Our Crowdfunding Groups
Although our campaign is no longer active, you can still donate. If you would like to provide any additional support to our project, please do so here.
The Ecosystem Health Unit at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine is growing, and we need your help!
This new program at the College of Veterinary Medicine provides various opportunities for research, public outreach, and teaching at the professional and graduate level in zoo and wildlife conservation medicine, welfare and ecosystem health. Since our start two years ago, we have expanded our faculty number and have worked with other colleges and national agencies that contribute to holistically examining ecosystem health. Now, we are looking for a new way to further our research and student opportunities—and you can help.
While our program is seeing steady success in innovative research and ideas, there remains a gap regarding local access. As we work to examine the health and well-being of Ohio’s wildlife under anthropogenic stressors, we have found that we lack proper tools to help us study the impact of algal blooms and disease transmission in wildlife and native species.
To combat this problem, we are seeking your support to help us purchase an inshore boat, and we have a goal to raise $10,000 to make that purchase possible. Incorporating a boat will allow us essential access to the coastal regions of Lake Erie to collect samples that will inform us of the health, ill-health, resilience, and disease of sentinel species living within these challenging regions as well as providing access to the numerous waterways that harbor alligators in the southern United States to undertake another crucial role our unit plays- the conservation of species that are or were once endangered. These projects will provide us with a platform to teach professional and graduate student courses from, giving them incredibly unique hands-on experiences in the field.
It is our responsibility to educate the next generation of ecosystem health veterinarians and researchers. They will have a role as stewards in reversing the decline of endangered species and addressing the impact we have on our environment. Without elevating our teaching method, we cannot do this important work. Our current method of lugging kayaks out into these waters does not allow us to take this work to the next level. With your help, we can.
With your support, our students will have access to environmentally important sites to collect samples and we can expand their learning opportunities; giving them a vital, first-hand understanding of ecosystem health.
This boat will have a significant impact on our students and their future as ecosystem health professionals. Give today to help us in our quest to do innovative and impactful research while training the next generation of Buckeye veterinarians.
Did you know Ohio has 25 listed endangered and threatened species? Give $25 to support research toward preserving and sustaining these species!
An alligator egg incubates for around 65 days. Give $1 for every day of an alligator's incubation period and support their growth and development!
The Ohio State University is 150 years old! Give $150 to celebrate the long history of our institution!
Did you know Lake Erie is 241 miles wide! Imagine trying to cross even part of that with just a kayak.
The last algal bloom in August 2019 covered approximately 620 sq miles at its peak. Give $620 today to help us get out on the water and study these dangerous anomalies!
Through our research, we have hatched hundreds of alligators from just over 1000 eggs in Ohio in the last two years of which all hatchlings were returned to Florida!
