Outdoor Wake Tech Learning Lab

Welcome to the website for the Outdoor Wake Tech Learning Lab (OWLL)! Since 2017, our students use the resources of our campus habitat in order to do research on environmental genetics and biodiversity of the Neuse River Ecosystem. Our work provides information about what species are present on our campus, how they may be responding to urbanization of the greater Raleigh area, and steps we all can take to conserve the habitat for the flora and fauna that call our campus home. 

Interested students can gain experience in inquiry-based research using current research methods while characterizing the flora and fauna of our campus. Together, we hope to provide students with access to research experiences, training in research methods in conservation, ecology, and environmental genomics, and the ability to gain knowledge of the biodiversity of genes, genomes, and species around us.

Goals and Mission

The goal of the Outdoor Wake Tech Learning Lab is to provide students with experiences in conservation, biodiversity, and environmental genetics research that helps students achieve three important outcomes:

1. Career building research experience
2. Transferrable skills in conservation, genomics, ecology, statistics, and scientific communication
3. Networking opportunities with scientists at Wake Tech, in the Triangle scientific community, and in the greater North Carolina educational system

Students completing a project in the Outdoor Wake Tech Learning Lab (OWLL) will achieve these outcomes by completing their research project and presenting their work at regional scientific meetings, such as the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) and North Carolina Academy of Science (NCAS) meetings.

By providing students with the opportunity to complete a research project in environmental genetics and achieve career-oriented outcomes, we hope to increase student success in obtaining their professional and academic goals.