Postcard from the Field: Highlands – Anna Boodee ’25

February 6, 2025

Anna Boddee on Whiteside Mountain, about 15 minutes from campus. Peregrine Falcons are known to nest in the rocks behind me, hence my hopeful binoculars.

Name: Anna Boodee
Major: Biology, with a Minor in Environmental Science
Expected Graduation: December 2025
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.

Why did you want to go to Highlands Field Site?

When I first came to UNC, I knew that I loved to work outside and was considering a career in research, but I was a little disappointed in the lack of opportunities to get field experience through my classes. I also had a tough time finding other people at UNC that shared my passion for the outdoors. Fortunately, my cohort in Highlands was a collection of amazing, like-minded people, and I still feel so lucky to have met each and every one of them. I definitely gained the research experience I was looking for, too, and the feeling of being surrounded by nature in one of the most biodiverse areas in the world was unlike anything I have ever experienced in Chapel Hill.

Students in a field at Highlands. — Boodee and her project partner, Mary Catherine, at one of their wetland study sites. On the day this was taken, they were conducting vegetation surveys measuring the percent cover of different kinds of plants on our wetlands.

What specifically did you do at Highlands Field Site?

I worked on two research projects while in Highlands: an independent project on wetland restoration, and a Capstone on microplastics in freshwater streams. For the wetlands project, one other student and I conducted vegetation surveys on several mountain wetlands, as well as collected acoustic and trail camera data from monitors set up on the sites. The trail camera pictures were a blast to go through – we had photos of bobcat kittens, deer fawns, and 100+ pictures of turkey chicks. I might be biased, but I think the wetlands project was by far the most fun of the independent projects this year.

As for our Capstone project, we mostly spent our time collecting and filtering stream and atmospheric samples in an attempt to understand how microplastics are moving through ecosystems. I gained a lot of lab experience from this project, but I also had a great time splashing around in streams with my friends, especially after Hurricane Helene brought us almost 20 inches of rain.

Outside of class, I spent almost every weekend exploring the area with my friends. Backpacking to fire towers, kayaking the Little Tennessee, attending local harvest festivals, and participating in the Highlands and Franklin Christmas Bird Counts were some of the highlights, though I truly could have spent two more semesters there and still not have run out of things to do.

White tail dear on a trail camera. — Boodee’s favorite pictures of a white-tailed deer on one of the wetlands she studied. They used the trail camera photos to get an idea of how wildlife presence differed across the wetland sites.

What was the most impactful experience you had while at Highlands Field Site?

It feels almost impossible to pick just one experience, but the most memorable part of the whole semester for me was probably our very first field trip together as a cohort. On our Highlands FDOC, all 15 of us piled into the vans with our professors and drove to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where we proceeded to have a summer-camp-like bonding experience, complete with stories and s’mores around a campfire. By the end of the first three days of the semester, we had biked Cades Cove (and seen four bears), swam in a creek, and hiked an eight-mile route that tested even the most athletic members of the group. I had so much fun and learned so much about the local flora, fauna, culture, and geology on that trip, and it really set the tone for the rest of the semester.

Boodee spent a lot of time on their hikes hunting for salamanders. This is a juvenile Eastern Newt.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve taken away from your experience at Highlands Field Site?

If there’s anything I learned from this semester, it’s that I can handle a lot more than I thought I could. Highlands Field Site will push you to grow in the best ways possible, and I gained so much confidence in myself from my semester there. Whether it was climbing a 60-ft rock face, coding in R Studio, or presenting my research to a room full of strangers, I realized that just because something intimidated me, it didn’t mean I wasn’t capable, especially when I had a group of wonderful people at my back rooting for me.

Students sitting on a fallen tree in the woods. — Boodee and a few of her classmates with Professor Jason Love on a field trip to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. On this hike, they got to see an area of old-growth forest that contains some of the oldest trees on the east coast.

Do you have any advice for other students who are considering going to Highlands Field Site?

If you’re not sure whether research is for you, Highlands is an awesome, awesome place to find out. There are opportunities to get hands-on experience in a lot of different areas of study – we had a huge range of projects in my cohort, from carbon credits to salamander genetics to mouse vocalizations – and the class size is so small that you have the opportunity to build a close working relationship with your professors, which has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever experienced. Everyone there wants to see you succeed, and no matter your prior experience with being outdoors, you’re going to have a great time!

Also – invest in a good pair of hiking boots! You’re going to need them!

Two students admiring the Appalachian ridge line. — Boodee and her friend and admiring the Southern Appalachian ridge line after their rock-climbing expedition at Pickens Nose.

Featured photo at the top: On one of their first weekends in Highlands, Boodee and a friend hiked Whiteside Mountain, about 15 minutes from campus. Peregrine falcons are known to nest in the rocks behind Boodee, hence the hopeful binoculars.