Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Systems Of Meaning In Place Attachment, Emily Routman

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

Numerous scholars agree that contact with natural landscapes has benefits for the landscape and the person experiencing them, including increased environmentally-responsible behaviors as well as psychological, cognitive, physiological, and social benefits. People develop a sense of place in outdoor landscapes while experiencing the physical environment, and sense of place is strengthened by place attachment – one’s emotional ties to a place. According to Williams and Patterson (1999), place attachment is perceived through four systems of meaning: 1) aesthetic/inherent, 2) goal-directed/instrumental, 3) cultural/symbolic, and 4) individual/expressive. The present study sought to understand which of these four systems of meaning are the …

Tree Removal Analysis Of The 2018-2019 Gambles Mill Eco-Corridor Restoration, Zach Harrell

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Trees have been extensively researched, and it has been concluded that they are useful not only useful tools in enhancing biofiltration, as well as managing stormwater and retaining sediment, but they also benefit the health of the ecosystem as a whole. But as the University of Richmond’s Gambles Mill Eco-corridor was restored between 2018 and 2019 in order limit to the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, and other sediment flowing into the Little Westham Creek; many of the trees that combat these problems were removed. The following research intends to analyze the number of trees actually removed throughout the restoration, as …

Stream Restoration As A Method Of Improving Local Water Quality, Emily George

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Projects of stream restoration are a known Best Management Practice (BMP) to approach stormwater management, and have been adopted globally as a means of improving local hydrology. Urbanization has led to an increase in impervious surfaces, resulting in deteriorated streams, many of which are subject to stream restoration. Stormwater control measures (SCM), such as stream restoration, are considered to be a subset of green infrastructure as a method to reconnect streams with surrounding riparian areas, revitalize original hydrology, and support the local ecosystems. This paper looks into the viability of stream restoration as a way of improving water quality, focusing …

Cost Benefit Analysis And Beyond: Stream Restoration In Richmond, Virginia, Claire Powell

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

This research assessed the costs and benefits of six recent stream restoration projects in Richmond, Virginia within the context of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (CB TMDL) pollutant reduction requirements. In order to meet these requirements, state and local governments promoted stream restoration as an important way to reduce Bay-wide inputs of nitrogen, phosphorus, and total suspended solids. The overall intention of this paper was to holistically evaluate the risks and positive impacts associated with stream restoration, with a focus on Little Westham Creek, a stream restoration project located on the University of Richmond campus. I hypothesized that …

Step Pools: Examining The Flow Resistance And Stability Of Artificial Step Pools In Comparison With Their Natural Counterparts, Quinn Kirkpatrick

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

This study looked at step pool stream studies, reports, and field data in five catchment areas. The areas of interest include the Rio Cordon catchment area in Italy, the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington, the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon, various areas in California, the University of Richmond in Virginia, and the Arkansas River Basin in Colorado. The purpose of this study was to compare the flow resistance and stability after large flooding events of artificial and natural step pool sequences to potentially provide information to improve monitoring of newly installed step pools and the design of future step pool …

Exploring Options For Mussel Restoration, Henry Hurt

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

This paper seeks to explore the feasibility and possible procedures of restoring freshwater mussels to the Little Westham Creek (LWC) as a way to reduce excess organic pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus coming from upstream. To this end, the use of mussels in bioremediation and restoration procedures found in scientific literature were reviewed with the goal of creating a guideline of how such a project would be carried out at the Gambles Mill Eco- Corridor. Based on the results of past literature, water data collected by students in this seminar, and data from RES, it was estimated that a …

Spider's Guide To Sustainable Living, Office For Sustainability

Guides

Thank you for checking out this guide to caring for our future and ourselves. We're glad you did, because we need you. From the climate emergency to emerging health crises to social unrest, the need for change is all around us. The UR Sustainability Plan envisions "a future where sustainability is woven into the fabric of the University" in which we cultivate a culture of caring for people and the natural world. Consider this your invitation to join the movement to make this vision a reality.

Throughout the Spiders Guide to Sustainable Living, we will point out actions you can …

Assessing Inequitable Urban Heat Islands And Air Pollution Disparities With Low-Cost Sensors In Richmond, Virginia, Andre M. Eanes, Todd R. Lookingbill, Jeremy S. Hoffman, Kelly C. Saverino, Stephen S. Fong

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Air pollution and the urban heat island effect are consistently linked to numerous respiratory and heat-related illnesses. Additionally, these stressors disproportionately impact low-income and historically marginalized communities due to their proximity to emissions sources, lack of access to green space, and exposure to other adverse environmental conditions. Here, we use relatively low-cost stationary sensors to analyze PM_2.5 and temperature data throughout the city of Richmond, Virginia, on the ten hottest days of 2019. For both hourly means within the ten hottest days of 2019 and daily means for the entire record for the year, the temperature was found to …

Landscapes Of War Permanently Altered Topography Is One Of The Casualties Of War, But Battlefields Can Also Be Of "Collateral Value", Todd R. Lookingbill, Peter D. Smallwood

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

But the rationale for creating battlefield parks has changed over the past 100 years, as have attitudes about battlefield conservation with a related emphasis on the physical landscapes themselves, leading to their management for multiple, layered assets through principles of constructive conservation. Existing battlefield parks provide perhaps the longest-standing examples of the evolution of landscapes of war toward generators of multiple ecosystem benefits. Moving from battlefield parks that, in some cases, have not seen warfare for hundreds of years, we examined landscapes of more recent conflict and considered the future collateral values that could be attained by establishing parks at …