Rice Creek Field Station is a research unit of SUNY Oswego, located about one and a half miles southwest of the university’s main entrance. The property spans 350 acres and, across all of its trails, measures five miles in total. An expansive area, the nature preserve at Rice Creek is maintained by one long-time, dedicated worker, Alan Harris. 

A native of upstate New York, Harris was born in Oswego and raised in the neighboring city of Hannibal, with some time spent in Pennsylvania before ultimately returning to his hometown. 

“This was supposed to be a stepping stone from my last job because I got replaced by technology,” Harris said. “Now I’ve been here for… over thirteen years here at the field station.”

Harris explained that his onboarding to the preserve was not the easiest. At the time, the maintenance position was empty following the retirement of the last worker, meaning no one was available to train him or review the expected responsibilities of his title. Thus, his initial period of employment with Rice Creek was a learning experience in itself. 

“Over the years I’ve had to figure out how to maintain [Rice Creek] because there was no cross-training,” Harris said. “The person I replaced retired, and retired a little while before I started… I was trying to figure out how they did things, the equipment that was here at the time.” 

Nonetheless, Harris remained committed to the field station and has since updated the older maps and techniques used in previous years. Harris also explained that his work did not just end at mowing the grass or weeding the center of the site; it expanded to “putting wood chips out on the trails,” “cutting back invasive plants,” taking a “kayak or boat out to look for garbage that’s floating upstream,” and maintaining “over seventeen culverts out on the trails.” 

Culverts are specialized pipes that enable cross drainage beneath an obstacle, typically a roadway or barrier. Although a convenient way for water to bypass above-ground obstacles, maintaining these pipes is critical to prevent structural collapse.

“Just the past couple of years, we’ve had to take some out, dig them out, and then haul stone out there to install brand-new pipes to help water get across the trails,” Harris said. “Some I’ve had to dig back out after the first year because I realized they weren’t large enough. I’d put on rain gear, we’d get the heavy rains, and everything starts out flooding, all over the place. That’s the time… I’d walk the trails and see how much water actually comes across, and see if the pipes are adequate to handle the amount of water.” 

Although he has long since acclimated to the responsibilities at Rice Creek, Harris notes that the research conducted at the station allows him to develop his knowledge of the local environment. 

“I’ve had many questions that I’ve asked professors,” Harris said. “When I’ve found dead fish out on the pond, or dead mammals, [I’ve asked], ‘Is this anything of concern? Do you want to use this for a class, or research, or something?’ Or, it might spark interest in them. I’ve learned about vernal pools out here, and that turned into a professor doing research on some of the vernal pools… I’ve gotten to see salamander eggs and frog eggs in the vernal pools. [Then it’s] like, ‘Oh, that’s why we don’t go at certain times of the year,’ because you’re going to be stirring all of that up.”

Along with the help of the professional staff at the station, Harris notes the importance of students who have given their time to assist him.

“Some people don’t realize how much work I do, and how much [students] help me,” Harris said. “There’s things that I wouldn’t be able to do. I had one year that I was just tracking to myself how many hours I had students working with me. I had over a thousand hours, close to fifteen hundred hours. That’s like another person full-time.” 

Not just a dedicated worker at Rice Creek, Harris is also a veteran of over 25 years. A year after graduating high school, Harris joined the military. Through a series of changing events, Harris remained an active member and saw deployment, though remained stateside due to overseas developments. 

“I was in and out a couple of times,” Harris said. “I wanted to go to The Art Institute down in Pittsburgh. I wanted to do art or some type of design or something. Well, then things fell through and I ended up staying in the military longer and just started doing more jobs. Everything from log home restoration to working on medical equipment.” 

“Toward November of last year, I [received] disability retirement with just over 25 years in. I just couldn’t keep up anymore. I was an army engineer, so my job was mostly demolitions and explosives and trying to make a clear, safe path.”

As a veteran, Harris advocates for those who have joined the U.S. Armed Forces and shared his experiences with returning to a civilian-sector lifestyle. “I’ve met a few people through the veteran’s groups here on campus and the community, ones that have helped out… with our Team R.W.B., which is Team Red, White and Blue,” Harris said. “And some have been involved with things here on campus, trying to support veterans and get them to come out of their shell.” 

Harris has labeled his time at Rice Creek as an outlet: the ability to work outdoors, surrounded by the tranquility of nature and away from the stressors of the ever-moving world has kept him content at the station. Though he has dedicated himself to a workload that most underestimate, Harris plans to continue maintaining the 350-acre ecological research site of the institution for years to come.

To volunteer at the Rice Creek Field Station, follow the link https://sites.google.com/oswego.edu/rice-creek-volunteer-signup/home, where one-time, occasional, or regular volunteering opportunities are available. To support or volunteer with the veteran’s advocacy group Team Red, White, and Blue at Oswego, visit the organization at https://teamrwb.org/volunteer.

Photo by: Nicolas Diaz Contreras