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Working Trees For Communities

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

Today, communities are challenged with accommodating new growth while maintaining the integrity of existing neighbor-hoods. Accommodating health, safety, transportation, quality of life, economics, environmental quality and infrastructure development can often lead to land use conflicts. Compromises are often needed to achieve a workable plan.

Today, community residents, businesses, rural landowners and local leaders must look beyond their own backyards. What is done by one resident or business can affect the community and the watershed. The cumulative effects of many individual actions can have significant impact on the overall landscape.

Working Trees for Communities are proven agroforestry technologies that are being …

Health Equity Resource Toolkit For State Practitioners Addressing Obesity Disparities

United States Public Health Resources

Title Page

Acknowledgments

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Conceptual Framework

3. Incorporating Health Equity into the Obesity Prevention Planning Processes

4. Conclusion

5. References

6. Appendices

Building A Vibrant Honors Community Among Commuter Students, Stan Van Ginkel, Pierre Van Eijl, Albert Pilot, John Zubizarreta

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Research has shown that honors programs often provide active networks of students that contribute to the development of the students’ talents (De Boer & van Eijl; van Eijl, Pilot & Wolfensberger). These contact networks are also described as “learning communities” (Wilson et al.) and “honors communities” (van Eijl, Pilot & Wolfensberger). Such communities foster productive interaction among students, teachers, and other professionals during their affiliation with the program and beyond. As a result of such connections, students discover new learning opportunities and gain experience in organizational and leadership skills. In honors programs, in particular, these contacts are an essential component …

Creation Of A Gis Based Model For Determining The Suitability Of Implementing Green Infrastructure: In The Town Of Berlin Maryland, Ronald A. W. Marney

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This project is entitled “Incorporation of Green Infrastructure Into Comprehensive Storm Water Management and the Effective Utilization of LiDAR: In the Town of Berlin ”. The goal of this research was the creation of a Geographic Information System (GIS) based model for determining the suitability / feasibility of green infrastructure implementation, as defined by this study, within the study area. This model was only applicable for the identified elements or tools under green infrastructure as defined by this study. This enabled clear and concise definitions and more readily identified the criteria and their parameters. The scope of the model’s applicability …

Building The Capacity Of 4-H/Youth Development In Iraq, Patreese D. Ingram, Georgene Bender, Matt Kreifels, Mark Balschweid

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

A team of 4-H/Extension educators were invited to Erbil, Iraq to conduct a week-long intensive training to assist Iraqi youth workers in preparing effective programming as they build their 4-H program. The workshop incorporated the 4-H Essential Elements for Program Success and a Curriculum and Lesson Development Training module. Three-quarters of participants said they were leaving the training with a set of curriculum developed by themselves or others during the workshop. Most (88%) indicated they had tentative plans for implementing the lessons they developed during the training. This project created a solid foundation upon which Iraqi youth workers can build.

Ecological Revival And Sustainable Living In The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest Of Tamil Nadu: A Measurement Of Residential Perception In Sadhana Forest, Elizabeth Collette Mcguire

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Since 1970, the role and function of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been to promote environmental quality and to form strategies for carrying out environmental policy¹. The EPA has committed to sustainability as the next level of environmental protection. The agency states that sustainability calls for policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs². Presently, society’s requirements have resulted in natural resource exploitation and population distention- projected to reach 10 billion people within two human generations³. These paired occurrences are …

Factors That Cause Growth And Development In The City Of Lincoln, Ne, Kaylene Tegtmeier

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This qualitative study looks at what factors may contribute to the outward growth and development of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The two main factors the study discusses are the Lincoln Public School planners and their placement of schools in the city, and the “American dream” of the people, looking at where the people of Lincoln want to be living throughout the city and what some of their daily habits are. This study also discusses some of the main visions of the city of Lincoln’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan how the plan’s ambitions may affect the two factors looked at in …

Barriers To Implementation Of Sustainable Construction Practices In The Homebuilding Industry: A Case Study Of Rochester, Ny, Heidi S. Tomkiewicz

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This study will evaluate the current barriers to standardization and widespread implementation of sustainable practices in the residential homebuilding industry. A literature review evaluates and defines the relevant tenets of sustainability creating a cohesive definition of sustainable building practices for the purposes of this study. These defined features were used to evaluate current practices and certification programs. An analysis of the current scholarship on barriers to sustainable development combined with this information to create a framework for a case study of homebuilders and their practices in the greater Rochester, New York area. This study was conducted in order to ascertain …

Progressive Property In Action: The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, John A. Lovett

Nebraska Law Review

There is a material deficit at the core of an important strain of American property law scholarship—the debate over the nature and extent of a landowner’s right to exclude non-owners from land. By referring to a “material deficit” I do not mean to suggest that there is a lack of theoretical sophistication regarding this subject. For more than a decade two rival camps of property theorists have made powerful, often intricate, and seemingly irreconcilable claims about the function and normative value of exclusion rules in property law. What I mean is that when these two groups of property theorists engage …

Developing A Sustainable Business Plan At The Shopping Center Of Southpointe Mall In Lincoln, Nebraska, Jessica Marie Hanson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This project consists of creating sustainable business plans for a group of diverse retail stores at the mall of SouthPointe Pavilions in Lincoln, Nebraska. A series of interviews took place with five managers at the businesses including: Scheels, Old Chicago, Bed Bath and Beyond, Von Maur, and Barnes and Noble. The questions were based around five different topics including: Technological, Environment, Socio-Cultural, Economic, and Public Policy. The Technological area includes processes with the product (or service) that occur before it arrives, during, and after it is sold. The Public Policy area includes if the business has an environmental policy, how …

Building A Sustainable Network Of Drought Communities, Deborah J. Bathke, Nicole Wall, Jeff Nothwehr, Kelly Helm Smith, Donna L. Woudenberg, Tonya K. Bernadt, Crystal Bergman, Joseph P. Robine, Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Lisa Darby, Roger S. Pulwarty, The National Drought Mitigation Center, The National Integrated Drought Information System Program Office

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

The first step in managing large-scale (national) collaborations and networks is to consider and address how a group and a potential partnership may match up (Luther, 2005). To explore this concept and many other collaborative concepts, the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) hosted a workshop, “Building a Sustainable Network of Drought Communities,” which was facilitated by the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) in Chicago, IL, June 8-9, 2011.

The workshop explored current examples of good communication and lessons learned within the realm of drought planning in order to address a future NIDIS Engaging Preparedness Communities (EPC) working group that …

Dead End Urban Corridors: Reconnecting Urban Space, Molly Macklin

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This proposal seeks to look at urban renewal through the analysis of main street thoroughfares that weave through the urban fabric connecting neighborhoods and people as vital life-lines within cities. How does history, culture, economics, and existing infrastructure feed these corridors? And what happens when this artery is blocked by development?

Specifically, this thesis is focused on exploring a non-urban oriented, dead-end corridor typology that has been forced onto the urban main street resulting in an area that has become blighted, underutilized, and disconnected from the surrounding urban environment.

The main argument is aimed at critiquing overlaying typologies onto …

Nebline, May 2011

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Nature, Gardening & Science Come Together in the Butterfly Garden

Farm Views

Horticulture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Environmental Focus

Urban Agriculture

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Levels Of Response In Experiential Conceptualizations Of Neighborhood: The Potential For Multiple Versions Of This Place Construct, Cynthia M. Williams

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the literature, numerous theoretical perspectives have defined and interpreted what is meant by “neighborhood.” A criticism of these perspectives is a lack of a universal definition, with no one-to-one empirical counterpart. The intent of this dissertation is to develop experiential conceptualizations of the construct neighborhood. Residents, those who experience and interact on a daily bases will provide the meaning and interpretation of what is meant by neighborhood.

The “levels of response” are the means of identifying and interpreting the systematic differences in the cognitive processing involved in the construal of neighborhood. Five cognitive levels of response were identified: Affective, …

Jnchc Vol. 12 No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2011)- Whole Issue

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

JNCHC WHOLE ISSUE

Volume 12 Number 1

Spring/Summer 2011

Honors In Ghana: How Study Abroad Enriches Students’ Lives, Leena Karsan, Annie Hakim, Janaan Decker

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Study abroad programs are taking on a new role in curricula and strategic planning in our colleges and universities today. Carolyn Haynes lists a number of “key indicators” for consideration in developing study abroad programs that set the stage for students’ deep learning and personal development. This essay supports her viewpoint and looks more closely at two of the key indicators, meaningful engagement and critical reflection, and how they are linked with students’ academic learning and personal development in study abroad programs. We will demonstrate this link using the example of a student- initiated and team-oriented study abroad program in …

Developing A Drought Planning Evaluation System In The United States, Mark D. Svoboda, Zhenghong Tang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Drought is a normal part of the climate cycle, affecting every climate regime on the planet. Drought indicates a special period in which an unusual moisture scarcity causes a serious hydrological imbalance. Drought is related to the timing and effectiveness of the rains, high temperature, high wind, and low humidity. The typical impacts of drought may include dry lands, low or empty water-supply reservoirs, low groundwater levels (dried up wells), crop damage, and ensuing environmental degradation. In the United States, drought accounts for losses in the billions of dollars. In fact, a FEMA (1995) report estimates the average annual losses …

Piece To The Puzzle: Sustainable Elements Fitting Together, Heather C. Nelson

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Sustainability, green, and eco-friendly are very popular topics right now. Those words and many like them are being used in almost every industry. But it’s not just a trend, it’s a necessary movement. Using green building elements as a starting point for design, just as site, typology, and clients’ request are used, is how a sustainable building is created. These elements must be adjusted for every site because local materials, climate and community all play a role.

Deep investigation of the projects context is important. There are many factors of the site to consider. Physical aspects while important are just …

Saving The World’S Grasslands: An Introduction, Richard Edwards, Richard Reading

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Grasslands cover a large portion of the world’s land surface but increasingly suffer from numerous threats. Temperate grasslands are the most endangered and least protected biome in the world (Hoekstra et al. 2005; Henwood, this issue). Grasslands suffer from the twin dangers of seeming to lack charismatic features deserving of protection (the Great Plains, one of the world’s great grasslands, has sometimes been dismissed as “the Great Empty” because it lacks mountains or coastal areas) and of being prime land for conversion to crop agriculture. As a result, people converted or destroyed much of the original Great Plains grassland and …

Moving From Agenda To Action: Evaluating Local Climate Change Action Plans, Zhenghong Tang, Samuel D. Brody, Courtney E. Quinn, Liang Chang, Ting Wei

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Climate change is conventionally recognized as a large-scale issue resolved through regional or national policy initiatives. However, little research has been done to directly evaluate local climate change action plans. This study examines 40 recently adopted local climate change action plans in the US and analyzes how well they recognize the concepts of climate change and prepare for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The results indicate that local climate change action plans have a high level of “awareness”, moderate “analysis capabilities” for climate change, and relatively limited “action approaches” for climate change mitigation. The study also identifies specific factors influencing …

Appendix- Water For Food Conference Proceedings, Prem S. Paul, Monica Norby, Gillian Klucas, Ashley Washburn, Elizabeth Banset, Vicki Miller

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Poster Competition, Conference Participants, and Photos

Technologies and Advances in Water Management

Human Dimensions of Water for Food Production

Genetics and Physiology of Crop Water

Other

Conference Participants (148-153)

Photos (154-160)

Rural Community Longevity: Capitalizing On Diversity For Immigrant Residential Stability, Rochelle L. Dalla, Tammy R. Stuhmer, Jennifer G. Deleón, Maria Isabel León Carreño

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The premise of this research is that rural immigrants comprise a significant source of untapped human and social capital necessary for community development. However, to capitalize on the growing ethnic diversity in rural America, immigrant newcomers must want to stay in their new rural communities. This investigation was designed to identify factors necessary to enhance rural Latino immigrants’ long-term residential stability. Thus, we sought to: (1) identify perceptions of rural residence, with particular attention to employment opportunities and challenges; (2) assess formal support availability and community issues of greatest concern to rural Latinas; and (3) identify strategies for creating bi-cultural …

The Role Of Adaptive Capacity In Creating Fire-Adapted Human Communities, Pamela J. Jakes, Matthew S. Carroll, Travis B. Paveglio, Soren Newman

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

In this research we sought answers to the question: What are the social characteristics and conditions of human communities that promote adaptive capacity for wildfire? The Quadrennial Fire Review (USDA and USDI 2009) promotes a goal of “achieving fire-adapted communities” in the wildland urban interface (WUI), and identifies metrics for determining whether a community is fire-adapted. While these metrics address some of the biophysical conditions necessary for fire-adapted human communities, they offer little insight into the social elements that promote or sustain adaptive capacity. Adaptive capacity refers to the individual and collective resources, capabilities, and actions that alleviate the risk …

"Just A Girl": The Community-Centered Cult Television Heroine, 1995–2007, Tamy Burnett

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Found in the most recent group of cult heroines on television, community-centered cult heroines share two key characteristics. The first is their youth and the related coming-of-age narratives that result. The second is their emphasis on communal heroic action that challenges traditional understandings of the hero and previous constructions of the cult heroine on television. Through close readings of Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dark Angel, and Veronica Mars, this project engages feminist theories of community and heroism alongside critical approaches to genre and narrative technique, identity performance theory, and visual media …

Analysis Of Green Roof Growing Media Porosity, Kelsey Latshaw, Jay Fitzgerald, Richard Sutton

RURALS: Review of Undergraduate Research in Agricultural and Life Sciences

When selecting a growing media for a green roof, a rooftop environment should be distinguished from traditional plant settings. Therefore, it becomes critical that the media’s pore space allows for adequate storage and drainage of water. In this experiment, rooflite™, a certified green roof growing media, was tested at depths of 7.62 cm (3 in) and 10.16 cm (4 in), for drainage and water-holding capacity. The main objective of this analysis is to determine if these two depths will meet the manufacturer’s recorded values. The depths will also be compared in terms of porosity. When analyzing the results, it was …

Working With Partners In Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska And Kansas To Conserve Fish And Wildlife Resources

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The Mountain-Prairie Region Fisheries Program (Program) of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) historically has played an important role in conservation and management of fish and other aquatic resources and key wildlife resources on tribal and DOD lands. In 2002, a new national vision was developed entitled Conserving America’s Fisheries, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries Program Vision for the Future. The purpose of this Vision has been to improve the Service’s ability to fulfill its resource conservation and management role and to improve relationships with our partners. That Vision was stepped down regionally into a …

Community Wildfire Protection Plans: Enhancing Collaboration And Building Social Capacity, Daniel R. Williams, Pamela J. Jakes, Sam Burns, Antony Cheng, Kristen Nelson, Victoria Sturtevant, Alex Bujak, Rachel Brummel, Stephanie Grayzeck Souter, Emily Saeli Staychock

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) was enacted to reduce wildfire risk to communities and other at-risk lands through a collaborative process of planning, prioritizing and implementing hazardous fuel reduction projects. One of the key features of HFRA is the development of community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs). We studied the development of CWPPs in order to identify those factors and processes that consistently lead to effective collaborative fire and fuels management as defined by HFRA, and enhance local social capacity to sustain wildfire protection activities into the future. Findings from this research highlight the importance of: (1) drawing …

Working Trees For Community

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

Working Trees for Communities is the adaptation of agroforestry technologies to assist communities of all sizes achieve environmental, social, and economic goals, especially at the rural/urban interface.

Today, communities are challenged with accommodating new growth while maintaining the integrity of existing neighborhoods. Accommodating health, safety, transportation, quality of life, economics, environmental quality, and infrastructure development can often lead to land use conflicts. Compromises are often needed to achieve a workable plan.

Today, community residents, businesses, rural landowners, and local leaders must look beyond their own backyards. What is done by one resident or business can affect the community and the …

Media Modifications For Native Plant Asemblages On Extensive Green Roofs, Richard K. Sutton

Landscape Architecture Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Great Plains and Midwestern regions might profit from selecting species representing nearby mid and short grass prairies, not the tall grass prairie. Such assemblages should exhibit needed characteristics desirable on low-input extensive green roofs to withstand stresses of: drought, heat, cold, nutrient deficiencies and wind before providing expected benefits. While published research, and its recommendations are inconclusive or negative regarding efficacy of native prairie species for extensive green roofs, establishment data gathered in this study demonstrates placing native plant assemblages for extensive green roofs into modified media significantly improves their establishment and growth.

In the short-term soil doughtiness limits plant …

Measuring Tsunami Planning Capacity On U.S. Pacific Coast, Zhenghong Tang, Michael K. Lindell, Carla S. Prater, Samuel D. Brody

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Abstract: The U.S. Pacific coastal states are at risk from both locally and distantly generated tsunamis. This vulnerability can be reduced by effective hazard management plans, but no studies have been conducted to determine how local jurisdictions have incorporated tsunami hazard management into their planning frameworks. This paper analyzes the quality of hazard management plans from 43 coastal counties in these states. Plan quality was measured by a plan evaluation protocol defined by five components and 37 indicators. The results show that few Pacific coastal counties have prepared well for tsunamis. Most plans have a weak factual basis, unclear goals …