Each fall semester students from participating universities gather at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont tucked in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the world. Students from Murray State, Eastern Illinois, Virginia Commonwealth and Middle Tennessee State spend a week immersed in an extremely experiential learning environment. The national park, which is within a 6 hour drive of half the U.S. population, records over 10 million visits per year. In addition, the park is bordered by major tourist destinations; on the western side, by Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and by Cherokee, North Carolina on the eastern side. These “gateway communities” are destinations in and of themselves and have a direct impact on the management of the national park.

In addition to its location and high visitation, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of 507 biosphere reserves in 102 countries. A biosphere reserve is an official “conservation designation” made by the United Nations. These areas are protected due to their unique biological diversity. The Great Smoky Mountains is truly a unique and biologically diverse ecosystem. In fact, it is home to the greatest variety of salamanders in the world.

Over 10, 000 different species have been documented in the park. However amazing this is, it is only the tip of the iceberg. Scientists believe that there are over 90,000 species yet to be discovered in the Smoky Mountains. This is the principle reason behind the All Taxa Biodiversity Study being conducted in the park. Our students are fortunate enough to actually participate in the study each fall. They work with the Tremont staff by collecting, identifying and cataloging various specimens. One student enthusiastically shared her experience with her friends upon returning to campus. She had the pleasure of sucking beetles out of animal dung with the help of a special apparatus. Quite an adventure and learning experience.