Facilities

The Biology and Environmental Science Department is housed in the modern Eshleman Science Center. The department has five teaching laboratories and a departmental computer laboratory The S. Benton Talbott Seminar Room located in the Science Center is a conference room where upper level classes are held, students share their research experiences with other students, and where invited speakers share their interests and expertise with students.

The department has a variety of scientific instrumentation including microscopes, air pollution and water pollution monitoring equipment, laboratory instrumentation, and field sampling equipment. Recent additions to the cell and molecular biology lab include a programmable thermocycler for PCR analysis, UV/Vis spectrophotometer, microcentrifuges, and gel electrophoresis equipment. The Department also has an extensive collection of microscope slides and audiovisual media materials. Special facilities include a weather station, a controlled environment chamber and the spacious Tolstead Greenhouse. The Davis & Elkins College Herbarium contains over 3,000 specimens of vascular plants and is also the repository of the West Virginia State Fungi collection.  The department also has a computer lab equipped with GIS/Remote Sensing software and a large-scale plotter.

The Davis & Elkins College Biology and Environmental Science Department is also a partner in a cooperative Appalachian watershed study (CAWS) and maintains an experimental watershed, the Pigeon Creek Watershed. Davis & Elkins faculty and students are involved in a series of ongoing research projects within this area. Field studies and student research projects are also carried-out within the Robert E. Urban Natural Area located on the campus within a few minutes walk of the Eshleman Science Center.

The nearby Monongahela National Forest and other nearby natural areas constitute an immense and highly varied natural laboratory for biological and environmental investigations. The following areas are within an hour's drive of the campus:

Spruce Knob - the highest point in West Virginia at 4,862 feet

Seneca Rocks

Blackwater Canyon (under study as a new national park)

Bear Heaven Natural Area

Blister Swamp

Big Run Bog natural area

Dolly Sods Wilderness

Otter Creek Wilderness

Upper Laurel Fork Wilderness

Lower Laurel Fork Wilderness

Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge