The sampling set-up is a rack of plastic tubes filled with sand, or "sandboxes." We used sand because we are interested in the very first stages of microbial succession when there are no nutrients or living things. While it hard to remove microorganisms and nutrients from potting soil, it is easy to sterilize and remove nutrients from sand. By removing nutrients, we are forcing our microbial colonists to either make everything they need to survive from scratch or carry it with them.

Nope, each tube has drainage holes at the bottom. The holes are partially blocked so that sand cannot get through but water and melted snow can drain easily.

If you participate, you and your students have access to regular project updates, personalized results from the study, and the opportunity to participate in a live webinar where we will talk with your students about the project results and what it is like to be a professional scientist. For more information about the benefits of participating, please visit our Benefits page.

The initial set-up time will take about 20 minutes. Each sampling point after that will take about 20 minutes as well. We anticipate the entire project will take less than 3 hours of time over the course of the year.