Geology Summer 2021 Field Camp Training Well Drilling Campaign

The goal of this fund is to provide hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for undergraduates in the department of geology to drill three wells on the UB campus. 

The 2020-2021 academic year has been disrupted by COVID-19, impacting the classes we teach and the opportunities we provide to undergraduate students.  What has been hardest hit is the relocation of our Summer Field Training from the western United States to Western New York.  As a result, we have designed a new field camp curriculum that builds on our departmental strengths and the local geology here in Erie County.  This summer, students will map local geology in exposed outcrops in southern Erie County, apply that knowledge to geophysical surveys on the UB campus, then drill three wells and log the cores to verify their geophysical results, and finally conduct aquifer tests on the new well field. With the help of your donation, our goal is to provide hands-on geologic field experiences mapping local geology, conducting geophysical surveys and drilling a new well field at the UB North Campus.  Our current students would be able to experience the full cycle of geologic investigations on the road to becoming a professional geologist.      

Our goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of May 2021 to support drilling these wells during our summer field training course starting in June 2021.

This crowdfunding campaign includes a generous dollar-for-dollar match up to $10,000, allowing the impact of your gift to be doubled.  As part of this campaign, we are asking alumni to give $10 for every year since they have graduated from UB.  If you graduated two years ago we are asking you to consider donating $20 or if 10 years ago we are asking to consider donating $100.  Through this matching program, our current students will have an opportunity to build real-world skills that will prepare them for an exciting geological future.   Although we would have loved to take our students “Out West” for our more traditional Field Training course, your donation to the well drilling campaign will help the department offer our camp without fees to our students, and provide a once in a lifetime experience.