UNC Students to present Buxton Woods research at Dec. 5 presentation

Students from the UNC Institute for the Environment, who have been studying Buxton Woods vegetation for the past several years, will present their findings at a Buxton-based event scheduled for Monday evening, December 5.

Each fall, students from UNC spend a semester at the Outer Banks Field Site (OBXFS) where they take classes, engage in internships, and complete a Capstone research project.

The 2022 Capstone research is a follow-up to the 2021 Capstone research project, which focused on changes in vegetation within the Buxton Woods Reserve over the last 34 years, as well as residents’ values and perspectives of the Buxton Woods.

Much of the 1,007-acre N.C. Coastal Reserve site is bordered by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and it is part of the largest remaining contiguous tract of maritime evergreen forest on the Atlantic coast.

The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, at the Fessenden Center, 47013 Buxton Back Road, Buxton.

The students are expected to discuss the type, extent, rates, and reasons for change in the Buxton Woods plant community since 1988. A Q&A session is to follow the presentation, and light refreshments will be provided.

The program will also be livestreamed, with a recording of the presentation to be posted on the Coastal Studies Institute YouTube channel.

A written capstone report is to be posted Dec. 12 at the Outer Banks Field Site website.