Nature & Environment

From birds to butterflies, wildlife is on the move. Ohio’s geography of forests, grasslands and coasts, along with two large water sources – Lake Erie and the Ohio River – attracts a wide array of wildlife during fall migration. Here are Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s top migrations to observe this season.

Monarch Butterflies

One of the most fascinating creatures in North America is the monarch butterfly. Each fall, millions of monarchs leave their summer breeding grounds in the northeastern United States and Canada to travel upwards of 3,000 miles to reach their overwintering grounds in southwestern Mexico.

To spot these winged migrants, look in lakefront woodlots or areas with plants still in flower such as asters or goldenrod.

Bats

Depending on the species, some Ohio bats such as the eastern red bat, hoary Bat and silver-haired bat migrate south in the cooler months when food sources become scarce. The best time to see them is around sunset or sunrise when it is warm and dry. While some bats fly relatively high, others are found closer to the ground and tree line.

As August came to a close I went to our little community garden at the Knickerbocker Apartments to take morning pictures when the sun highlights the loveliness of our meager efforts. One gardener, however, has spent many hours tending the garden and has given advice and watered when needed. Robert is from Lebanon and brings old world wisdom, even his mother's advice not to waste a thing, and shares it along with recipes for tabbouleh and his hot peppers, which he grows in abundance.

The Knickerbocker has kindly provided eight raised beds that are waist high, built on stilts so older people don't have to kneel to garden which would prevent many like myself from gardening at all. They also provided potting soil to fill the boxes, sometimes mixing in the clay-like native dirt that is not fit for growing anything. I am surprised any grass grows at all.

Look up! The Perseid Meteor Shower, one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, will peak Aug. 11 through Aug. 13. In preparation for this cosmic event, Planetarium Specialist Bill Reed of Lake Erie Nature & Science Center explains what a meteor shower is and provides tips for seeing “shooting stars” this month.

What is a meteor shower?

Comets are large, icy solar system bodies. As a comet passes closer to the sun, its ice warms and begins to release particles of dust and rock into the atmosphere, which can result in a glowing trail of vapor.

Meteor showers occur when meteoroids -- the rocks and debris left behind by a comet -- enter the Earth's atmosphere. Meteoroids are almost always small enough to quickly burn up in our atmosphere, so there is little chance they will strike Earth's surface.

At the beginning of the pandemic with most of the country locked down indoors, Westside Christian Academy junior Nathaniel Shackelford took to the great outdoors. There he discovered a fascinating world of nature, quite literally in his own backyard. With his father’s camera a Canon EOS 70D, Nathaniel photographed an aerial battle between a red-tailed hawk and a crow. Sharing the picture from this encounter with his high school classmates elicited favorable comments and encouraged him to continue photographing birds.

Realizing that he needed a technological upgrade, Nathaniel used all his available cash to purchase the Sigma 150-600mm lens. With this new equipment, he has photographed over 100 species of birds, most in his Bay Village backyard. Other locations where he’s taken photos include the Rocky River Reservation, Sandy Ridge Reservation in North Ridgeville and Magee Marsh along Lake Erie near Oak Harbor.

It’s officially summer! The sun is shining, the weather is warm, animals are out and about, and families are exploring the outdoors.

Below are Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s activity ideas for you to enjoy nature with your preschooler this season.

Embark on a nature scavenger hunt
Summer is the perfect time to hike with preschoolers. Bring along a nature scavenger hunt for your child to discover new things in the forest – or even in your own back yard (printable scavenger hunts are available at lensc.org/visit/virtual-learning).

For the littlest of hikers, we recommend gathering a box of crayons or paint samples so that they can match them with colorful things in nature.

The Westlake Garden Club has gotten a great start on the gardening season for 2021.

The morning of May 22 found several members at the club’s Hilliard Boulevard flower box getting the plants in the ground. Cathy Garlitz and Marsha McEntee selected and transported the plants and planted them, along with Lavinia Cozmin, Marge Emblom and Anne Engel. Later that day, a group of members met on member Carolyn Steigman’s patio for the annual plant exchange where they brought divisions and whole plants from their own gardens to exchange for something different. There were also some house plants finding new homes.

The garden club again provided a wreath for the Memorial Day Ceremony at Clague Park. Carolyn Steigman put together the beautiful wreath this year.

Judy Brody of Bay Village captured the simple beauty of roses in bloom at the Cahoon Memorial Park Rose Garden on Memorial Day.

Visitors to the Huntington Reservation in Bay Village have long appreciated the sandy beach, cliffside walking path and unique water tower landmark. But there were a few things missing, namely: pleasant restrooms, walleye sandwiches and craft beer.

Last year, the Cleveland Metroparks began an enhancement project to bring more amenities to the lakefront park. With $1.6 million from individual and family donors and the Emerald Necklace Endowment Fund, the Metroparks was able to build brand new restrooms and a picnic area, expand the concession area and restore the historic Huntington water tower.

Metroparks officials unveiled the newly updated Huntington Reservation with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 27.

As the weather gets warmer and days grow longer, springtime continues to bring change in the Northern Hemisphere. Planetarium Specialist Katy Downing of the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center shares the visible planets and constellations to observe in May.

Jupiter and Saturn

Before sunrise, look for Jupiter and Saturn shining brightly in the east. Jupiter will be toward the eastern sky and appear brighter than Saturn. Though not as bright, Saturn – the most distant planet in our solar system to be seen with the naked eye – will be brighter than the surrounding stars in the southeastern sky.

Tip: By May 31, the sun is rising at 5:55 a.m. Wake up early to gaze at these two planets before they disappear in the morning light.

Mars

This month, look west during sunset to observe Mars. The Red Planet will be due west, high above the horizon. As its nickname suggests, Mars will be red in color and stand out among the surrounding stars.

After you spot Mars, remind yourself of Perseverance, the new robotic mission that landed in February to look for signs of past microbial life, cache rock and soil samples, and prepare for future human exploration.

Tip: Stars twinkle; planets usually don’t.

A couple of local gardeners are spearheading a vision of pollinator gardens throughout our city. The Westlake Garden Club is sponsoring this initiative. This vision was enhanced on April 27 by the recent award of the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District’s (SWCD) Conservation Action Grant & Scholarship Fund.

Susan Baker and Deb Dougherty, both Westlake residents, started planning the project in late 2019 and early 2020. They decided to approach the City of Westlake to test the level of support.

Susan Baker’s affiliation with the City of Westlake began with her involvement with the annual Westlake in Bloom event. Her contacts with the City’s Planning and Economic Development and Public Service Departments helped introduce the concept on the City level. Susan commented that the City of Westlake and particularly Jim Bedell and Chris Stuhm are amazing advocates for improving our community.

Spring is a time when everything is growing and bursting into life. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and baby animals are starting to be seen.

As the weather warms and people spend more time outdoors, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center is here to answer your wildlife questions and concerns. Below, the Center’s wildlife experts answer some of the most common wildlife questions they receive from the public each spring.

I noticed a fawn alone in the grass. Is it abandoned?

Baby wildlife is rarely abandoned in nature. Mothers will often leave their young unattended for hours for a variety of reasons.

For instance, a fawn lying quietly by itself is perfectly normal. Deer do this to protect their young, as the presence of an adult would attract the attention of predators. If a fawn is walking around and making noise, it may be abandoned and in need of assistance.

The Ides of March – March 15 – is best known as the day Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate. But it is also the day the swallows famously come back to Capistrano and, less famously, the buzzards return to Northeast Ohio. The buzzards – or rather turkey vultures – have been gone since last fall. Did you miss them? They are migratory, leaving NE Ohio in the fall for warmer climes and returning in early spring for breeding.

For years the Cleveland Metroparks Hinckley Reservation celebrated the turkey vultures' return to Whipp’s Ledges in mid-March. There won’t be a Buzzard Day celebration there this year due to Covid-19. But you can celebrate Buzzard Day on your own by going out and spotting for them. And you don’t have to wait for the Ides. Start looking now, you might spot a few early arrivals.

Cuyahoga Community College earned a LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the new Liberal Arts and Technology building at Westshore Campus. 

LEED certification is a nationally recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. This is the College’s seventh building with a LEED designation. 

Westshore’s Health Careers and Sciences building previously earned a LEED Gold designation after opening a decade ago. Development of the campus along Clemens Road in Westlake coincided with the College’s creation of a sustainability plan.

This February help the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District "Love Lake Erie" by picking up litter with us! If we each pick up a few pieces we will easily surpass our challenge goal to remove at least 500 pieces of litter from the county watersheds.

American Rivers sponsors all of our cleanups and they have introduced us to an App called Litterati. If you have a smartphone and you hate litter, we would love for you to join our Litterati challenge to pick up and track litter.

Cuyahoga SWCD has long promoted the installation of conservation projects such as tree planting, rain gardens, rain barrels, native plant gardens, cover crops and more to improve the health of Cuyahoga County's soil & water resources. In addition to educating the public about these practices, we have striven to reduce the barriers that may exist that prevent residents and other landowners from adopting these practices: through rain barrel workshops where we supply all the materials necessary to construct and install a barrel, to our native plant kit sale, and our soil test kit distributions.

We are now taking this commitment to reducing barriers to the adoption of conservation practices one step further with the introduction of our Conservation Action Grant & Scholarship Fund.

This year has been one of challenges and frustrations for the Westlake Garden Club. Our club year begins in March so, as a group, we have not met at all this year. The board met in March before the shut-down, had an in-person socially distanced meeting in the president’s driveway, and had a Zoom meeting. 

We have tried to stay connected with members through a monthly newsletter and phone calls, and the new board has been elected for 2021. Sharing the presidency are Cathy Garlitz and Jean Smith; treasurer, Marie McCarthy; recording secretary, Anne Engel and Marsha McEntee; and program chair, Deb Dougherty.

Native berry-bearing and evergreen plant species provide important habitat and food for overwintering bird species. Additionally, many animal species depend on winter cover to protect their young. These plants can also provide a pop of color to brighten up winters’ dreariest days! 

Some native species that provide winter cover and food include American holly (Ilex opaca), Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), Inkberry (Ilex glabra), Red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), Red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and White pine (Pinus strobus).

Winter is on the horizon, but your outdoor fun doesn’t need to come to an end. There is a beautiful winter world awaiting for those who seek refreshment and energy from the outdoors. Below are six ways you and your family can enjoy nature this winter, despite the chilly temperatures.

Go stargazing

Winter skies can be the clearest of the year and the richest in stars. In addition to winter constellations such as Orion, Canis Major and the bright star Sirius, Canis Minor and Gemini the Twins, this season you can observe The Great Conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter.

Go outside and look toward the south/southwest, where you will see two objects shining brighter than any surrounding stars. The brighter one is Jupiter and the dimmer one is Saturn.

Birds connect us to people in distant lands. The migratory birds that arrive every spring in the United States are the same birds that you would see in South America during our winter. We could talk to a farmer in Nicaragua about the rose-breasted grosbeak and he would see in his mind's-eye what we see. The sorrow we feel as the bird populations dwindle here is the same sorrow felt by birders in South America as losses of forests in Central and South America mirror the habitat loss in the U.S.

It's easy to feel helpless but here is something that you can do to help – and it's as simple as pouring yourself a cup-a-joe and kicking back to watch the birds.

To continue serving children and families in the community, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center is pleased to be offering free general admission for the first time since March.

General admission, at no charge, allows visitors to enjoy live animal exhibits indoors and outdoors, and displays about natural history and space science. Registration for general admission is required at www.lensc.org or 440-871-2900. Preregistered visits will help the Center to ensure capacity and distancing protocols are in place and allow time for cleaning of the facility.

A team of Sea Scouts from Bay Village has won first place in the STEM Lesson Plan Contest sponsored by Dominion Energy’s Project Plant It! program to teach youth about the benefits of trees to the environment. The three ninth-grade girls – Maeve Kilroy, Maeve Galla and Amy Burgy – with supervision by their skipper, Richard Gash, created a science lesson plan based on a project to plant redbud tree seedlings on the slope of Cahoon Creek in order to prevent soil erosion and runoff into the creek.

The idea for a STEM lesson plan about how trees can help prevent soil erosion germinated from their Sea Scout activities. The girls often put their sailboats in the water in the area of Cahoon Creek that had been cleared to build the new Lake Road bridge, leaving the area vulnerable for runoff of pollutants into the creek. In the course of their research on how to protect the creek, the girls learned about the free redbud tree seedlings offered by Project Plant It!, and they registered to get the seedlings to plant along the slope in April. The COVID-19 crisis has delayed planting until the fall. In the meantime, the team received a $200 Walmart gift card from Dominion Energy to purchase supplies for scout projects.

Denise Pattyn of Bay Village used the formula printed in the June 16 issue to determine that a pin oak tree in her Wolf Road yard is 106 years old.

We printed this photo of a “mystery bird” at Bay Village feeder in the June 16 issue of the Observer and asked for readers’ help in identifying it. The myriad responses that came in only heightened the mystery – it’s an immature rose-breasted grosbeak! It’s a purple finch! It’s a juvenile red-winged blackbird! It’s a female grosbeak! We turned to our local gem, the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, for a definitive answer.

“This is an adult female red-winged blackbird,” wrote Tim Jasinski, wildlife rehabilitation specialist at the Center. “Sometimes older females will show deeper colors than normal or more male-like colors resulting from increased testosterone later in life. It could also sometimes just be the photograph, the lighting or other factors but this is definitely a red-winged blackbird!”

Out of the many responses from our amateur bird-watching readers, only one – Chuck Collings – matched the expert in correctly identifying the bird.

We came together in the fall of 2019 as strangers from four different schools. We formed Team Zebra, and are now the sixth-grade Ohio State Champion and a Regional Finalist for the eCyberMission STEM competition. Our project involved finding a solution to the zebra mussel and algae growth problem on the dock at Bay Boat Club.

In the summer with the high Lake Erie water levels, the boat dock is underwater and covered with algae and zebra mussels, making it slippery and dangerous. One interesting fact that we learned while researching for this project is that zebra mussels are contributing to the growth of algae in Lake Erie by filtering the water. They are improving water clarity, which then allows the sun to penetrate deeper and support algae growth.

The algae on the dock are a breeding ground for zebra mussels; one female zebra mussel can produce over one million free-floating eggs in a year. Algae act as an incubator for the eggs, which, when hatched, are known as veligers until they grow into adults.

Dense fog gave way to sunny skies on May 16 as individuals, families and community groups from across Westlake came out on a Saturday morning to plant the flower boxes along Hilliard Boulevard.

The 224 boxes lining the median from City Hall to the Rocky River line are part of the Westlake in Bloom community beautification program.

Astronomy is a great way to reduce stress. Step outside, unplug and look up at the sky – you never know what you will see!

Planetarium specialist Katy Downing of the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center shares the visible planets and constellations to observe in the morning and evening skies.

Morning Sky

Before sunrise, look for Jupiter, Saturn and Mars shining brightly in the east. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and is mostly composed of two elements: hydrogen and helium. The “gas giant” is fairly close to Earth, and will appear the brightest of the three planets in the morning sky, followed by Mars, then Saturn – the most distant planet in our solar system to be seen with the naked eye.

Spring is here and soon you will see baby animals in your neighborhood. Lake Erie Nature & Science Center is here to debunk four of the most common myths related to baby wildlife.

MYTH: “Mothers often abandon baby wildlife in nature.”

Baby wildlife is rarely abandoned in nature. Mothers will often leave their young unattended for hours for a variety of reasons.

For instance, a fawn lying quietly by itself is perfectly normal. Deer do this to protect their young, as the presence of an adult would attract the attention of predators. Raccoons and squirrels will frequently retrieve their babies when they end up out of the nest too early. They often maintain more than one nest or den site and will move their babies as needed.

MYTH: “Baby wildlife must be protected from natural dangers.”

Eastern cottontail rabbits often build their nests in yards and open spaces. If you stumble across one, do not move the baby bunnies because their mother will be unable to find them. She will return at dusk and dawn to feed and groom her babies.

Owls are mysterious birds that have captured the attention and curiosity of people all throughout the world. There are over 200 species of owls that come in all shapes and sizes. The most common owl of the Americas is the Great Horned Owl. Great Horned Owls can be found across the continental U.S. in a broad range of habitats, most typically in woods interspersed with open land.

With its earlike tufts, intense yellow-eyed gaze and deep hooting call, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. Here are some Great Horned Owl facts that may surprise you:

Their eyes are not true “eyeballs”

Great Horned Owls have large eyes, pupils that open widely in the dark and retinas that contain many rod cells for excellent night vision and depth perception. Many are surprised to learn that the eyes of all owl species are actually tube-shaped and immobile in their sockets. Fortunately, owls can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees to look in any direction.

The impact of plastic pollution on Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes will be examined during an upcoming program at the Westshore Campus of Cuyahoga Community College. This topic is the focus of the latest “Learning for Life” lecture series program at the campus. The free program takes place Wednesday, Jan. 29.

The discussion will be led by Jill Bartolotta, extension educator with Ohio Sea Grant. The group works with organizations and communities to solve the lake’s most pressing environmental and economic issues.

“Where did the honey bees go?”

This is one of the questions most frequently asked by Lake Erie Nature & Science Center visitors during the winter months. Despite freezing temperatures and lack of flowers, honey bees survive the winter due to their amazing array of survival mechanisms.

Simply put, honey bees must create their own heat source and maintain a food supply inside the hive in order to make it to spring.

“Once the temperature drops below 50 degrees, honey bees keep the inside of their hive a warm 97 degrees in order to keep the colony alive,” explains Christine Barnett, wildlife program specialist at the Center. “Honey bees must produce over 90 pounds of honey throughout summer in order to survive the winter.”

If you have ever attended the Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation event called "A Swift's Night Out," you would have been treated to a free show of breath-taking aerial acrobatics as chimney swifts caught bugs and prepared to enter their roost for a well deserved night's rest.

Chimney swifts are unique birds. They cannot stand or perch but are uniquely adapted to grasping the inside of old hollow trees and masonry chimneys, which they adapted to using as settlers cut down the forests. Their Latin name is Chaetura pelagica, referring to a tail which has spiny ends. Their specialized toes and this pointy tail help them cling to vertical surfaces.

Chimney swifts are aerial insectivores, which means they catch all their food while in flight. They can eat one-third their body weight in mosquito-sized insects daily – more if they are feeding a nest of hungry hatchlings. Not only do these birds catch all food while flying, they do just about everything "on-the-wing," including bathing by skimming the surface of ponds or lakes.

Did you know that the Cleveland-Akron-Canton metro area is ranked as one of the top 10 U.S. cities most polluted by year-round particle pollution? The American Lung Association’s "State of the Air 2019" report indicates that particle pollution can increase the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and asthma, as well as interfere in the growth and general functioning of the lungs. 

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ohio is the third-largest coal-consuming state in the nation after Texas and Indiana, and nearly 90% of the coal consumed in Ohio is used for electric power generation. Fossil fuel-burning power plants, like NRG Energy's Avon Lake power plant several miles west of us, are contributors to the particle pollution problem. 

An upcoming program at the Westshore Campus of Cuyahoga Community College will examine efforts to restore and rejuvenate Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. The topic is the focus of the latest “Learning for Life” lecture series program at the campus. The free program takes place Wednesday, Sept. 25.

The discussion will be led by members of Ohio Sea Grant, which works with coastal groups and communities to solve the lake’s most pressing environmental and economic issues. The conversation will address issues such as harmful algal blooms, the threat of invasive marine species and the impact of climate change – all critical to the long-term health of Lake Erie. Speakers will include Ohio Sea Grant’s director, Christopher Winslow, and extension educator Sarah Orlando.

Summer is coming to a close, but on the bright side – there will be more time to look up each night and enjoy the night sky. Lake Erie Nature & Science Center's planetarium specialist Katy Downing shares some of the astronomical events, visible planets and constellations to watch out for this month.

Autumnal Equinox

An equinox is the moment when Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres receive approximately equal amounts of sunlight – this year on Monday, Sept. 23, at approximately 3:50 a.m. EDT. Equinoxes occur twice a year – spring and fall – when the tilt of the Earth’s axis and orbit around the sun combine in such a way that the axis is tilted neither away from nor toward the sun.

Founded in 1963, the Westlake Garden Club is dedicated to fostering beauty in the garden and home, and promoting horticultural education, civic beauty and community conservation. Regular Garden Club meetings are held at Westlake Porter Public Library on the third Wednesday of the month at 11:30 a.m. (March through December).

As the growing season begins to wind down, the Garden Club will host an evening series of presentations, open to the public, beginning with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. at Westlake Porter Public Library. Vice President and Director of Thriving Communities, Jim Rokakis, will discuss the efforts of the WRLC in our region to support working farms and preserve vibrant natural resources alongside healthy, thriving cities.

Congratulations to the Microfiber Fighters, who were chosen as the eCyberMission National Finalists along with 20 other finalist teams in the 2019 U.S. Army-sponsored competition. We were selected from 5,097 teams to attend a week-long National Judging and Educational Event (NJEE) in Washington, D.C. 

Activities included hands-on STEM workshops led by Army scientists and engineers, a special session hosted by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, a visit to Capitol Hill and Congressional Library, and a tour of the National Mall. In our visit to Congress we met with Senator Rob Portman’s legislative correspondent, Sam Hattrup, who stated: “The health and well-being of Lake Erie is one of Senator Portman’s top priorities; the senator would be interested in the research of Microfiber Fighters.”

After a ride on the Senate train to the other side of Congress we met with Congresswoman Joyce Beatty who was also very interested to hear of our project to prevent microfibers entering out into lakes from washing machines.

The summer solstice on Friday, June 21, marks the start of summer and the longest day of the year.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs when the sun reaches its highest and northernmost points in the sky. The word “solstice” comes from Latin solstitium – from sol (sun) and stitium (standing), reflecting the fact that on the solstice, the sun appears to stop moving in the sky as it reaches its northernmost point.

Celebrate the solstice by joining Lake Erie Nature & Science Center for its first Telescope Night of the season on Saturday, June 22, at 8:30 p.m.

As we spring into summer, it’s easy to notice the highly active wildlife in your neighborhood. Baby animals are out and about, and Lake Erie Nature & Science Center is answering some of the most common questions they receive from concerned callers during their busiest season of the year.

I noticed a fawn alone in the grass. Is it abandoned?

Baby wildlife is rarely abandoned in nature and mothers will often leave their young unattended for hours. For instance, a fawn lying quietly by itself is perfectly normal. Deer do this to protect their young, as the presence of an adult would attract the attention of predators. If a fawn seems to be in a “dangerous” location, do not move it or the mother will have trouble finding her baby.

Grow where you're planted is literally what the Bay Village Garden Club (BVGC) is all about. Whether you're a gardener or someone who cares about a beautiful civic environment, the club provides an abundance of programs, field trips, tips for green living, and opportunities to help others right in your own backyard!

We are busy planting blooms at our "Welcome to Bay Village" planters seen all around town, as well as colorful flowers at City Hall, and in the handsome planters by Thyme Table restaurant. Our members maintain, and even weed, several areas including the Gazebo at Cahoon Park.

Lake Erie Nature & Science Center congratulates the Project Wildlife Class of 2019 including Robert Amsdell of Lake Ridge Academy, Paige Burns of Westlake High School, Mia Centuori of Rocky River High School, Sarah Krofta of Olmsted Falls High School, Sofia Motelka of St. Joseph Academy, Isabella Teter of Lorain High School, Will Triplett of Rocky River High School and Alyssa Veverka of Olmsted Falls High School.

The Center is the only organization in Northeast Ohio for teenagers to gain hands-on experience in the fields of wildlife and animal care. Project Wildlife serves as a valuable career experience and introduces students to the wide variety of opportunities available in the field. The majority of this year’s graduating seniors plan to continue their education by pursuing degrees in the areas of biology, environmental science, veterinary medicine or related studies.