June has been a rather busy month! We’ve been on and off field quite a bit, but we have also did some field teaching of ecology. In early June, Kobe and Sailee assisted with teaching a field course of the Department of Ecology, Charles University, for bachelor’s students in Lomy u Kunžaku, South Bohemia. Despite the frequent spells of rain, the students made the most of the course and learnt basic insect sampling techniques among other things. In mid-June, they also helped with a field course of the Plant-Animal Interactions lectures for MSc and PhD students of the University of South Bohemia in Holubov, South Bohemia. The more specific focus of the course helped students learn about pollination biology, ant-plant mutualisms and herbivory. Assisting with these courses has been rather rewarding to Kobe and Sailee; teaching concepts to students has helped reinforce ideas and notice gaps in understanding. We look forward to more of such opportunities!
Sailee (under Stepan’s supervision) is helping students to measure floral colours by a spectrometer during the field course.