and Environmental Science Lab Courses at Eastern Nazarene College

This checklist applies to those students taking one of the following lab courses:  Introduction to Ecology and Diversity, Environmental Science, Freshwater Ecology, Marine Biology, Conservation Biology, Field Problems in Ecology.  It also applies to anyone interested in conducting ecological research to fulfill their junior and/or senior research requirements.

For anyone taking one of these courses, I recommend that you have the following items to make your field work safe and enjoyable.  Of course, you  may not want to purchase all of these items if you are only required to take 1-2 field courses.  However, the serious ecology or environmental science student might want to consider investing in these items, as you will be spending a great deal of time outdoors, and these items should be useful to you in your chosen career as well.

_____ Field journal (this item is required; must be a bound booklet and not a spiral notebook; a composition notebook will suffice for most students, but an environmental science major should invest in one made from "Rite-In-The-Rain" paper that will last for several courses through less than ideal weather conditions.  If you purchase the later, you might also consider purchasing a "Rite-In-The-Rain" pen).

To protect against injury, the weather, ticks, and insect bites, the following are recommended:

_____ Long pants (do not wear shorts to lab)

_____ Insect repellent

_____ Sunscreen

_____ Sunglasses

_____ Rain gear (made from lightweight, breathable, waterproof fabric; e.g., Gore-Tex)

_____ Hiking boots, preferably waterproof


Other items recommended for lab courses:

_____ USB flash drive (we take lots of pictures and write lots of reports; need to exchange with teammates)

_____ A scientific calculator (bring to class and lab)

_____ A laptop computer is helpful, but not required


The serious field biology/ecology/environmental science student may want to invest in one or more of the following items that are used frequently in the field:

_____ Compass

_____ Global positioning system (GPS) receiver (i.e., Garmin, Magellan, etc.; costs range from $99 - $500)

_____ Digital camera with a good macro lens and 8-12X optical zoom

_____ Binoculars

_____ Laptop computer