A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

A University of Minnesota researcher teamed up to work with a researcher from the Chicago Botanic Gardens to understand how the use of controlled fires affects prairie landscapes and its effects on pollination with the Echinacea plant. 

Amy Waananen, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University, partnered with Stuart Wagenius, who is a conservation scientist at the botanic gardens. Wagenius started the Echinacea project in 1995 to focus on the Echinacea plant in Western Minnesota agricultural landscapes. 

The Echinacea project works towards what Waananen’s research is centralized around: the study of habitat fragmentation with the goal of understanding the biological aspect of the plant and how they can conserve the prairies and plants that live among them.

Periodic fires and the importance of pollination

Periodic fires in prairies help plants flower and reduce the amount of weeds that grow, benefiting the prairies, Wagenius said. The Echinacea plant doesn’t produce a large amount of heads, as the largest she has seen in her research is 20, Waananen said. 

The plant itself has defined heads that are easy to count and usually starts with a singular head and sometimes grows more after a fire, Waananen said. This trait makes it easy to survey and cover large areas of prairie, along with its purple color.

A prairie is a habitat dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. 

The research team only uses periodic burns that call for calmer winds, not too hot of weather, sewer beds not being too dry and conducting a thorough mowing of the plot of land prior to starting a fire, Waananen said. 

In the last 20 years, the rural landscape of Minnesota has changed, and this research aims to help bees and other pollinators as other species are starting to disappear, Wagenius said. Prescribed burns are one aspect that can help pollinators find good places to live and nectar to feed from. 

“Even though it’s rare, prairies are still out there,” Waananen said. “So maybe slow down and try and take a look and understand what’s around you, because you might find more than you expect.”

The Echinacea project from a student perspective

Third-year student Emma Reineke, who got involved in the Echinacea project in the summer of 2021, said the project helped her understand the scientific process, how to design experiments, how to move forward after adversity and accept that there will be bumps along the road. 

Reineke’s most recent co-project looked at the way dust impacts the health and fitness of the plant by placing dust on the heads of the flowers. At the end of the season, she cut the flowers and counted how many seeds were present as a sign of being able to reproduce, Reineke said.

Many of the plants were stolen by ground squirrels, resulting in a loss of nearly 25% of the plants, Reineke said. Coming back for a second year, she was able to collect over 60 heads to analyze, using vaseline on a paper filter to see the dust better. 

Reineke said all of her data was lost in transit as it was being mailed. She hopes to get the seeds back to continue to observe and analyze the Echinacea because it is a model species that can be applied to multiple things.

The project has members from all over the nation. Reineke said the first day of research, the group toured the prairie and learned about how an ecosystem can change over time.

“I really just can’t highlight how amazing the experience was for me,” Reineke said.

Satellite imagery research funded by the Minnesota State Legislature and supported by the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center (MITPPC) assisted in detecting oak wilt disease in forests. 

Using a satellite to observe the trees’ changes through the seasons allows them to see the potential reduction of pigments in the trees through time, according to Jose Antonio Guzmán Quesada, the lead author of the research brief at the University of Minnesota.

The disease and routes to infection 

Project leader Jeannine Cavender-Bares is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. For the past 10 years, she has researched oak wilt disease and its environmental impact. Oak wilt disease occurs when a fungal pathogen infects a tree, making it unable to produce water from the roots to the leaves. 

When fungus infects an oak tree, the infection itself is kept initially in the tree roots but then moves through the xylem, the pipeline from the roots to the leaves, Cavender-Bares said. Eventually, the infection can move to other roots nearby by infecting a new oak tree. 

The red oak tree is more susceptible to fungal infection, Cavender-Bares added. The red oak has an immune system that acts too slowly to detect the fungus growth, clogging the vascular system and making water transportation impossible. 

Once a tree is infected with the fungus, the tree develops a spore mat that forms on a tree trunk and has a strong, sweet smell, according to Cavender-Bares. This scent attracts sap-sucking beetles to feed, get spores stuck on their bodies and fly to new destinations to infect other susceptible trees.

How satellite imagery helps create prevention methods

If there is a singular snapshot of an oak tree in the fall, it may appear that the tree could be infected, Guzmán Quesada said. Satellite imagery adds the ability to see how the pigments in the trees evolve throughout each season. 

A satellite made to look at changes in pigment works because it keeps going around the earth, Cavender-Bares said. The leaves on infected trees will show signs of a change in color, like brown leaves next to healthier green leaves. 

Once a tree is observed through satellite imagery, a DNA test is needed to know for sure if a tree truly has oak wilt, according to Cavender-Bares. 

The satellite acts as a doctor in a way, Guzmán Quesada said. He gave the example of suspecting symptoms of the flu virus, but knowing you need to get tested to know if that is the type of virus you have.

The disease’s impact on forest productivity 

The fungus can spread underground through an infected tree’s roots, eventually creating large patches that could kill off acres of oak trees, U.S. Forest Service Research Plant Pathologist Jennifer Juzwik said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. 

The death of an oak tree could enable invasive plants to fill the gaps where living oak trees were once rooted, Juzwik said in the email. This makes regular monitoring important on ground and aerial-based levels.

“If we start losing large numbers of oak trees, the ecosystem services that humans depend on from forests will decline drastically,” Cavender-Bares said. “This is why people are working really hard to manage them and putting a lot of time, effort and funds into stopping the spread of oak wilt and other tree diseases.”

Editor’s Note: This story contains themes of depression and suicide.

University of Minnesota faculty and graduate student share helpful resources and on-campus support systems during suicide awareness month.

All vital aspects on the topic of mental health awareness are the on-campus resources offered both online and in-person, current barriers to care and how mental illness can disproportionately affect certain communities.

Boynton Health: services, therapy sessions, removing barriers to care

Cecilia Bloomquist has been working as a psychotherapist since 2012. At Boynton, she has the opportunity to work directly with patients, while also supporting colleagues doing work in the field as an associate director.

“The mental health clinic only offers services to students. Billing insurance is covered by the Student Services Fees after it has billed the student’s insurance first, according to Bloomquist.

Therapy sessions without limits, based on the needs and diagnosis of the students, began at Boynton clinics this summer with extended hours, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The prior session limits were what Bloomquist described as barriers to care.

The new model allows for students to get services that are nuanced and specific to their needs, which was made possible by having a full staff of clinicians, Bloomquist said. If someone is having a mental health need that is urgent, they can walk to Boynton and get care as a walk-in.

“Looking at our team this week, I was like, ‘Wow, I have never worked in a clinic where we had so much diversity and that is such a critical asset to have,’” Bloomquist said.

Student Counseling Services: virtual help options, how services differ

As interim director of Student Counseling Services (SCS), Jeff Walter hopes to continue to expand counseling options while offering group and individual counseling, he said.

Walter made the recommendation for students to read the provider’s bios to make a good match with a counselor, and to make a consultation so students can voice their interests and preferences.

One of the main differences between SCS and Boynton is that SCS does not regularly diagnose people because they do not bill insurance.

Let’s Talk is a both virtual and in-person opportunity to meet with therapists through SCS without being a formal client. This type of counseling can help ease initial fear and anxiety when it comes to starting to talk about your mental health, Bloomquist said.

“It’s like a warm face that can hear you and then support you to get to where you need to be,” Bloomquist said.

Suicide prevention and mental health equity

In the Research on Depression, Self-Injury and Suicide Risk in Adolescents lab, the question of how a researcher can help youth who are suffering is a key driver in the lab’s collaborative efforts, researcher Andrea Wiglesworth, a third-year graduate student in the clinical science and psychopathology research Ph.D. program, said.

Currently, there is a study happening in the lab which aims to understand if being creative and in a group environment is helpful for boosting mood in adolescents and young adults, according to Wiglesworth.

Wiglesworth is most focused on Native American communities in her research. She works to understand how unique stressors within the community’s lived experiences are causing disproportionate numbers of suicides.

Part of the reason why people are struggling to prevent or predict suicide in Native communities is because researchers are not asking about the right things, Wiglesworth said.

According to Wiglesworth’s study, Native American youth are less likely than white youth to say they thought about attempting suicide. Giving everyone adequate and frequently distributed safety resources is important, Wiglesworth said.

“It could be that in a week, or two weeks, or six months, something happens that triggers that thought, and they’re going to be in a better position to stay safe if they have the resources that they would need at that time,” Wiglesworth said.

For suicide prevention resources, call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org.

This article has been updated.