This image is regarding an incident in the 1990’s when Johnson Pond became littered with an invasive form of algae. It is taken directly from the virtual special collections, from an edition of the Colby Echo in the late 1990’s. During this time, Colby experienced an overwhelming population of feathered wildlife that turned Johnson Pond into a “Large phosphate farm.” Nearly 20 years prior, Colby brought in colorful ducks to add more color to the pond and campus, but as the article describes it soon became overrun with wild mallards and seagulls. The problem grew when students began feeding the birds and incited more to come and join. David Firmage, a Biology professor at the time, was brought in to decide what to do with this newfound pond scum. He described why the problem occurred: most notably that the birds had access to wherever they wanted and there was nowhere for the algae to escape. Firmage and Russell Cole used this opportunity to teach students some new lessons on Biology. Students would go out to the pond weekly in order to measure algae levels and scrape some of the algae off the top of the pond. Upon doing this, they noticed that all the algae was undergoing photosynthesis due to the high oxygen levels in the algae itself. The Johnson Pond scum dilemma was a small piece of Colby’s history, but it contributed to a larger theme in the Biology Department. During this time, the science department as a whole was implementing a more “hands on” learning environment to the College’s curriculum. Students began taking part in scientific studies with their professors that would be published in nationally recognized journals. The significance of the pond scum incident remains important to Colby to this day.
Curated by Ryan Santoro