Education Commons^™

More Than Meets The Eye; Accessibility Of Scientific Information Through Art, Rachael Barrows

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Science is inaccessible to learn in a myriad of ways. Financially it can be difficult to get information. It can also be hard to look up information on your own without knowing what to look for. Teaching science also involves a lot of reading that can be difficult for some disabilities. Through art, however, science can become more accessible, both to share and to learn. Visual learning benefits understanding and retention of information as well as creates clearer holistic concepts. Through paintings, this project shares some scientific information, exploring a way to share and teach science that is more accessible.

Wandering Whatcom Falls, Hailey Schmidt

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Wandering Whatcom Falls is an interactive walking loop focused on connection and ecosystems. It takes place at Whatcom Falls and runs as a scavenger hunt with 7 different activities throughout the loop.

Quick Guide To Plant Families Of Western Washington, Maggie Hayward, John D. Tuxill, James M. Helfield

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This guide is an expanded version of a booklet designed to help students identify native plants in western Washington. It has been expanded to include invasive and ruderal taxa commonly found in riparian areas. The purpose of this guide is to provide practical help for identifying plant families, and to facilitate a basic understanding of plant morphology. By observing morphological characteristics such as leaf arrangement and structure, the user can narrow an unidentified species down to the family level. Because this book does not go to the species level, it is meant to be used as a companion to other …

Preliminary Impacts Of Constructed Log Jams On Streambed Topography And Bed Temperature On The South Fork Nooksack River, Sam Kaiser

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Salmon are an essential part of the culture, ecology and economy of the Pacific Northwest region of North America, but populations of some ecotypes are declining. One specific population, the Puget Sound chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), is listed as threatened under terms of the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The decline of this ecotype has implications not only for humans but also for all links of the ecosystem such as the populations of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) which prey predominately on chinook salmon. Major threats to these fish include overharvest and habitat degradation due to …

The Energy Imbalance Market: Environmental Benefits Of Regional Market Integration In The West, Kristen E. Tarr

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Compared to other regions of the United States, the Western electric grid is fragmented and balkanized, due to lack of regional market coordination. As the West anticipates the growth of renewable energy, there is an evident need for regional market interconnection. The Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) is the first sub-hourly regional power-trading market in the West, allowing Western utilities to buy and sell electricity across the diverse geographic region (EIM, 2018a). By tapping into the flexibility and diversity of regional production profiles, the EIM reduces the variability and intermittency of renewable power. According to the 2017 quarterly benefits report, from …

Reduced Light Availability Diminishes Mycorrhizal Growth Response Of Invasive Forb, Regina O'Kelley

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form mycorrhizae, a common, well-studied symbiotic relationship. Controls on the magnitude and direction of plant mycorrhizal growth response (MGR) remain obscured. Specifically, the influence of light availability in the MGR of an invasive forb, spotted knapweed Centaurea stoebe, has not been studied. Greenhouse studies exploring the growth response of knapweed to arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) often fail to report light intensity levels, which could impact the quality of their data. I conducted a greenhouse experiment studying the MGR in spotted knapweed under shaded and unshaded conditions, designed to approximate light availability in ambient greenhouse and full-sun …

The Global Energy Crisis, Katie Calhoun

Facing the Future Lessons

The world is at an energy tipping point. Countries and communities can choose to be proactive or wait and be reactive, however it is much less costly to do the former. In this project, high school environmental science students will examine the current energy use and concerns in a named country or community, analyze the pros and cons of the current energy situation and how it effects the social, economic and environmental aspects of the culture, then create a more sustainable, resilient plan for that country.

Sehome Hill Arboretum Trail Decommissioning Follow Up, Calvin Heslop

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Maintaining accessible trail networks for recreation and travel is an important part of management in the Sehome Hill Arboretum in Bellingham Washington. Trails aid in bringing people into the arboretum so they can appreciate and enjoy what it has to offer. Additionally trails serve the purpose of limiting human impact to known and maintained areas. Unofficial “social” trails can be detrimental to both the accessibility and ecological function of the Arboretum. By adding to the existing trail network, these social trails can confuse park visitors as well as decrease the aesthetic value of the arboretum. Additionally, repeated traffic by hikers …

Soil Conditions And Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Spore Abundance And Distribution In Dewatered Reservoir Sediments After Dam Removal, Kari Clausen

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Many dams in the U.S. are reaching the ends of their lifespans and dam removal as a form of river ecosystem restoration is becoming more prevalent. Revegetation of newly exposed sediments is an important aspect of ecosystem recovery after dam removal. Understanding the soil environment left behind after dam removal is important for understanding revegetation and ecosystem recovery trends. Physical soil properties and soil biota communities help to determine the success of plants colonizing exposed sediments after reservoirs are drained. I investigated soil properties and biota after dam removal by looking at the Elwha Dam Removal in Olympic National Park, …

Summer Climate And Western Spruce Budworm Outbreaks In The Pacific Northwest, Melinda Vickers

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Western spruce budworm outbreaks occur yearly with devastating effects for forests across Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. However, as of yet, the relationship between these outbreaks and summer climate is poorly understood. In this study, I compared western spruce budworm outbreak records from Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia with June-August temperature and precipitation records between 1975 and 1995. This research reveals interesting patterns in the correlation between drought conditions and western spruce budworm outbreaks. My results necessitate further study examining the potentially significant relationship between summer drought conditions and western spruce budworm outbreaks.

Fish Abundance And Habitat Recommendations Of The Lake Whatcom Tributaries, Ariel Edwards

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The tributaries of Lake Whatcom, Austin/Beaver, Anderson, Olsen, and Smith Creeks, provide essential habitat for many fish species native to the Pacific Northwest. However, development in the watershed has contributed to habitat alterations and even degradation of habitat quality. In this report, fish abundance and diversity, and habitat quality is compared both temporally, and among different streams. Anderson Creek was found to have the greatest species diversity. Cutthroat trout was the most abundant fish at each stream throughout the study period and was observed at every study site. Restoration recommendations for each stream were aimed at supporting existing native fish …

How To Put Tar In The Planet And Keep Feathers On The Eagles: The Best And Worst Of The Monthly Planet And Weekly Letters To An Alaskan Editor, Brian Blix

Environmental Studies Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship

Undergraduate Problem Series: Huxley College of Environmental Studies, Western Washington State College.

John Muir helped a Presbyterian minister choose a site near the north end of the world's longest fjord for a mission in the year 1879. The Reverend S. Hall Young declared that "Haines Mission" would be founded for the benefit of the fierce Tlingit inhabitants. I do not know what "benefit" the Tlingits have received, but my guess is Haines, Alaska 99827.

David Clarke and a group of other fervent environmental professors chose a site near the south end of Western Washington University's campus for a cluster college, …