PEPPER PIKE, Ohio — In the early morning of July 20, 2013, an EF-1 tornado with winds of 110 miles per hour ripped through the campus of Ursuline College in Pepper Pike. A wall of the O’Brien Athletic Center collapsed. The science center and library were also damaged. And many of the iconic trees on campus were uprooted.
In time, the campus returned to its natural beauty. But evidence of those powerful winds is still in the forest.
"It's a dramatic tree to be able to see what the force is of an actual tornado," Dr. Jenise Snyder, the Dean of Arts, Sciences & Professional Studies at Ursuline College, explained about a large tree toppled and decaying.
Where others might see destruction, Snyder sees an opportunity for instruction in a living laboratory for students.
"It gave us an ideal opportunity as an ecologist to be able to study the natural regeneration and the revitalization of the forests," Snyder told 3News.
That's called succession, in ecological terms, an exciting process to witness over time.
"I was really surprised on how fast the tree had come back," remarked Snyder.
The tornado cleared a path for transformation.
"That allowed so much more light to penetrate through the forest floor and their seeds germinated so quickly,” said Snyder. "And now it shifted towards a higher population of these baby beech trees. All less than ten years old."
Dr. Snyder and students see other changes like a wider range of species within the forest.
From something that initially caused so much damage, students can now see the positive in nature's design.
"Our students are able to see that natural disasters can happen and they can be devastating,” said Snyder. “But there's light around the corner because there is this rejuvenation and renewal that naturally occurs."
Also, part of their outdoor laboratory is Lake Elissa, which is on campus. Students study its water quality and the amount of debris that ended up in it. As for those new beech trees, there are hundreds of them, and they're about knee high now. It's an amazing lesson of how nature can renew itself.
