Melissa Bussell and Kara Kniep – both CPW students in 2023 – taking in an evening view of Lake Ogallala on the red cedar bench they built. Both Melissa and Kara were red cedar management interns but also worked on trails and tree planting.
📸: Rachel Clarkson
Cedar Point Works Works!
Each summer, on the idyllic banks of Lake Ogallala, students come to Cedar Point Biological Station to work, study, and re-connect with the outdoors. But with rising educational costs, the financial barrier to attending Cedar Point has gone up too.
Gibson Ebaugh, an engineering major, spent time using the Cedar Point mill to create lumber for use in building projects around the station.
📸: John DeLong
Megan Francis was at the Chimney Rock National Historic Site during an intern team outing, June 9, 2023. Photo by Abby Reese. Megan Francis was a true jack-of-all-trades CPW student, working in the kitchen as well as with landscaping, maintenance, pest control, and overall station organization
The Cedar Point Works program lowers that barrier by providing free room and board and a part-time job to students wishing to take classes or conduct research at the station. The demand for our program is growing rapidly. This past summer, we had 17 Cedar Point Works students – about our largest crew ever. They did everything you can imagine. They worked in the kitchen, muscled landscaping and trail-work, cleaned and organized, and participated in teaching and research. Students often return to the station to stay connected and keep improving their skills.
We estimate the rough cost of providing Cedar Point Works opportunities to our students is $70,000 per year. We need your help to keep our program vibrant and strong by building an endowment that can generate much of this cost each year! Please consider a contribution toward our goal. We cannot do it without you!
Yousif Ibrahim with Harrison Hall (and Stella Uiterwaal, in back) out on a Field Epidemiology excursion. Photographer unknown. Yousif’s jobs as a CPW student – over two summers while he prepared for a career in bioinformatics – included building retaining walls, pouring concrete, reshaping slopes, and landscaping, along with many of the other less glamorous tasks.
Joselyn Andreasen works to transplant some currants prior to the construction of the new lodge road. Joselyn’s main CPW jobs were landscaping and gardening, while she pursued a degree in art.
📸: John DeLong
Melissa Bussell with a branchling Eastern Screech-Owl in Alligator Canyon. Photo by Allison Johnson. One of Melissa’s jobs in CPW was to jumpstart the riparian forest restoration along the former Goodall Lodge road.
Oliver Nielsen and Jon Garbisch work on a retaining wall alongside the new lodge road. Oliver’s main CPW job was construction activities, while he prepared to start a degree in wildlife at the University of Nebraska - Kearney.
📸: John DeLong
