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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Informing Sustainable Urban Forestry Policy With Carbon Sequestration Analysis, Ellen Danford
Informing Sustainable Urban Forestry Policy With Carbon Sequestration Analysis, Ellen Danford
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Urban forestry is an environmental solution for an increasingly city-centered world. The ecosystem services that trees provide in natural settings, including carbon sequestration, oxygen production and aesthetic beauty, also apply in urban settings. Every tree in the Western Kentucky University (WKU) urban forest provides these services and each tree was measured to determine how much carbon they sequestered a year on average between 2015 and 2020. With an interactive map of the forest and its carbon sequestration, the condition of the forest and change over the five year period was analyzed. Comparing the welfare of the forest with the plans …
Enhancing Wku Sustainable Food Systems Through Education And Local Agriculture Development, Chloe Cooper
Enhancing Wku Sustainable Food Systems Through Education And Local Agriculture Development, Chloe Cooper
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
In an effort to increase the amount of locally sourced food utilized by dining services at WKU, the Office of Sustainability, WKU Restaurant Group, and the WKU Agriculture & Research Education Center have partnered to establish garden spaces on campus properties. This project developed a detailed plan for implementation of this effort. In addition, this project established a plan to educate students and the local community alike on the benefits of sustainable farming and locally-sourced food, while also creating profiles on local farmers from whom the university could buy crops in order to further supplement items for dining services. Using …
Analysis Of Permaculture’S Water Conservation And Crop Supporting Abilities, Hannah Chaney
Analysis Of Permaculture’S Water Conservation And Crop Supporting Abilities, Hannah Chaney
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
In the Middle East, virtually all agriculturally viable land is under high threat of desertification due to poor land and resource management and climate change. Mulching using straw flakes (straw mulch permaculture) is a method commonly used in successful dry land permaculture projects in the Middle East. We proposed that straw mulch permaculture would increase the amount of soil moisture during dry periods and that this method would not impact the growth and survival of the crop. In order to test this hypothesis, we took soil samples from plots with and without straw mulch permaculture in Bowling Green, KY and …
Transforming The Wku Office Of Sustainability's Front Yard Into An Edible Landscape, Alexandra Hezik
Transforming The Wku Office Of Sustainability's Front Yard Into An Edible Landscape, Alexandra Hezik
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Since moving to 503 Regents Avenue in Fall 2013, the WKU Office of Sustainability has served as a sustainable best practices demonstration home for the WKU and Bowling Green communities. Not only does the house in which the Office of Sustainability is located serve as an educational tool for people, but also the landscape. In May 2014, the WKU Community Garden was established in the backyard. The transformation of the Office of Sustainability’s front lawn into an edible landscape began on April 1, 2015. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate an alternative to conventional lawns.
We Can Grow It: Reporting On Women In Agriculture In India, Belize And The U.S., Colleen Stewart
We Can Grow It: Reporting On Women In Agriculture In India, Belize And The U.S., Colleen Stewart
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Women produce more than half of the world’s food, according to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. This aligns with the Chinese proverb– “Women Hold up Half the Sky.” As the role of women in agriculture increases in the developed and developing world, female economic activity in agriculture serves as a beacon for poverty reduction, increased food security, and environmental sustainability. In the United States, there has been a 30-percent increase in the number of female-run farms in the U.S. since 2002 and women, now the largest “minority” group in agriculture in the U.S., operate approximately 300,000 farms throughout the …