The Louis Calder Center

This summer at the Louis Calder Center, progress in regards to conservation and land management has unfolded: some invasive plants such as angelica trees and Japanese barberry have been removed, trail sampling, new ways to manage Japanese knotweed and mugwort cultures are being put into practice in the pollinator garden, spotted lanternfly and—more importantly—our PRISM interns collaborated and made meaningful connections with other organizations in the Lower Hudson area, such as Fresh Air Fund, Hudson Highlands Land Trust, Vassar College, and Teatown Lake Reservation! Special thanks to Calder's land manager!

The 4-H Fair wasn’t our last event, but it was our biggest. It was a chance to share what we learned, connect with the community, and celebrate the work behind the scenes. Thank you for having us! And shoutout to our partners for the wineberry popsicles — the perfect summer reward. ☀️

Land Management, Monitoring, & Restoration Internship

The Louis Calder Center, Fordham University’s biological field station in Armonk NY, is looking to hire two interns this summer. The interns will be part of a collaborative team from Vassar College, the Fresh Air Fund and the Hudson Highland Land Trust. Individuals from historically underrepresented groups in STEM are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply: Send your resume and statement of interest to [email protected]

The Louis Calder Center, Fordham University’s biological field station, is seeking an intern for the Spring 2025 semester. This internship focuses on forest restoration and is an excellent opportunity for students passionate about conservation and environmental studies.

For more info / queries, please email [email protected]

Alongside being home to several species of oak trees, the Calder Center is also a site of oak regeneration efforts. These trees can grow for hundreds of years, providing food, habitat, and soil protection for their woodland ecosystems. However overgrazing, fungal infection (oak wilt), and competition with invasive species can act as a barrier to oak growth. The Calder Center helps protect these native trees through its planting and monitoring efforts.

The Urban Ecology Lab at the Department of Biology, Queens College of the City University of New York is looking for community science volunteers to assist with the collection of phenology data between December and March.

Volunteers will monitor a specific site within the field station 1-2 times per week starting the week of December 8th, and then 3-4 times per week immediately before and during the plants’ flowering period, which may occur any time between December and March. The monitoring would consist of taking a photo of each of 10 plants, noting the stage of flowering of each of those plants, and uploading the information to a Google form.

Sign up at the link in bio.

is a Calder research rock star!! 🤘🎸🍅 Studying efforts to combat Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus under Dr. JD Lewis, Isabella is one of the graduate student researchers at ‘s Calder Center.

The end of October is peak fall foliage season in the Hudson River Valley and Greater New York area. Here’s a look at some of the autumn colors at Calder!!

Meet the Calder Center's First Land Manager! Chomri, in the short time she has been at Calder, has proven to be a valuable addition to our field station team!

Meet the Calder Center’s First Land Manager For the first time since Fordham acquired the Louis Calder Center in 1967, the biological field station has a dedicated land manager. The Calder Center is a 113-acre property in

Introducing Evangeline Byers (mentors: Dr. John Wehr & Ms. Mia Wrey). She is one of 7 undergraduates who participated in Calder's summer research program. These students spent 10 weeks conducting research at the Center under the guidance of our ecology faculty and graduate students.

To mark the end of their internship, our interns tabled on invasive species at the Putnam County 4-H Fair. They prepared leaf pressings of invasive plants and diagrams of spotted lanternflies, as well as fun activities for kids like temporary tattoos and coloring sheets. The interns even got to show off a spotted lanternfly cape! Thank you so much to for making this possible!

Here is part two of what our interns have been up to ‘s Calder Center:

Photo 1: Surveys on beech stands are conducted to monitor beech leaf disease and beech bark disease and plan for forest restoration.

Photos 2-3: An aspect of the stands being measured is canopy gaps. BLD results in the leaves and, thus, tree death, which creates gaps in the canopy. This is concerning because larger (and unplanned) canopy gaps may facilitate the establishment of invasive species especially in areas with poor forest regeneration. This can cause long-term decline in species diversity and forest resilience

Photo 4: The tool used to measure canopy gaps, a densiometer.