The North Campus has a new feature: three crowdfunded wells. This spring, more than 50 donors, including many geology alumni, gave $10,000 to support the drilling of the wells and other aspects of a geological field methods course. Students usually travel out west each summer to complete the course, known colloquially as “field camp.” But with the pandemic, students stayed local this year. The class provides undergraduates with hands-on experiences critical to geology careers, and the wells will be used in many future hydrogeology courses. Photos: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
Published June 2, 2021
Student taking electrical resistivity measurements and collecting ground penetrating radar data at Elton Creek during the 2021 field camp
November 1, 2022: Accepting applications for Field Camp 2023. Rates and details will be posted as they become available. Contact us with any questions about applying to Geology Field Camp: glyadmin@buffalo.edu
The University at Buffalo Geology Field Program is open to upper division geology and environmental science students enrolled at any college or university. Over the past 55 years, this program has taught more than 2,100 students! Last year, 30 students from 7 different academic institutions joined the group.
The academic mission of the course is to give students an opportunity to practically apply their geological knowledge in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of real data across the broad spectrum of problems that geology touches on in the modern world. To create an interesting and diverse experience students will visit several sites in the Buffalo, NY region to explore the local stratigraphy, urban hydrology, and subsurface geology. Students will also spend several days camping in eastern New York/New England to examine the fascinating but complex geology of that region.
For this year’s field camp we will be based out of UB’s campus on a 9AM-5PM schedule for most of the course. Housing in campus dorms is available if required. There will be a few days where we will be staying overnight at a campground in eastern New York/New England. We encourage students to be ready for any and all weather variations, especially during the camping portion of the course!
Students from the 2021 field camp taking a break from mapping the outcrops along Eighteenmile Creek.
The camp fee covers the cost of food while camping, transportation at camp, and all camp operating expenses for your four-week excursion which includes the motels used during travel between map sites.
Students observing as core samples are taken from a new well being drilled on UB's north campus during the 2021 field camp
*The University at Buffalo reserves the right to change tuition and fees without notice. Recent costs are available from the UB Office of Student Accounts.
We expect students enrolled at UB to have completed the following courses before starting our field camp; students enrolled at other institutions should have completed the equivalent courses. If you have any questions about the courses offered at your institution, email Dr. James Boyle, at jamesboy@buffalo.edu
Students are responsible for their own travel arrangements to and from Buffalo, including the full cost of these arrangements. All of the transportation within the field camp is covered through the camp fee.
Please read this checklist to ensure you pack necessary gear and clothing.
For the days when students and staff camp in tents the campsite has toilets. On travel days, students are able to use shower facilities in motels. The campground may provide showers, but students may bring their own solar shower if they wish to have a backup. Good hygiene is important and most students get by using cleansing wipes until a shower is available.
While not as physically intensive as the western version of our field camp this course will still entail some days of long hikes through rough terrain. Even in New York temperatures can get quite hot and the threat of rainstorms is ever-present. During most days, participants are in the field from 9a.m. to 4p.m. with those days where we are camping in eastern New York/New England being times when we will remain engaged in strenuous physical activity throughout the day.