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Alicia Buchanan, Environmental Science

Although she claims she doesn't want to be a zookeeper, fourth-year Environmental Science B.S./M.S. student Alicia Buchanan is halfway there.

"Between my roommates and me, we have a dog, two ferrets, five rats, one cat, a bearded dragon, a hamster, and a reef tank." And a potential food chain, apparently.

"I've always loved animals," Alicia explains, "and for a long time I planned to become a veterinarian. Then, the summer between my junior and senior years in high school, I attended the New Jersey Governor's School of Environment at Stockton College in the middle of the Pine Barrens."

The Governor's School, a month-long, intensive program that combines the fun of a summer camp with the rigors of environmental research, convinced Alicia that she wanted to spend her days in the field (literally) instead of in an office.

At Drexel, she conducted research for the Drexel Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, and was offered a co-op on some familiar ground: the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

The first three weeks of her co-op were spent at Philadelphia's Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences, where she learned how to create a collection of dried plant specimens that could survive the test of time.

"The collections are called herbariums, and they're designed to last for a hundred years or more. The Lewis and Clark expedition collected their samples this way, and those collections are still at the Academy of Natural Sciences."

For the next five and a half months, Alicia spent her days walking and wading through the bogs of the Pine Barrens. "We had a contract with the Department of Defense to catalog the rare or endangered flora that grow near their military base in the Pinelands."

Her next co-op was also at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, except this time Alicia studied the hierarchy of small mammals — such as lemmings, mice, and voles — to see how they can be better protected. This was of particular interest to Alicia, who plans to do her master's research on the food habits of the jumping mouse and the bog lemming.

"My research in this area is really covering uncharted territory," says Alicia. "The state of New Jersey doesn't know enough about these animals for them to be protected. I hope to estimate a population number and, if necessary, recommend ways to protect their environment."