“Islands in the Sky”: Willa Donovan ’26 and Alpine Biodiversity
This past summer, Willa Donovan ’26 joined Bennington faculty member in Ecology Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie and teams from the University of Maine and the University of Vermont as a research assistant. Donovan contributed to the multi-year project examining how northeastern alpine plant communities are changing as the climate warms.
Each day, Donovan hiked with others on the team to the mountaintops to collect data on elevation, slope, and aspect; document plant species and percent cover; and install microclimate sensors that measure temperature and soil conditions. Using randomized sampling methods, they gathered seeds and leaves for genetic analysis and collected field observations on patterns of biodiversity.
“The alpine community is so fragile,” Donovan said. “You have to be very careful as you enter these areas as researchers to not cause more harm.”
The alpine zones of the Northeast are often described as “islands in the sky” because they are metaphorical islands of habitat that are surrounded by lowlands and valleys. The plants that live on each "island" are separated from other patches of alpine habitat by the topography.
In addition to discoveries about climate change, the project aims to connect ecological data to conservation strategies, such as improved trail signage or protective barriers that reduce human impact.
“It’s incredible to think that these tiny mountain plants can tell us so much about the past—and about our future,” Donovan reflected.
“We love working with Willa,” said MacKenzie of herself and the other researchers. “In addition to meeting the technical requirements of the work, she’s so positive in the field and doesn’t mind carrying heavy things up mountains.”
Donovan has since presented research at a poster session at the Plant Migration in a Changing Climate Conference at the Maine Coast Botanical Gardens. “She continues to be an important member of this research team,” said MacKenzie.