Biology & Environmental Studies Crew
Every student at Warren Wilson College works.
What work crew will you choose?
On the Biology and Environmental Studies Crew (BIO/ENS) you have the opportunity to work with the department in various ways! Depending on the section of the crew you join you can complete fieldwork, tutor your peers, build and maintain collections, set up and break down labs, maintain equipment, assist faculty, maintain the greenhouses, and so much more!
This crew is made up of many sub-crews including:
- Greenhouse
- Herbarium
- Teaching Assistant
- Conservation Biology
- Biology Tutor
Herbarium Sub-Crew
On this sub-crew you will curate, care for, and add to the Warren Wilson Herbarium. A herbarium is a collection of pressed plants, and our collection holds well over 8000 specimens today, some dating back over a hundred years! Most of our collection is from the southeast, but we do have specimens from other parts of the US and beyond.
Everyone on the crew trains in all of the tasks of an herbarium assistant: identifying plants, collecting and pressing them, creating professional specimens, databasing, filing, and more.
Why Work Crews?
Part of your work experience is reflection, helping ensure that you achieve both your own educational goals as well as our Common Learning Outcomes. These distinguish our Work Program, giving it focus and relevancy that set it apart from a federal work-study or your average part-time job. Each crew in the Work Program identifies crew-specific goals as well. These outline skills and abilities your supervisor will teach you during the semester.
Our Common Learning Outcomes
- Professionalism & Work Ethic: accountability, effective work habits, punctuality, dependability, time management, integrity, and commitment to the well-being of the community.
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: working with available resources to creatively address issues and solve problems, and gaining confidence to make decisions.
- Communication: the ability to convey and receive information effectively with intentionality, honesty, and confidence in both speech and writing.
- Collaboration & Teamwork: actively collaborate with peers to achieve common goals, Distribute labor fairly, and hold each other accountable as committed members of a group.
- Civic Identity: understanding your active influence within the community and how your decisions directly impact the work around you.
Biology and Environmental Studies Crew Learning Goals
- Tutoring Skills
- Lab Management
- Plant Care and Identification
- Specimen Collection, Organizing, Filing
- Greenhouse Management