Oswego State students can experience the outdoors at Rice Creek Field Station off Thompson Road near the campus.

Rice Creek Field Station is part of Oswego State and houses labs and observational facilities for students researching biology and earth science.

The facility also serves as a hub for several nature trails along Rice Creek and the surrounding wetlands and offers guided nature walks on some Saturday mornings. 

The trails are open to the public even if the field station is closed.

“You can either sit in a dorm, or you can come outside,” said Tim McMonagle, a naturalist at Rice Creek during the weekends and a full-time 4th grade teacher. “If you have access to a facility like this, you should use this facility. You should come out and experience [it].”

The guided walk lasted about an hour, where McMonagle guides the group along the .75-mile-long green trail at Rice Creek. 

The trail wanders along the wetlands and features raised walkways where McMonagle pointed out signs of beaver activity.

“It’s pretty new,” McMonagle said, climbing down from the raised boardwalk to point out a freshlychewed stick in the mud. “A lot of times you get these [sticks] and they’re old, and they don’t have these lovely fresh [cuts].”

McMonagle pointed out several places where beavers had chewed on sticks and logs to get the nutritious bark they eat.

“Beavers made North America,” McMonagle stopped to explain. “The fur trade from Europe brought settlers.”

The wetlands around Rice Creek are home to several species of amphibian, which are studied by students at the field station.

McMonagle mentioned Ranavirus, a disease affecting amphibians that is researched by biology students at the station. 

The difficulty, according to McMonagle, is that humans can transmit the virus if an uninfected amphibian is handled after a researcher handled an infected animal.

The areas around Rice Creek change drastically between seasons, and McMonagle said students should try to experience it all. The raised walkways, McMonagle said, normally a few feet above the mud in the spring, were completely underwater in January.

“All the programs change,” McMonagle said. “In the winter, if there’s enough snow, we actually do a snowshoe hike. And we’ll spend time looking at tracks and stuff because that’s a great way to see what animals are coming through.”

McMonagle said the warm seasons still have a lot to offer though.

“In spring, we start seeing wildflowers and start seeing the awakening of nature,” McMonagle said, pointing out a dogwood tree. “You can already see it’s starting to change, starting to get the bright reds on the top.”

In summer, McMonagle said, animals like frogs, turtles and birds come out before the forest and wildlife  get ready to return to winter in the fall.

“If you want to come out and learn some things, get comfortable with the trails, sometimes people are a little afraid to do a hike on a trail even though they have a map,” McMonagle said. “Yeah! Come on out. I’m glad to take you out on a walk.”

Maria Pericozzi l The Oswegonian