At Susquehanna, we are committed to sustainability and there is no greater testament to that commitment than our Center for Environmental Education and Research (CEER) — our on-campus field station.
The 87-acre CEER is home to our beehives, Freshwater Research Institute, campus garden, solar array, ecology research plots, walking trails and riparian buffer restoration site.
At the CEER, you can:
Susquehanna and the CEER are walking distance from the Susquehanna River — the Chesapeake Bay’s largest tributary and the longest river on the east coast. We are also surrounded by some of the best farmland and forests Pennsylvania has to offer.
Our 15,000-square-foot campus garden grows thousands of pounds of healthy produce to help address food insecurity in our local community. We grow everything from artichokes to asparagus, corn to cantaloupes, and more.
We use our beehives as a hands-on learning opportunity for our students to not only learn about the life cycle of these important pollinators, but to learn how to care for and protect them. And we’ve harvested hundreds of pounds of honey since first welcoming our buzzy friends to campus. Now that’s sweet!
Pawpaws are the largest fruit native to North America, and we’ve planted over 75 trees at the CEER to stabilize the nearby stream bank and demonstrate how these trees can be cultivated. First cultivated by Native Americans, pawpaws are a tangible connection between displaced tribes and their ancestral lands. They are also delicious, with a flavor that is usually described as a cross between a banana and a mango.
Susquehanna partners with the Chesapeake Conservancy on precision conservation, an approach to restoration on agricultural land that uses high-resolution, geospatial analysis to target and implement on-the-ground agricultural and conservation tactics. The program relies on landowners to open their land to restoration projects that will improve the health of small streams and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
Freshwater Research Institute
Susquehanna’s Freshwater Research Institute provides a supportive and student-centered experience that equips students with the skills, knowledge, and professional networks to achieve their personal career goals in the research, conservation, and restoration of near- and in-stream habitats.
Solar Array
Our 14-acre, 12,000 panel solar array provides 30% of the university’s electricity and when installed in 2018, was the largest university-sponsored solar array in Pennsylvania. Over 30 sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury serve as our lawn mowers around the solar panels.
Climbing Temperatures Adversely Impact Brook Trout
Recent research from Susquehanna University’s Freshwater Research Institute finds that water temperatures affect certain behaviors in a cold-water predator, especially when in the presence of one that prefers warmer waters.
Native Plants Aid Campus Wetland Restoration
Students and faculty, along with members of the Chesapeake Conservancy and Chesapeake Conservation Corps, gathered to restore a wetland meadow to improve water management and increase biodiversity on campus.
514 University Ave.
Selinsgrove, Pa. 17870
Matthew Wilson, director of Freshwater Research Institute & CEER field station
570-372-4722
wilsonmatt@susqu.edu
