Environmental Studies Commons^™

Deforestation Affecting Developing Nations, Nicole Villa

Sustainability Conference

Deforestation continues to be a growing problem around the globe, while it is affecting wildlife what can be overlooked is the challenges it’s creating for the livelihood of nations. This goes beyond losing the biodiversity of our ecosystems but social consequences with the scarcity of water in Malawi, rise in health risks in Democratic Republic of Congo and negative effects of agricultural expansion in Belize. Overall social conflict in these areas that are suffering to grow. Furthermore, I aim to cover the major challenges previously mentioned followed by counteracts of deforestation including action plan in Brazil, efforts of other countries …

Railroads And Recreation In Minnesota, Carter Versaevel

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This map shows outdoor recreation areas along with the most populated cities and all railroads in Minnesota. I wanted to find out what areas were most in need of outdoor recreation opportunities and how to provide those opportunities. I found that railroads and high population cities were concentrated together. These areas had little access to outdoor recreation. These railroads can be turned into trails to provide much-needed recreation to a large number of people. I created this map using data I acquired through a formal request to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. I used the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ …

Exploring Variability Factors In Bur Oak Morphology, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This project, completed for Dr. Kate Cary in the Biology department, investigates how bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) leaf morphology varies geographically. Using digitized herbarium specimens and provided data which included latitude, longitude, collection moth and year, leaf dissection, petiole length, temperature, and precipitation, the project visualizes patterns in morphology with a focus on leaf dissection (cm). Maps were generated both at the state level (Minnesota) and national level, depicting bur oak locations and morphology trends across different seasons (January-May and June-December) over the past century.  The importance of this data lies in its ability to reveal how environmental factors like …

Fish Need Shelter Too! The Importance Of Mangroves In An Aquatic Ecosystem, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Mangrove trees exhibit many adaptations to living in salt water and tend to be found along marine shores. Some of these features include the ability to have their roots constantly submerged in water and stilt roots. Stilt roots are not true roots, instead they grow from the stem to the ground and provide both height and mechanical support in a somewhat fluid soil that the plants grow in. These stilt roots are thought to provide sanctuary for many juvenile fish. During our time on San Salvador Island, Bahamas (March 2025), we hypothesized that there was a relationship between distribution of …

Distributing The Ursinus Food Forest Harvest: Considering The Lenape And Questions Of Equity, Elwood Harney

Environment and Sustainability Summer Fellows

Food forests are regenerative agricultural systems designed to support people and wildlife, with Indigenous knowledge and practices often guiding their stewardship. The Ursinus College Food Forest (UCFF) at the Whittaker Environmental Research Station is one such system. As a relatively young “living-learning laboratory”, the UCFF serves to connect student stewards, other students from the College, community visitors, and the Lenape people to many food and material-producing plants. The UCFF also functions to strengthen the College’s reconciliation with the Lenape people, upon whose unceded ancestral land our campus and the site are situated. Honoring Ursinus’s commitment to the Welcome Home Project, …

The Fight For Fluoridation In Stl, Noor Yousaf

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Fluoridation is the addition of fluoride to a source of drinking water. In St. Louis’s public water supply, the amount of fluoride remains the same since 1953 at 5ppm. Dr. Ralph Rosen and his team of dentists and researchers advocated for the fluoridation of the water because it reduced the frequency of dental caries occurring in children and adults alike, but the public had opinions on the sudden addition of chemicals to their water. This includes how the public’s health will be affected, how consumer products would change, and also how effective this addition of fluoride would be. This debate …

Surveying Pollinator Gardens, Isabel Kolb, Kaitlyn Richards, Nolan Rokke

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2022

Poster titled Surveying Pollinator Gardens with client Lincoln Electric System.

Matt Talbot Kitchen Organization, Samantha Nielsen, Miqaela Davis, Olivia Clancy

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2022

Poster titled Matt Talbot Kitchen Organization for client Victoria O'Neil.

Nebraska Solid Waste Measurement, Juliana Amato, Alexi Caines, Alex Napolitano

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2022

Poster titled Nebraska Solid Waste Measurement for client Douglas County (Nebraska) Environmental Services and the Nebraska Recycling Council.

Project Energy Norfolk, Anna Bunik, Megan Swain, Hunter Tesarek

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2022

Poster titled Project Energy Norfolk with client City of Norfolk, Nebraska (Steven Rames).

Public Transit Ghg Emission Analysis, Ally Barry, Aspen Rittgarn, Grace Schleining, Wyatt Koppold

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2022

Poster titled Public Transit GHG Emission Analysis created in partnership with the City of Lincoln (Nebraska) Public Health Department, StarTran, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Environmental Studies Program.

Nitrates In Nebraska Groundwater, Kjersten Hyberger, Adam Carlson, Grace Kollars, Rachael Herpel

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2022

Slides of a presentation titled Nitrates in Nebraska Groundwater, created in collaboration with Rachael Herpel of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.

Mapping The Impact Of A Trailway System On The Amount Of Trash Present Within Two Watersheds Of Lynchburg City, Virginia, Lillian Smith

Student Scholar Showcase

Transportation of trash debris within water systems is a prominent occurrence which has been linked to natural and artificial processes such as wind, rain, and littering. Recreational areas, such as activities along greenway trails, have been determined to be a source of debris found in waterways. This study examines whether the presence of an established recreational trail system limits trash accumulation in the entirety of a watershed. Trash data collected at Blackwater Creek, which contains an established trail system, was compared to trash data collected at Fishing Creek, containing a non-established trail system, to answer this hypothesis. A distance of …

Preserving The Monarchs, Martin Brannaman, Abby Schroeder, Stephany Pinzon Perez

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2022

Poster titled Preserving the Monarchs with client Lincoln Electric System.

Pioneers Park Nature Center, Sarah Burr, Trystyn Cox, Corie Gleason, Carli Maier

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community Projects, spring 2022

Slides of a presentation titled Pioneers Park Nature Center for client Ansrea Faas of Pioneers Park Nature center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Canopy, Chandra Spangler, Lillian Soucie, Brian Fuelberth, Rachel Hines

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2022

Slides of a presentation titled The Canopy with client Kayla Vondracek, and a computer application for the citizens of and visitors to the Lincoln, Nebraska community.

Improving Low-Income Housing Can Help The Environment!, Ethan Halman Gonzalez, Margo Johnson, Alesha Skoda, Shane Vrbicky

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2022

Poster titled Improving Low-income Housing Can Help the Environment! for client City of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Transforming Transportation In The City Of Norfolk, Liam Downes, Valeria Facio Lom, Madison Zucco

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2021

Poster titled Transforming Transportation in the City of Norfolk with the clients ICLEI and the City of Norfolk, Nebraska.

El Atlas De Las Carreteras Propuestas En La Zona Transfronteriza Ucayali, Perú-Acre, Brasil, David S. Salisbury, Stephanie A. Spera, Elspeth Collard*, Anna Frisbie*, M. R. Place*, Yunuen Reygadas Langarica, Elizabeth Zizzamia

Multimedia

El Atlas de las Carreteras Propuestas en la Zona Transfronteriza Ucayali, Perú-Acre, Brasil incluye una serie de 15 mapas de dos carreteras propuestas: 1) Pucallpa, Perú-Cruzeiro do Sul, Brasil; 2) Nuevo Italia-Puerto Breu, Perú. El objetivo del atlas es presentar los mapas, posters, e información geográfica para dar una perspectiva geográfica de las propuestas de carreteras y entender mejor los posibles impactos socio-ambientales en estas áreas fronterizas con altos índices en diversidad ambiental y cultural. Los mapas y posters son de acceso público.

Beyond The Politics Of Climate Change: How Education And Income Level Affect Environmental Values, Joanna Falla

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Human-caused climate change has been acknowledged for decades, but public opinion on its validity and severity has been consistently questioned in the United States. Despite the overwhelming evidence pointing towards fossil fuel emissions and unsustainable practices as the leading causes of global climate change, its politicization during the beginning of the century has seriously slowed down America’s path towards a green future. Because this has become a partisan issue for many voters, considerable research has been done on the affiliation between party identification and public opinion on climate change. Although party identification has been studied as a major factor, other …

Increasing Soil Carbon With Rapid Regenerative Agriculture, Nash Leef, Rachel Gerdes, Trevor Kohrs

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Increasing Soil Carbon with Rapid Regenerative Agriculture with client City of Lincoln, Nebraska (Frank Uhlarik).

Community Crops Composting Project, Kelly Emery, Tess Foxall

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community Projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Community Crops Composting Project with client Community Crops (Amy Gerdes).

Net-Zero Affordable Housing, Nash Kelly, Calee Martin, Morgan Davis

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Net-Zero Affordable Housing with client City of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Celebrate 10 Years With Platte Basin Timelapse, Madison Husmann, Madison Smart, Justine Cherovsky

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Celebrate 10 Years with Platte River Basin with client Brooke Talbott.

Saving Pollinators With The Power Of Les, Ben Breske, Emma Chesley, Drew Havens

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Saving Pollinators with the Power of LES with client Lincoln Electric System (LES, Lincoln, Nebraska; Melissa Landis).

Southern Heights Food Forest Plant Information And Map, Oceana Mcbride, Jenna Mccoy, Abigail Ridder

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Souther Heights Food Forest Plant Information and Map with client Southern Heights Food Forest (Molly Phemister).

Communication And Social Education Of Emissions And Energy Use In Nebraska, Maya Kaechele, Diana Mcgraw, Kyle Hauder

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Communication and Social Education of Emissions and Energy Use in Nebraska with clients City of Grand Island, Nebraska; City of Norfolk, Nebraska; and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Project Energy Nebraska, Norfolk, Haley Nolde, Kat Woerner, Monique Candelas

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Project Energy Nebraska, Norfolk with client City of Norfolk, Nebraska and collaborators Conservation Nebraska, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and ICLEI.

Unl's Community Energy Project, Seth Anderson, Sophia Campagna, Mattee Kucera

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled UNL's Community Energy Project with client University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Understanding Of Aerosol Transmission Of Covid 19 In Indoor Environments, Adama Barro, Cathal O'Toole, Jacob S. Lopez, Matthew Quinones, Sherene Moore

Publications and Research

Our reason for discussing severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or 2019 novel corona virus (Covid-19), is to understand its aerosol transmission characteristics in indoor spaces and to mitigate further spread of this disease by designing a new HVAC system. The problem that we are tackling is the spread of covid-19 droplets through aerosol transmission by looking at potential engineering solutions to the existing HVAC systems. The purpose is to eradicate the spread of the COVID-19 by testing indoor spaces in an effort to understand the effectiveness of ventilation controls. We believe that scientists and engineers have not …