Awards
Student Grants
Congratulations to our 2026 MWPARC Travel Grant recipients:
Adara Meyen (Milikin University, IL).
Project title: "Assessing population sex ratios of turtles utilizing temperature-dependent sex determination in heated and unheated lakes in central Illinois"
Emma Buckardt (University of Missouri, MO).
Project title: "The call of the frog: Urbanization impacts on frog call phenology"
Brianna Hukill (Western Michigan University, MI).
Project title: "Spatial Analysis of Female Wood Turtles at the Southernmost Extent of their Range in Michigan"
We look forward to hearing about your 2026 field seasons!
2025 Travel Grant Recipients
.jpg)
2025 Recipient: Tayci Sullivan
Click here to read about Tayci's work with Ringed Salamanders (Ambystoma annulatum)
Image description: A larval Ringed Salamander. Photo by Tayci Sullivan.
.jpg)
2025 Recipient: Donovan Capet
Click here to read about Donovan's road surveys for herps in Chicago's Calumet area.
Image description: A juvenile Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) attempts a road crossing. Photo by Donovan Capet.
.jpg)
2025 Recipient: Caleb Krueger
Click here to read about Caleb's research with Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) in southwest Michigan.
Image description: A handful of Spotted Turtles. Photo by Caleb Krueger.
.jpg)
2025 Recipient: Kevin Green
Click here to read about Kevin's continued research with the Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis) in Indiana and Kentucky.
Image description: Kevin uses a lizard lasso to capture a Wall Lizard.
2024 Travel Grant Recipients
_JPG.jpg)
2024 Recipient: Kayla Coggins
Click here to read about Kayla's work in snake ecology in the Midwest.
Image description: An Eastern Foxsnake resting in the grass.
2024 Recipient: Kevin Green
Click here to read about Kevin's research with Wall Lizards in Ohio.
Image description: An invasive Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis).
2024 Recipient: Alyssa Roberts
Click here to learn about Alyssa's efforts to monitor Four-toed Salamanders in Minnesota using eDNA.
Image description: Alyssa filters water samples for environmental DNA while in the field.
2024 Recipient: Grace Allen
Click here to hear about Grace's research with Blanding's Turtles in Missouri.
Image description: A Blanding's Turtle with a transmitter attached to its carapace.
_JPG.jpg)
2024 Recipient: Luke Tonsfeldt
Click here to learn about Luke's efforts to survey for invasive herps using eDNA.
Image description: A Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and a Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) bask on a log.
%20-%20Kerri%20Beers.jpg)
2024 Recipient: Kerri Beers
Click here to hear about Kerri's work with ranid frogs and chytrid in Minnesota.
Image description: Kerri and a team of collaborators swab frogs for chytrid fungi.
2023 Travel Grant Recipients
_HEIC.png)
2023 Recipient: Benjamin Genter
Click here to read about Benjamin's work with Kirtland's Snakes (Clonophis kirtlandii) in central and northern Indiana.
Image description: A Kirtland's Snake (provided by Benjamin)
2023 Recipient: Caley Johnson
Click here to read about Caley's work with spotted turtles in Northern Michigan.
Image description: A Spotted Turtle (provided by Caley)
2023 Recipient: Shania Burkhead
Click here to read about Shania's work with salamanders and habitat drying events.
Image description: An ambystomatid salamander from their mesocosms (provided by Caley)
2022 Travel Grant Recipients
2022 Recipient: Samantha Skerlec
Click here to read about Samantha's work with wetland drying and amphibians.
2022 Recipient: Stephanie Bristow
Click here to read about Stephanie's work with phenotypic plasticity in amphibians.
2021 Travel Grant Recipients
2021 Recipient: Katherine Brandewie
Click here to read about Katie's work with turtle communities in a large urban wetland complex in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Note: Details regarding field sites have been removed to protect those populations of amphibians and reptiles.