Environmental Science Archives - ��ý��Ƶ

$500K Mellon grant to fund collaboration between ��ý��Ƶ, CMN in Fox-Wolf watershed

Communications — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 21:23:02 +0000

A $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation will allow ��ý��Ƶ faculty and students to explore environmental justice issues in the Fox-Wolf watershed in collaboration with the College of Menominee Nation (CMN).

The three-year grant agreement will facilitate collaborative efforts between ��ý��Ƶ and CMN, including an Indigenous-led residency program, community-engaged courses, faculty exchange and collaboration, and experiential learning opportunities for students, all focused on environmental justice and sustainability issues in a Fox-Wolf watershed that includes the ��ý��Ƶ campus in Appleton and the tribal college 60 miles to the north.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to not only expand our knowledge and teaching about environmental justice issues in our community, but to also work to improve the health of our shared ecology,” said Sigma Colón, assistant professor of environmental studies and ethnic studies at ��ý��Ƶ. “Partnering with the College of Menominee Nation and community to build a mutually beneficial relationship will help us make a lasting impact.”

Colón joined ��ý��Ƶ colleagues Gregory Hitch, assistant professor of environmental studies, and Claire Kervin, assistant professor of English and director of fellowships advising, in leading the development of the project in partnership with Peter Blitstein, ��ý��Ƶ’s provost and dean of faculty, and Jennifer Gauthier, director of the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) at CMN.

The grant comes as ��ý��Ƶ has embraced water as the theme of its revamped First-Year Studies program, has grown its environmental studies curriculum, and has partnered with Indigenous tribes in celebration of Indigenous People’s Day.

Conversations with College of Menominee Nation leaders about greater collaboration began six years ago. In 2022, Hitch joined the ��ý��Ƶ faculty as the Jill Beck NEH Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities, bringing with him over a decade of experience in partnering with the Menominee Nation. Among other courses, Hitch introduced Indigenous Ecology: Ancestral Knowledges and Science in Action, giving ��ý��Ƶ students an avenue to hands-on research and advocacy with Menominee organizations. In Fall 2024, Hitch was named an assistant professor of environmental studies, a tenure-track position, further bolstering ��ý��Ƶ’s curricular focus on environmental humanities.

The Mellon grant now takes that work to another level.

“We are so excited to have this vital work recognized and supported by the Mellon Foundation,” Hitch said. “This grant signifies just the beginning of a strong and reciprocal partnership between the College of Menominee Nation and ��ý��Ƶ as we collaborate on addressing environmental injustices while promoting innovative teaching and public understanding of our shared watershed.”

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Kervin said the grant will fund activities that will cultivate an abiding partnership between ��ý��Ƶ and CMN, centered on the health and interdependence of the Fox and Wolf rivers.

“I am excited about the innovations that the grant will make possible, including collaboration between LU’s environmental studies program and CMN’s Sustainable Development Institute and experiential learning opportunities that allow students to see what humanistic thinking can offer to real communities,” Kervin said.

The work aims to guide new conversations about the history and future of the Fox and Wolf rivers, including ��ý��Ƶ’s place and voice in the watershed. Doing so in partnership with the Menominee improves the likelihood that the work will continue well beyond the three-year window of the grant.

The College of Menominee Nation, chartered by the Menominee people, recently marked its 30-year anniversary. As a 1994 Land Grant institution of higher education, it infuses learning with Indigenous culture and prepares students for leadership, careers, and advanced studies, with a particular emphasis on environmental sustainability.

The authors of the Mellon grant proposal pledged to study and teach about environmental justice issues while also seeking paths to greater sustainability in the region. They point to such environmental issues as settlers clearing forests, uprooting prairies, and damming rivers, all of which produced historical and contemporary environmental injustices that have impacted the Menominee; a proposed sulfide mine that the Menominee are fighting over concerns of its impact on the waterway and Menominee heritage sites; and nonpoint source run-off pollution from roads, farms, and lawns that affect the aquatic food chain and water quality of the Fox-Wolf watershed.

“As we expand our environmental justice research and curriculum at ��ý��Ƶ, I think it’s important to center issues that impact the Menominee Nation,” Colón said. “Indigenous-centered community building, engagement, and knowledge production will help us grow our Indigenous presence on campus and improve the experiences of Indigenous students, faculty, and staff.”

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Deep dive: Marine Term a pathway to amazing careers in marine, freshwater sciences

Communications — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 15:07:57 +0000

This story first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2024 edition of ��ý��Ƶ magazine.

Amanda Dwyer ’13 recalls the adrenaline rush of crossing paths with an octopus as she and other ��ý��Ƶ students dove in the waters of Grand Cayman in the spring of 2012, doing research on coral reefs as part of the long-running . An octopus sighting is rare.

“I’ll never forget how magical it was to observe it camouflaging in real time and beautifully blending in with its surroundings each time it stopped,” Dwyer said.

If she wasn’t convinced a career in marine science was for her before that Marine Term experience, she certainly was by the time her group, led by Professor Bart De Stasio ’82, returned to campus following two weeks of research on the Caribbean island. Dwyer went on to earn a Ph.D. in coral reef ecology at Northeastern University and is now a grants management specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal agency that brings leadership to the development of ocean, fisheries, climate, space, and weather policies and supports cutting-edge research across the sciences.

“The opportunity as an undergrad to spend two weeks dedicated to diving, contributing to long-term marine research, and developing our own experiments led me to realize that this was something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life,” Dwyer said.

A growing list

Dwyer is one of 90 alumni of ��ý��Ƶ’s Marine Term program who are now working in marine or aquatics careers or related fields or are working toward those careers in graduate school programs.

LUMP has provided a hands-on undergraduate experience in marine biology—mostly every other year—since 1978, when the late Sumner Richman launched the program. Students spend time during Marine Term learning about coral reef ecosystems, ecology, and human effects on reef environments before embarking on the two-week research trip to the Caribbean.

Bart De Stasio (right) is retiring after leading Marine Term since 1996. Here he poses with Brian Piasecki and José Encarnación while in Bonaire during Spring Term 2024.

De Stasio, the Dennis and Charlot Nelson Singleton Professor of Biological Sciences and professor of biology, has led these trips since 1996. The most recent excursion, which took 14 students to the western shore of Bonaire during Spring Term 2024, was De Stasio’s last. He is retiring in June and is handing off leadership of the program to Brian Piasecki, associate professor of biology, who has partnered with him on LUMP since 2014.

De Stasio was a student at ��ý��Ƶ in 1980 when he was invited to join a Marine Term trip to Grand Cayman.

“That really set me on the path of going to graduate school for aquatic studies,” he said.

That path would eventually lead back to ��ý��Ƶ, where De Stasio would join the biology faculty and take over leadership of the program following Richman’s retirement.

The program, he said, is centered on the premise that students doing research on coral reefs can apply that experience to a range of aquatic systems. That makes the Marine Term work as relevant in the Midwest as it is in the waters of the Caribbean.

“The challenges are all the same,” De Stasio said. “It doesn’t matter if you are in Green Bay or Lake Baikal or in the Gulf of Finland or in the coral reefs, an animal in an aquatic environment has to worry about getting eaten by something that is bigger than it. So, those food relationships are really what drive it.”

A course on microbiology and studies of local aquatic ecosystems allow students to investigate the similarities and differences between marine and freshwater environments. That approach has helped ��ý��Ƶ alumni seamlessly traverse related fields—Gretchen Gerrish ’98 is director of the University of Wisconsin’s Trout Lake Station, a year-round research operation of the school’s Center for Limnology; Amina Pollard ’95, a limnologist and ecologist, is coordinator of freshwater research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Devin Burri ’14 is a program analyst at NOAA who received a prestigious 2023 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship to combine interests in marine science and environmental policy. The list goes on.

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Whether your focus is ecology, microbiology, marine biology, or genetics, you can look forward to collaborative research and hands-on experiments.

Christopher Acy ’15, an aquatic invasive species coordinator with the nonprofit Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, said the Marine Term experience remains relevant as he continues to build a career in applied biology. His current position is a mix of education and field work focused on preventing and/or removing invasive species from the Fox and Wolf rivers in Wisconsin.

“My job now includes field days where I’m on the waters of northeast Wisconsin documenting invasive species populations and implementing plans to remove invasive species where they become a problem,” he said. “I was given the gift during Marine Term of being able to visualize changes to biodiversity over long periods of time. When finding invasive species in Wisconsin, I can visualize how the landscape might change if no action is taken.”

The players change but the constraints of being in a water system are all the same, De Stasio said.

“I’ve always tried to help my students see those similarities,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are working on a small lake in Wisconsin or working on a coral reef or in the ocean, those basic principles are the same.”

A draw to ��ý��Ƶ

It is not unusual for students or alumni to point to Marine Term as a deciding factor in attending ��ý��Ƶ.

“The uniqueness of going to a small liberal arts college where I could study both music and biology while getting hands-on experience in marine biology is unrivaled,” Acy said. “I’m still in close touch with many of the students in my Marine Term cohort.”

Emma Moya, a junior biology major from Chicago, was one of the 14 ��ý��Ƶ students on the Marine Term trip to Bonaire in the spring. She had come to ��ý��Ƶ in part because of Marine Term. She called the experience “impactful” and said it solidified her plans to pursue marine biology as a career.

“Marine Term made me more motivated than I was before,” Moya said. “It became even more of an obsession of wanting to spend more time in the ocean, wanting to continue research on corals and marine mammals, to pursue outreach while ensuring that communities from all over are involved; that these communities are aware of the power they carry to help our oceans.”

Governed by the Netherlands, Bonaire is one of three islands off the coast of Venezuela called the ABC Islands, with nearby Aruba and Curaçao. This marked the second time Bonaire has been the destination for Marine Term.

The first week in Bonaire was focused on gathering data of fish and coral diversity at seven sites. During the second week, students worked in small groups on research projects of their own design. In a twist, the group was accompanied by the Conservatory of Music’s José Encarnación, associate professor of music and director of jazz studies, who spent the two weeks studying the music of Bonaire and later coordinated a ��ý��Ƶ Jazz Band concert in Memorial Chapel that featured both the music of the island and research testimonials from the Marine Term students.

“We always try to make this trip more holistic,” De Stasio said of the music collaboration. “We want our students to understand how the coral reefs are really a part of the society that’s there.”

Besides Bonaire, LUMP students have studied reefs in the Bahamas, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. Nearly 350 ��ý��Ƶ students have taken part over the past four decades, with De Stasio being at the heart of the program for most of that time.

“One of the things that was nurtured during Marine Term and my classes with Bart was a love for education,” Acy said. “I really enjoy the ‘lightbulb’ moment when I’m working with all sorts of people, from 8-year-olds to 80-year-olds—the understanding of how waterways are impacted by invasive species. Seeing someone go from nonchalance to wanting to take action about invasive species or water issues is immensely gratifying.”

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On Main Hall Green With … Andrew Knudsen: Pursuing a passion for planet Earth

Communications — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 14:30:48 +0000

��ý��Ƶ the series: On Main Hall Green With … is an opportunity to connect with faculty on things in and out of the classroom. We’re featuring a different ��ý��Ƶ faculty member each time — same questions, different answers.

—

Andrew Knudsen, a professor of geosciences at ��ý��Ƶ, is at home in Wisconsin’s Northwoods.

Through the study of rocks—banded iron formations in particular—Knudsen connects with the Earth via his research and teaching. He brings students along—literally—on his academic adventures, often in northern Wisconsin, including annual trips to the Penokee Hills, 50 miles of spectacular ridges, rock formations, and trails that run through Ashland and Iron counties on the southern edge of Lake Superior. The study of the rocks connects students with deep geologic history as well as environmental complications tied to our water, air, and other natural resources.

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Knudsen, whose academic interests include environmental mineralogy and low-temperature geochemistry, has been on the ��ý��Ƶ faculty since 2003. He received a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Idaho.

We caught up with him to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info: What’s one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

I am in constant awe of this incredible planet that we call home. Not only do we reside on, but we are also a fundamental part of Earth. I consider myself incredibly lucky to spend my career striving to better understand Earth and our relationship with it. That I get to share this passion with my students is just awesome.

Getting energized: What work have you done or will you be doing at ��ý��Ƶ that gets you the most excited?

Easy! My study of banded iron formations (BIF) gets me really excited. To start, these are eye-catchingly beautiful rocks with their stripes of steely grays and deep reds. In studying these ancient rocks, I have focused on the stories they tell about the evolution of our atmosphere as oxygen became more prevalent in the air some 2 billion years ago as photosynthetic organisms reshaped our planet. Not only that, but here in Wisconsin, these rocks are preserved as the backbone of the Penokee Hills, remnants of an ancient, massive mountain range that stood as tall as the Alps billions of years ago. To make it even more exciting, these mountains formed as plates collided in an important step in the assembly of our continent. Finally, these rocks, forming a long and tough ridgeline running east-west across northern Wisconsin, impacted the flow of the glaciers more recently (geologically speaking), playing a part in the giant sheets of ice carving out Lake Superior and the landscape of Wisconsin. So, the BIF in Wisconsin connects to the air we breathe, the land below our feet, and the shape of the water in our region. Amazing! I carry a small piece of BIF in my pocket to remind me of the amazing stories the rocks can share with us. Perhaps the best part of all, is that I get to take a group of students up to the Penokee Hills each fall to share these incredible stories with them.

Going places: Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional, or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

Yes! That place is a sandy beach on the shores of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Bad River, sitting with my class by a fire of driftwood collected on the beach, listening to the stories of Mike Wiggins Jr., a tribal elder and leader of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. The Bad River (or Mashkiiziibii-Medicine River, in Ojibwe) has its headwaters in the Penokee Hills, then flows to Lake Superior. My students and I visit with Mike the day after we visit the incredible rocks of the Penokee Hills. Mike’s stories help weave humans into the rich geological and ecological story of this incredible place.

Out of the classroom

This or that: If you weren’t teaching for a living, what would you be doing?

I would probably be spending as much time in my canoe on some lake up north. But I’d still be looking at rocks and talking about geology until my family and my dog couldn’t take it anymore. So, it’s probably best that I get to teach at ��ý��Ƶ!

Right at home: Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what’s your favorite spot on campus?

I really enjoy spending time by the river. The flow of the water is calming and centering for me.

One book, one recording, one film: Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

There are so many incredible books. I am going to go with Gathering Moss by Robin Wall-Kimmerer. It is a simply wonderful book about moss, the beautiful and humble places that moss grows, and also her incredible story of being a scientist, indigenous woman, and a mother. Moss, not unlike rocks, is quite beautiful and amazing, but often overlooked, and it asks that you be willing to get down on your hands and knees with a hand lens to your eye to fully appreciate their beauty. Her writing is truly incredible!

Greg Brown is a singer-songwriter from southern Iowa. I love all his works, but he has a live album, The Live One, that is incredible. This recording captures his humor, story-telling, and incredible poetry. His deep and gravely baritone voice paints images of beautiful yet humble landscapes: a trout stream in the U.P., a small, wooded farm in southern Iowa, or the hills of the Driftless region. His lyrics and storytelling get at what it means to be a human in relation with other humans and the land around us. He sings about his grandmother’s canned goods still having the taste of summer in them, asking her to pass “some more potatoes and a thunderstorm.” I love that imagery.

The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes is a wonderfully campy short film produced by the National Film Board of Canada from 1969. It follows a bearded, flannel-clad traveler as he paddles his wood-canvas canoe through geologic history, comically experiencing the formation of the Great Lakes. What could be more riveting. Add in a delightful square dance tune summarizing the geologic history of the Great Lakes and you have a true classic.

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Student researchers find their voice at national geosciences conference

Communications — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 17:09:44 +0000

Whether it be microbes and their plant hosts or the scientists who study them, science is built on collaboration.

Amber Newman, a senior from Star Prairie, Wisconsin, and Madeline Taylor, a senior from Ames, Iowa, worked together to research and present their findings at the recent American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in Chicago.

Newman, a dual-degree student majoring in environmental science and flute performance, and Taylor, a triple major in English, environmental studies, and geoscience, teamed up to discover more about the microbial environments of certain plants. The two students joined Relena Ribbons, an assistant professor of geosciences, as ��ý��Ƶ Research Fellows (LURF) in the biogeochemistry lab last summer. Their research, Exploring the rhizospheric microbial communities in hydroponically grown leafy greens, focuses on bacteria and fungi that thrive in soil-less ecosystems.

“The purpose of our research is exploratory,” Newman said. “We were looking to find a procedure to successfully isolate DNA from plant roots grown in hydroponic systems since that isn’t something that’s often looked at in science. [Existing research] is mostly soil-based because it’s a lot easier to take a soil sample than to scrape the film off of plant roots.”

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Taylor and Newman concurred that seeing so many people interested in the same topic at the conference was eye-opening as they consider career paths in the sciences. It was an opportunity to network and learn more about the field from the numerous graduate students and post-secondary faculty who attended the conference.

Presenting as researchers was also a huge confidence booster.

“It’s easy to forget we’re scientists,” Taylor said. “Going to AGU helped us realize we are doing science, we are doing experiments, and have been for a very long time. We absolutely have the skills to consider ourselves scientists.”

In addition to the AGU conference, the duo’s research has been presented at a LURF gathering and the Mid-states Research Consortium. Newman and Taylor said the other conferences gave them confidence going into the AGU conference, and Ribbons provided valuable feedback.

“I love the geoscience faculty,” Taylor said. “We’re a smaller department, but they’re very supportive. I’ve interacted with all of them in some way.”

Newman agreed: “They care about seeing you do well, even outside of being a student.”

Ribbons said the students were meticulous in developing and executing their research procedures.

“Madeline and Amber were consistently hard-working students and together we worked on getting these hydroponics set-ups consistently producing microgreens,” Ribbons said.

The research began by repurposing an existing PVC-pipe system, and then growing the project to include other hydroponic set-ups. They tracked the growth of the plants for a number of weeks, and then took DNA samples by scraping the film off the plants’ roots. They performed a process called qPCR, or quantitative polymerase chain reactions, which quantified the number of bacteria and fungi in the samples. The isolated DNA was then sent to UW-Madison, where it is being sequenced to identify the precise species of microbes the plants carry. The next step in their research will be to perform statistical analysis of the results to determine if the microbial composition is significant or simply by chance.

By exploring the microbial makeup of these microgreens, Taylor and Newman are hoping to identify plants with high levels of nitrifying bacteria, which are bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrate for energy.

“Bacteria like that is really beneficial for plant growth,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot of hope that the next big thing in agriculture will be bio-fertilizers, instead of harmful chemical fertilizers.”

Taylor and Newman are hopeful their research will help build a strong foundation of knowledge that will lead to effective and widespread bio-fertilizers.

“The environment and nature have always been at the forefront of my life,” Newman said. “Being able to go to school and study both music and environmental science, which are two of my core values, is really cool.”

Taylor said she initially planned to be an English major. She said , the Walter Schober Professor of Environmental Studies and professor of geosciences and author of Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth; Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World; and Geopedia: A Brief Compendium of Geologic Curiosities, inspired her to explore the sciences.

“I took an environmental science class and realized it wasn’t that I didn’t like science or was bad at science, I just wasn’t experiencing it in the right way,” she said.

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Students join faculty, alums to study microscopic odyssey at northern lake

Communications — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 19:24:49 +0000

��ý��Ƶ biology professor Bart De Stasio ’82, rising senior Reese Lavajo, and rising junior Eleanor Meng have been collaborating this summer with ��ý��Ƶ alumni to research the incredible migration patterns of the microscopic zooplankton species Daphnia at UW-Madison’s Trout Lake Station in northern Wisconsin.

De Stasio, the Singleton Professor of Biology, began this research more than 20 years ago as a postdoc. He revived the project two years ago with ��ý��Ƶ alumna Gretchen Gerrish ‘98, who became director of Trout Lake Station in Vilas County in 2019. Meng and Lavajo are adding to data from last summer’s project.

Another helper is alumnus Bennett McAfee ’21, who assisted De Stasio with his previous research and shares their lab at Trout Lake for his own zooplankton project with Gerrish.

Daphnia eat mostly algae, but all their food is at the surface of lakes where they’re vulnerable to predators like minnows and sunfish that need light to see their food. Daphnia hide in the dark depths during the day or when there is lots of moonlight, but every night they ascend the human equivalent of miles in search of food—a process called diel vertical migration.

“What they use is the amount of light as a cue to come up, but evolutionarily, what they’ve done is they’ve evolved to use light as a cue to avoid predators,” De Stasio said. No predators means no migrations.

A summer research project at Trout Lake in Vilas County included collaborations between, from left, Gretchen Gerrish ’98, Eleanor Meng ’24, Reese Lavajo ’23, Bart De Stasio ’82, and Bennett McAfee ’21.

“There’s a lot of research on the migration patterns that Daphnia do…but there aren’t a lot of studies done on what sizes of Daphnia are at what depth,” Meng said.

Size affects their visibility to predators, and that became a focus of their research project.

Along with studying Daphnia sizes, the project has a side objective, which is where Gerrish comes in. A specialist in underwater videography (it got her featured in David Attenborough’s 2016 documentary, Life That Glows), she and the team are testing new recording technologies that could revolutionize zooplankton research.

“She’s awesome,” Lavajo said. “She’s very fun to work with, she’s got a great personality and is always willing to help you in whatever you need, and she does a lot on station being both the field station director and working on projects with us.”

These connections with alumni and other scientists are one of Meng and Lavajo’s favorite parts of working at the station. Speaking with graduate students around the station or at seminars allows them to learn what their own experiences as graduates might be like.

“There’s a really good community on station, which is really nice,” Meng said. “A lot of people will hang out in cabins, or we have something called Pizza Sundays where one of the grad students will make everyone homemade pizza.”

They also love the natural beauty and lack of light pollution. Originally from Denver, this was Meng’s first time hearing the classic loon calls of the Northwoods.

“You’re just fully out in nature, basically, and surrounded by woods…someone out here saw the northern lights last night,” Meng said.

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Trout Lake Station is state and University of Wisconsin-funded. It’s located at the 3,800-acre Trout Lake in far northern Wisconsin, about 180 miles north and west of Appleton. Meng and De Stasio said with Gerrish in charge, they’re hoping the station’s ties with ��ý��Ƶ grow even stronger in the future.

“I know Reese and I now have connections up here that’ll last for a long time, both with the permanent staff like Gretchen and with the other interns who are up here…they might even have professors with other connections for you,” Meng said.

“All very intertwined”

��ý��Ƶ’s involvement at Trout Lake began with De Stasio’s predecessor, Sumner Richman, who took his students there every fall. De Stasio continues this tradition. He said it’s important to research how climate change and human development affect food webs.

De Stasio said artificial lights from development around water might confuse zooplankton and keep them from migrating for food. Daphnia not eating algae means too little food for their predators and too much algae, which inhibits a lake’s oxygen supply and changes the entire ecosystem.

“It’s a beast of a project to try and look at a whole ecosystem, but I think of it like I’m one gear in the clockwork that’s helping us understand large-scale issues in how we, as humans, and also other animals, affect each other, and so we’re all very intertwined,” Lavajo said.

Lavajo and Meng’s paths intertwined thanks to their interest in Marine Term. They took De Stasio’s prerequisite Aquatic Ecology course and went on the Marine Term trip to Bonaire together. Aquatic Ecology introduced them to Daphnia and inspired them to apply for this experience as well.

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Originally from the Chicago area, Lavajo said they’ve always had an interest in biology and made it their major, with a focus on aquatic sciences and an environmental studies minor. They want to go into environmental consulting.

Meng applied because she was interested in working with De Stasio further and increasing her camera skills after her Marine Term trip to Bonaire. She also came to love Daphnia after Aquatic Ecology.

“They take in food with their little legs…they’re just very cute,” Meng said.

Read about Meng and Lavajo’s Marine Term trip to Bonaire

The experience has been highly educational for both students. Meng said she learned how to drive a boat, improve her microscope skills, collect samples, get into a research mode, self-pace, build confidence to lead her own projects and experiments, and approach new people about her ideas. Lavajo said they learned a lot about life in temporary ponds and ecological domino effects like Daphnia not eating algae. Videography was new for both.

“It’s been a rocky ride, especially with the pandemic…but going back on campus this past year— my junior year—was really fun and I was a lot more involved…I think my experiences at ��ý��Ƶ have shaped me pretty well,” said Lavajo.

The Lawrentians are also sharing their light of knowledge with others: Trout Lake held an open house where the public—many of whom Lavajo said were from Appleton—could visit, look under microscopes, and hear about the research.

Lavajo said another team studying wild rice is working with a local Indigenous community. They said they liked how this interaction helps bring Indigenous perspectives into science.

“It’s really heartwarming to see people connect together, even though we’re in different places,” they said.

The experience is ending, but De Stasio plans on continue the project. His sabbatical this fall will involve working with colleagues at Cornell University on advanced analysis technologies. The ultimate goal is a fully-automated system for this type of research. Meng and Lavajo’s data will help train the technology.

“We’ll have some publications coming out about this—one certainly on the technique side of it, one on the modeling side of it, and another one hopefully on the differences among the lakes that we’re going to be sampling,” De Stasio said.

Students interested in Trout Lake or other summer research opportunities can browse ��ý��Ƶ’s Student Research page. Meng and Lavajo said the online application was simple, but they had to be proficient at identifying zooplankton for this experience.

“Take advantage of how small ��ý��Ƶ is,” Lavajo said. “You’re able to form closer relationships with your instructors and other staff members, and see what might interest you. Don’t be afraid to dip your toes into different fields as well.”

Meng and Lavajo said talking directly with instructors about the experiences was helpful as well. Meng said students interested in aquatic biology like her and Lavajo should contact De Stasio, as he knows the most about aquatics at ��ý��Ƶ and would be happy to discuss it with others.

“There are quite a few grad students who need workers during the summer,” Meng said.

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Bjornerud’s ‘Geopedia’ offers another path to understanding our perilous planet

Communications — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 18:08:57 +0000

A new book from ��ý��Ƶ geology professor Marcia Bjornerud provides another avenue into understanding the important complexities of the natural world.

Geopedia: A Brief Compendium of Geologic Curiosities, the latest in Princeton University Press’ series of pedias, is a celebration of the fascinating vocabulary—and backstories—in the geosciences.

Coming at a time when climate change crises are heightening the urgency in understanding the earth, Geopedia adds to an impressive volume of work from Bjornerud that makes her a sought-after voice in geology, tectonics, and related areas of study. It doesn’t come with the scope or weight of her critically lauded 2019 book, , also from Princeton University Press, but it offers yet another opportunity for readers to better understand the planet—its history and its future.

With a mix of wit and insight, the book delves into interesting and evocative geologic terms used to describe everything from rock formations to the study of geologic time. With each entry, Bjornerud weaves an essay that is both fun and informative, creating a travel companion of sorts for anyone wanting to explore the planet. Princeton University Press describes its pocket-sized Pedia Series as “encyclopedic in nature and miniature in form.”

A frequent contributing writer to The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, and other publications and a popular guest on podcasts, Bjornerud began writing Geopedia during the first year of the Covid pandemic. It was a bit of an escape at a time when everything had gone remote, she said, and it was another chance to make the geosciences more accessible.

“I’m a collector of words and have always been interested in etymologies—interesting words with interesting stories behind them that collectively could tell a bigger story,” Bjornerud said. “You can either treat it as a chocolate box where you open it randomly and pick out one and take a bite; or if you do actually read the whole book, and it doesn’t have to be read in any order, I think you’ll come away with some sense of the intellectual experience of the geosciences. And a fair amount of geology, too.”

“The geosciences had and still has this musty old reputation, and as a consequence almost nobody who lives on Earth knows anything about the way the planet works.”
– Marcia Bjornerud

Bjornerud, the Walter Schober Professor of Environmental Studies and professor of geology, has been teaching at ��ý��Ƶ since 1995. Her 2005 book, Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth, and 2019’s Timefulness drew wide praise. Timefulness, which puts a fresh focus on the relationship between humans and natural history, was named to the 2019 Phi Beta Kappa Awards Short List and was selected as a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Science and Technology.

Bjornerud, who said she frequently hears from colleagues at other institutions who use her books in their teaching, is the founding director of ��ý��Ƶ’s degree-granting program in environmental studies and played a key role in the creation of the environmental science major.

She said she’s buoyed by the growing number of people interested in a deeper understanding of natural history and what it can tell us about the perilous days ahead. Feedback from her books and her essays tell her there’s a hunger for that, even as many of the world’s leaders fail to respond to the urgency. Her writing has earned her frequent invitations over the past three years to be a guest on podcasts that typically don’t focus on science—everything from psychology to history to philosophy.

“I’m writing because I think we urgently need a re-conception of our relationship with the natural world,” Bjornerud said.

There was a time in the early to mid-19th century when the geosciences were revered. But that fell off for more than a century, and while physics and chemistry ascended, geology and related studies took a back seat, often viewed as less rigorous and unworthy of intellectual investment, Bjornerud said. That has been particularly damaging at the high school level. It’s changing now amid the growing climate crises, but the damage has been done.

“The geosciences had and still has this musty old reputation, and as a consequence almost nobody who lives on Earth knows anything about the way the planet works,” Bjornerud said. “It’s not in high school curricula in any rigorous way, and that sends a strong message to smart students that, oh, this is not a sophisticated science, it doesn’t require rigor or understanding. The consequences of that are being seen in crises all around us. We are just rampantly illiterate.”

Explore the geosciences at ��ý��Ƶ

Get to know Earth past, present, and future with the multidisciplinary study of geosciences.

Bjornerud hopes her writing, including the newly released Geopedia, and her teaching can play a role in improving that literacy. Like many of the students she sees today, she came to college with little understanding of what natural history can teach us. An intro geoscience class at the University of Minnesota lit a fire and started her on her path.

“These are not new insights, but delving into some of this vocabulary, I am reminded of how geology got this wonderful early start when people first realized how old the earth was and began to codify how to decipher the rock record,” she said. “And then for a variety of reasons, the discipline just kind of stumbled and got stuck.”

But she sees a heightened passion in ��ý��Ƶ students who are studying geosciences, environmental studies, environmental science. Her writing, including in Geopedia, reflects that.

“Climate change motivates my own work—trying to unshackle the geosciences from this reputation,” Bjornerud said. “The geosciences are now in a new golden age. I try to convey that in this little book.”

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��ý��Ƶ research, led by Israel Del Toro, gives No Mow May a moment in the sun

Communications — Fri, 06 May 2022 15:18:08 +0000

Israel Del Toro stands in front of one of the bee houses on the ��ý��Ƶ campus. (Photo by Danny Damiani)

As the days slide by in May and the grass grows above his shoe tops, Israel Del Toro is all smiles.

In between fielding calls from the New York Times, National Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, The Post-Crescent, and countless other media outlets across the country, the assistant professor of biology at ��ý��Ƶ finds himself thinking back to that day nearly four years ago when he first approached a member of Appleton’s Common Council with a wild idea—what if we make Appleton ground zero for a No Mow May experiment?

The idea, based on a bee conservation initiative first tried in England, called for Appleton homeowners to voluntarily leave their lawnmowers in the garage through the month of May, allowing the grass and weeds of spring to grow long, becoming a haven for bees and other pollinators.

The initial reaction from the alderperson?

“He thought it was crazy,” Del Toro said. “He thought it would drive people insane, and he wasn’t wrong.”

But the alderperson initially bought in, and Del Toro’s efforts to push the idea through city hall began.

“There was a lot of initial hesitance,” Del Toro said, “a lot of push back, people saying, ‘You know, this doesn’t seem like something we want to do. It’s going to make the city look trashy, it’s going to fill our city with pests and rodents and all sorts of vermin.’ We said, ‘Well, there’s only one way to find out; let’s just do the experiment.’”

“The no-mow component is great. But we’re also trying to use this platform to educate people about other pollinator-friendly practices.”
– Israel Del Toro, assistant professor of biology

The council agreed—eventually—and No Mow May was launched in Appleton in May 2020, with about 450 brave homeowners signing up.

Del Toro, along with Assistant Professor of Geosciences Relena Ribbons and a half dozen ��ý��Ƶ students working in his lab, studied it along the way, gathering and processing data on bee and other pollinator activity in those yards.

“We found there were no apocalyptic consequences,” Del Toro said. “The city did not implode; we were not overrun with rats and vermin. Then it was, OK, cool, we now had a measurable effect on pollinators. Let’s keep going with it.”

By the second year, 2,500 homeowners in 10 Wisconsin communities signed up, and Del Toro’s data was producing tangible results.

“What we’re finding is that No Mow May lawns compared to mowed lawns actually not only increased pollinator abundance but increased overall insect abundance as much as ten-fold,” Del Toro said. “What we’re seeing there is that the base—the food web base—is growing. Yes, it might be a little scary to say all these insects are coming back, but that’s actually a really good thing. Insects form the base for feeding birds, for example. Or doing other pollinating tasks. It’s not just bees that pollinate, but also flies, beetles, wasps. Those guys also are pollinators and they’re coming back with No Mow May.”

That’s a message that’s resonating. Appleton now has upwards of 900 homeowners signed up in year 3, and the number nationwide is nearing 5,000 as interest spreads. Del Toro believes more than 35 communities across the country—mostly in the Midwest—have now waived ordinances for May that require homeowners to keep their lawns under 8 inches in length.

That has made Del Toro, Ribbons, and the students in ��ý��Ƶ’s pollinator lab very busy this spring. Del Toro has fielded media calls from all over the country, with No Mow May being prominently featured on NPR, in the New York Times, Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Sierra magazine, and on the blog authored by longtime television news icon Dan Rather, among others.

Pollinator research is but one research opportunity in ��ý��Ƶ’s Biology Department.

“It’s exciting but it’s also nerve-wracking, trying to make sure everybody is following the same protocols,” Del Toro said. “The no-mow component is great. But we’re also trying to use this platform to educate people about other pollinator-friendly practices.”

Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford ’13, an assistant to the president at ��ý��Ƶ before being elected mayor in 2020, told NPR the city has taken pride in being at the center of the pollinator-friendly movement. The Common Council recently took the No Mow May initiative—suspending enforcement of the 8-inch-height ordinance during May—from a trial basis in 2020 and 2021 to a permanent fixture going forward.

“It has not been without its hiccups or its frustrations from some community members,” Woodford told NPR. “But by and large, there’s just been incredible support for the effort, a lot of buy-in, a lot of participation.”

On the ��ý��Ƶ campus, grass is being allowed to grow long during May in areas in which events are not being held. That includes the Memorial Hall hill just north of the SLUG garden, the wooded area near Alexander Gym and the grassy area near the track. Elsewhere on campus there are multiple bee houses in place, and there’s an active apiary managed by Del Toro and his students. ��ý��Ƶ is recognized as a bee-friendly campus by Bee City USA, an initiative of Xerces Society.

A learning opportunity

The research taking place is giving ��ý��Ƶ students real-time opportunities to study pollinator activity and crunch data.

“We really went into this with no expectations,” said Del Toro, a member of the biology faculty since 2016. “We just let the data speak for itself. And that was my goal as a data scientist. Run an experiment and let the data tell the story. And so far, the story is pretty positive for pollinators and pollinator conservation.”

The students in the lab—three seniors and four first-years or sophomores—are doing outreach with participating homeowners and collecting data. Some are also using No Mow May to do individual research projects.

“It provides a very practical hands-on activity for students to actually go out there and measure ecological diversity and get involved in active research,” Del Toro said. “It’s very real data, a real ecological experiment that has become available to students.”

That data has shown, among other things, that No Mow May lawns had five times the number of bees and three times the bee species than neighboring lawns that were mowed during May. It’s a lifeline for pollinators.

Dylan McMurray, a senior neuroscience major from Chicago, has been part of Del Toro’s lab for two years. The data collection, he said, has been fascinating.

“The ugly truth we need to come to is, bees are dying in our world and we need to do more to save them,” he said.

McMurray was able to incorporate the No Mow May research into his senior capstone and honors thesis.

“Even as a neuroscience major, I was able to take this massive project and make it something of my own,” he said.

“Majoring in biology has always been a goal of mine, but little did I know it would help me find my passion in botany and entomology.”
– Bella Goland, a sophomore doing research as part of ��ý��Ƶ’s pollinator lab

Bella Goland, a sophomore biology student from Winneconne, is among the group of younger ��ý��Ƶ students stepping up to move the bee research forward. She’ll work this summer as the apiary director, leading efforts to keep a handful of hives on and off campus thriving.

“Yes, this means I get to put on a bee suit and do all the heavy lifting and keep track of the hives’ health,” she said.

She’ll also be working on a physiology project in the lab, doing thermotolerance testing on honeybees, and collecting data from citizen participants in No Mow May.

“Majoring in biology has always been a goal of mine,” Goland said, “but little did I know it would help me find my passion in botany and entomology. This work is something I am very excited to be doing and something I see myself expanding on in the future. The importance of bees as part of our ecosystem is crucial to human existence; if the bees go extinct, so do we.”

Growth in bee research

The bee research being led by Del Toro has expanded into other areas, some of it tied to climate change. In the fall of 2021, he received a six-figure national grant to supersize research in his lab, investigating the varied reasons that bees are good pollinators. He and his team are collaborating with colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, using microtomography (microCT) technology to take a closer look at the inner workings of bees.

It all rolls into research that supports Del Toro’s ongoing advocacy of pollinator health. That includes No Mow May, which is having a moment in the sun this spring.

“Appleton’s No Mow May initiative had a clear purpose: to save the bees—and not just honeybees (which are European imports), but also native bees, such as bumble bees, mining bees and sweat bees,” The New York Times wrote. “Bees are facing catastrophic declines. In North America, nearly one in four native bee species is imperiled, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, partly because of habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change and urbanization.”

Del Toro spent so much time advocating for No Mow May in Appleton’s city hall the past few years, he began thinking of other ways he could be involved in the community. That led him to run for an open seat on the Common Council earlier this year. He was elected to the District 4 seat in April, his first foray into public office.

That, too, makes him smile as he thinks back to that initial conversation when he first pitched No Mow May. “I figured I’m already doing this work, I may as well jump in with both feet,” he said.

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Work with economics faculty leads 2021 grad to EPA-funded research program

Communications — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 14:58:41 +0000

It was in an environmental economics class at ��ý��Ƶ that Doan Thu Thuy Nguyen ’21 realized her interest in economics and her passion for the environment could co-exist.

The experience in that class, taught by David Gerard, the John R. Kimberly Distinguished Professor in the American Economic System and an associate professor of economics, led Nguyen to two summers at ��ý��Ƶ spent on environment-related research tied to her home country of Vietnam. And that work has now led the economics and mathematics double major to her next academic adventure—acceptance into Carnegie Mellon University in the doctorate program in Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) as a graduate research assistant. She will join a group of Carnegie Mellon researchers this fall.

Reflecting on her undergraduate experience, Nguyen said her time at ��ý��Ƶ could not have had a more positive or fruitful impact on her academic interests, pointing to her collaborations with Gerard and other economics faculty as key to getting into the Carnegie Mellon research program.

Find more on ��ý��Ƶ’s economics program here

The Carnegie Mellon team, led by Nicholas Z. Muller, the Lester and Judith Lave Professor of Economics, Engineering and Public Policy, secured an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to fund the research, which will explore environmental impacts of certain manufacturing processes. Among other things, the funding provides for financial assistantships for graduate students. For Nguyen, this means that she will be given full tuition and a stipend for the initial academic year.

Although a little nervous, Nguyen said she is ready to begin. She’s excited to work with Muller and his team in part because she’s read academic papers of his and admires his work. She’ll also be working with people from different STEM fields and expects to be challenged.

“I expect it to be very intense but I also like that environment,” Nguyen said.

However, making the decision to apply to the Carnegie Mellon Ph.D. program in EPP was not an easy one, Nguyen said. She had offers from numerous economic Ph.D. programs and was hesitant at first to consider Carnegie Mellon because it was the only program that she applied to that was not solely focused in economics. She explained that what drew her in at the end was that the EPP program is exceptionally strong in areas regarding energy and environment, which are her main interests surrounding economics.

“It was clear that it was such a great place to be and I’ll be working with a lot of people who are really pioneering areas in research,” Nguyen said.

When asked how she found her passion for environmental economics and energy, she explained that it was initially through taking the environmental economics class with Gerard. Nguyen has since worked closely with Gerard and associate professor of economics Jonathan Lhost. They and other faculty have helped facilitate and augment her academic interests, she said.

She spent two summers at ��ý��Ƶ conducting research—one summer focusing on the cost of decarbonizing Vietnam and the other on the air quality and public health in Vietnam. Both professors recommended that she apply to present her research at professional academic conferences and helped her to prepare and practice for her presentation.

“This is just one example of how professors at ��ý��Ƶ go above and beyond for their students,” Nguyen said. “My professors really didn’t have to do any of those things, but they did because they care.”

Gerard also encouraged her to consider the EPP program at Carnegie Mellon and wrote her a letter of recommendation. He saw Carnegie Mellon as a great fit for her in part because of his own experiences there; he was on the faculty for eight years prior to coming to ��ý��Ƶ in 2009, serving as executive director of the Center for the Study & Improvement of Regulation. He continues to serve as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

Although he knows it was a tough decision for Nguyen, he doesn’t doubt she’ll exceed expectations.

“She was certainly an extraordinary student,” Gerard said.

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New internship program puts focus on hard work of social, environmental justice

Communications — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 03:52:40 +0000

Adya Kadambari ’23 processes the slow movement on social justice issues she’s championing this summer and chooses to channel her frustration into more work. Always more work.

The ��ý��Ƶ government major from Bangalore, India, has found her summer internship with Bay Bridge, a Whitefish Bay-based nonprofit working to address systematic racism in the community, to be eye-opening in the sheer weight of the challenge.

“I have learned that being part of Bay Bridge means continuing to try—even if it goes unnoticed—because that is the point of being a racial justice organization,” she said.

Kadambari is one of 12 ��ý��Ƶ students who are setting the foundation for the Social & Environmental Justice Cohort program, a new summer internship initiative at ��ý��Ƶ, one that is unlike any the school has launched in the past. It’s focused on social and environmental justice issues and has been developed as a shared experience across multiple nonprofit organizations doing work in a particular geographic area.

In this case, the area is the City of Milwaukee and its suburbs. The students, working across nine organizations, meet weekly as a cohort, their discussions facilitated by Jason Brozek, the Stephen Edward Scarff Professor of International Affairs and associate professor of government, to share and reflect on their experiences—successes, failures, frustrations, and everything in between.

Jason Brozek meets with Naomi Torres ’22 and Fernando Ismael Delgado ’22, both of whom are working internships this summer with the Center for Urban Teaching in Milwaukee. Brozek meets weekly with the full Social and Environmental Justice Cohort via Zoom.

“The idea is to really be explicit and deliberate about the reflection piece of this,” Brozek said of the cohort structure built into the internship program. “One of the things I’ve learned is how important it is to not just hope students will reflect on their experience but to specifically and deliberately guide them through that process and give them space to do it, prompt them to do it.”

This is work that is often emotional and potentially life-changing. Being able to talk about it, process it, hear others’ experiences, can be educational and therapeutic at the same time.

“That process of reflection, I think that’s where the real impact and transformation of these experiences comes from,” Brozek said.

To date, more than $350,000 has been raised to support the Social & Environmental Justice Cohort program, with a goal of $1 million to grow it into an ongoing staple of the ��ý��Ƶ summer.

The program came together quickly after an anonymous donor, moved by the activism that followed the murder of George Floyd, sought to fund internships that would aid community organizations, give students an avenue into social and environmental justice work, and allow those students to share their experiences with one another in a collaborative learning environment.

The program provides a stipend for the students, who are working for nonprofits that in many cases couldn’t otherwise afford interns.

“For me, that’s a really critical part of the program because it means these experiences are more accessible and equitable, and available to a wider range of students,” Brozek said.

Kenneth Penaherrera ’24 is working an internship this summer at a youth crisis center through Pathfinders in Milwaukee.

Mandy Netzel, assistant director of career services in ��ý��Ƶ’s Career Center, went to work connecting with nonprofits in the Milwaukee region to set the scope of the internship program. Meanwhile, Cassie Curry, director of major and planned giving for ��ý��Ƶ, set out to raise the monies needed to financially support the program as an annual endeavor.

Brozek came on board as the faculty advisor. He’s meeting weekly with the students via Zoom, a nod to the barriers still being posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hope is that those meetings will be in person by next summer, as will all of the internships.

It all came together in a matter of a few months. The early momentum suggests this is a program that will continue to thrive, perhaps growing in the number of participating students and organizations, possibly expanding at some point to other regions.

“We really have a chance to not just make it a great experience for the 12 students who are doing it this summer but to really build something that is distinctive for ��ý��Ƶ and to keep it going,” Brozek said.

Some of the students are doing social media and communications work for their organizations. Others are working with young people or families in schools or shelters. All of the organizations are located in the Milwaukee metro area with the exception of Pillars, of Appleton. The list includes Pathfinders, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, a Milwaukee aldermanic office, Bay Bridge, Legal Action Wisconsin, Center for Urban Teaching, Blue Lotus, and Walker’s Point.

“Spending time doing this justice work can be really draining,” Brozek said. “How do you make this kind of work sustainable? Not just sustainable for the organization, but personally as well? We’re talking about that and they’re learning from each other, and really supporting each other and being impressed with each other. I’ve really loved that part of it.”

For Ben DePasquale ’22, joining the team at Milwaukee Riverkeeper gave him a chance to gain valuable experience in environmental advocacy and politics. He’s working on website content, social media, surveys, and focus group questions alongside the organization’s communications manager. He’s learning about reader engagement, targeting particular audiences, and the power of clarity.

“Politics is local, yet the greatest environmental threat of our lifetime, climate change, is global,” DePasquale said. “I wanted to be part of this organization because I saw an opportunity to craft narratives around environmental issues that might appeal to people who may not always see the bigger picture.”

Ben DePasquale ’22 is working on environmentally focused social media campaigns as part of an internship with Milwaukee Riverkeeper.

Netzel said the response from partner organizations—some with alumni connections—and students has been “overwhelmingly positive” in the pilot year.

“The pace at which we were able to pull it all together indicates a need and desire in the community for social and environmental justice work, and Lawrentians are interested and ready to rise in serving that need,” she said.

Sarah Gettel ’14, one of the leaders of Bay Bridge, said the fit has been ideal, with two ��ý��Ƶ students, Kadambari and Sierra Johnson ’22, doing important advocacy work.

“Right from the start, Adya and Sierra jumped into the storm of moving projects and pieces,” Gettel said. “They asked excellent questions, raised ideas, and brought their creativity and intentionality to every project. Their support has been an incredible help to us at Bay Bridge and has helped us to build our supportive infrastructure to invite more people in our community into this work, from designing a volunteer orientation, to creating eye-catching event posters, to extending our social media reach, to facilitating a book discussion, to helping us work on a communications strategy to help connect systemic justice and equity to people’s values and lived experiences.”

Curry said a gift from a second donor that followed the initial gift has put ��ý��Ƶ in position to fund the program for at least the next five years, providing time to secure financial support that will hopefully feed an endowment that’ll make the program ongoing.

“The donors want to ensure that ��ý��Ƶ students can share what they are learning for the betterment of society, while at the same time growing and learning themselves through the process,” Curry said. “That was part of their motivation for a cohort model and faculty involvement.”

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Environmental Science Archives - �������ý��Ƶ

$500K Mellon grant to fund collaboration between �������ý��Ƶ, CMN in Fox-Wolf watershed