NaUnt’s Course as a Climate Scientist

Malte Klimczak, a biology teacher at Steinmühle and a staff member at the University of Marburg’s student laboratory in the Botanical Garden, was looking for volunteers for an international climate project.
A large portion of Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf’s NaUnt class was immediately willing to make fake caterpillars and place them in several English oaks near the Steinmühle grounds.
After a certain period of time, genetic material is isolated from the feeding traces left by predators (e.g., birds and spiders). Analysis of this material will ultimately help determine the impact of climate change on Europe’s tree populations.