Here in the Kumar lab, the D in PhD stands for Dirt!
As part of The Jackson Lab’s commitment to community service the lab carried up ~80 lbs of dirt to the summits of Mt Penobscot and Mt Sargent as part of the summit restoration project! Climate change and human trampling have contributed the loss of native plants and the soil they live in, accelerating the destruction of these native ecosystems. The Soil Heroes project brings new soil to the summits of Mount Desert Island to restore these ecosystems, and help study the best ways to restore these fragile ecosystems.
Interested in the science behind the projects? Check out these links: Mt Cadillac Restoration techniques, Developing restoration techniques to combat climate change in Acadia National ParkĀ .