The Field Station at Bath Nature Preserve, Steiner Woods, and Panzner Wetland Wildlife Reserve are a living laboratory for the advancement of knowledge through ecological research, education, and stewardship of the natural world. It is located approximately 2 miles west of the 33,000 acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and between the large metropolitan areas of Cleveland and Akron/Canton. Martin Center for Field Studies and Environmental Education, the UA Field Station is uniquely situated for studies of anthropogenic change in the highly impacted Cuyahoga Valley. This facility is among the largest terrestrial ecology field stations in Ohio, and we are collaborating with other field stations and environmental education facilities in the region. Steiner Woods is a 23 acre parcel of wetlands, ponds, and woods adjacent to the southern edge of the Preserve. Through the generosity of Homer and Rosalie Steiner (and made possible by a grant from the Ohio EPA Water Resource Restoration Sponsorship Program), this property is now entrusted to the University of Akron for research and teaching projects, including long-term monitoring of spotted salamander populations. Panzner Wetland Wildlife Reserve, a 105 acre restored wetland located in Copley Township. Brothers Steve and Jerry Panzner created the wetland areas as a compensatory mitigation bank and then donated the property to the University of Akron to use for education and research. The land was part of the Copley Swamp and was previously farmed by generations of the Panzner family.
