Environmental Education Commons^™

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2017, Natalie Umphlett, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Fisheries & wildlife climate workshop...................................2

Product highlights..................3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

NCA workshop and outreach activities......................................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Varying Perspectives On Landscape Diversity, Benet Kinghorn

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

Population Structure Analysis Of Western Painted Turtles, Charrissa Zuerlein

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Changes in the population structure, specifically the age, size and sex composition, of Western painted turtles can be studied to gain insight into the changes that will occur in closely related endangered species. As species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), the sex ratios of new clutches are affected by climate, and this could cause problems for the species as climate changes occur. This study focuses on fluctuations in the population structure of a single population located near Cedar Point Biological Station in Ogallala, Nebraska. Each summer from 2005-2016 turtles were caught using floating basking traps and hoop nets. Results show …

Public Perception Of Leadership In The Municipal Solid Waste Sector, Allison Creeger

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

Saving Money While Participating In Urban Agriculture, Jill Wieneke

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

With more and more people pouring into urban areas, many have become unattached to where their food comes from and are disengaged with local food systems. Urban agriculture (UA) can bring people closer to healthy foods and be a potential savings. This will bring more resilience to a community and amend food insecurities Through this case study at the Hawley Hamlet Neighborhood Garden, urban gardeners can understand the capabilities of UA and the effects of food affordability into urban settings. This case study is an example of vegetable outputs and cost savings that can be obtained at a community garden …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Bat Acoustic Monitoring, September 2016, Daniel S. Licht

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Homestead National Monument of America is a 211-acre park located in an agrarian landscape in southeastern Nebraska. From September 16 to October 1, 2016, park staff deployed acoustic monitors at three sites in the park for purposes of monitoring night-time bat activity. The three sites averaged 179, 48, and 33 bat detections per night. Night-time bat activity was generally highest in the 1-2 hours following sunset.

Based on the acoustic surveys the big brown (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red (Lasiurus borealis), northern long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) were present at the …

Environmentally Friendly Industries: An Examination Of Ecotourism As The Solution To The Environmental Degradation Caused By The International Tourism Industry, Whitney Michael

Honors Theses – Charlotte Campus

The increasing visibility of ecological alterations due to global climate change have required high-impact industries to reexamine their environmental impact. Transnational organizations such as the United Nations have identified the current management practices of the international tourism industry as a significant contributing factor to global warming. The high volume implications of the large-scale establishments necessary to lodging facilities in the tourism trade are responsible for damages such as resource depletion and pollution. Existing levels of environmental impact show irreparable and imminent damage to the world environment if current methods of the industry are allowed to continue.

New trends in consumer …

Foreword: International Perspectives In Outdoor Education Research, Patrick T. Maher

Research in Outdoor Education

The article offers information related to papers that were published in the publication "Research in Outdoor Education" Volume 15. This special issue of ROE contains four articles presented at the 7th International Outdoor Education Research Conference (IOERC), plus an additional two that speak to an international audience. The 7th IOERC was hosted from July 4 – 8, 2016 at Cape Breton University (CBU), on Unama’ki (Cape Breton Island) in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The foreword also acknowledges the efforts of all who contributed to the publication.

Exploring Course Outcomes Utilizing A New Outward Bound Outcomes Instrument, Andrew J. Bobilya, W. Brad Faircloth

Research in Outdoor Education

This study implemented the new North Carolina Outward Bound School Course Impression Survey (NCOBSCIS) using a mixed method, retrospective pre-post design. The NCOBSCIS measures character development, leadership, and environmental service. Previous analysis has found the NCOBSCIS to be a valid and reliable survey tool. The purpose of this study was to investigate program outcomes using this new instrument, including potential moderators (e.g., age, gender, and course length). Paired sample t-tests and a series of ANCOVA models were generated along with thematic qualitative analyses. The results suggest that there is change evident among the participants following program participation and that …

Women And Girls In Outdoor Education: Scoping The Research Literature And Exploring Prospects For Future Body Image Enquiry, Joelle Breault-Hood, Tonia Gray, Son Truong, Jacqueline Ullman

Research in Outdoor Education

Research into women's and girls' outdoor programs and their influence on perceived body image has gained scholarly attention in recent decades. A systematic review of research from 1980 – 2017 identifies key trends and themes revealing opportunities to advance understandings in the field. In particular, while there has been extensive research conducted on women's and girls' outdoor education programs from various perspectives, there is a shortage of robust research examining the impact of outdoor education on body image. While identifying some trends, the broad scope of the enquiry highlights the scarcity of this empirical data, and calls for heightened emphasis …

Defining Moments: An Examination Of The Gender Divide In Women's Contribution To Outdoor Education, Tonia Gray, Denise Mitten, Ta Loeffler, Sandy Allen-Craig, Cathryn Carpenter

Research in Outdoor Education

Throughout our collective experiences in the outdoors, defining moments have helped ignite innovation and provided inspiration for women and men in the outdoor profession. Women's representation among the ranks of the senior leaders and researchers in the outdoor field is disproportionately low. As such, women in outdoor education today still face challenges being recognized and accessing the upper echelons of the profession and academy. An incident at the 6th International Outdoor Education Research Conference in 2013, where women donned an invisibility cloak provided the impetus for our paper. Significant progress has been made in the past three decades; however an …

Perceived Life Significance Of A University Winter Outdoor Education Course: A Qualitative Study, Jennifer Wigglesworth, Paul Heintzman

Research in Outdoor Education

This qualitative study explored the life significance of a winter, bilingual (French/English), outdoor education (OE) course offered by a Canadian university. The current investigation involved 16 in-depth interviews with alumni who had taken one of the university's winter OE courses more than 20 years earlier. Interpretive analysis of interview data found the following significant life impacts: development of interpersonal/social skills; self-discovery; environmental awareness; leisure style change; transfer to others; and increased outdoor knowledge/skills. The researcher used “how and why” questions to probe for processes that linked the course experiences and activities with significant life impacts. The processes identified included: personal …

Front Matter, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors (Ceo)

Research in Outdoor Education

The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a non-profit network of outdoor and environmental education centers, nature centers, conservation and recreation organizations, outdoor education and experiential education associations, institutions of higher learning, public and private schools, fish and wildlife agencies, and businesses that share a mission the support and furtherance of outdoor education and its goals.

This article includes the Editors and Research Committee for Volume 15 as well as the Table of Contents.

Playing Naturally: A Case Study Of Schoolyard Naturalization In Cape Breton, Emily Root, Kathy Snow, Catalina Belalcazar, Bettina Callary

Research in Outdoor Education

Transforming schoolyards into naturalized areas enhances play and nature connection (Dyment, 2005), increases repertoires of outdoor activities, and promotes resilience (Chawla, Keena, Pevec & Stanley, 2014). Employing photovoice and conversational interviews, this study examines children’s perceptions pre-and post-playground naturalization at an elementary school in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. Themes from data analysis include: engagement with nature, and desire for more nature; physicality and movement; built and natural play features; and risk, rules, and well-being. Drawing on existing literature in the fields of schoolyard greening and naturalization, the study discusses benefits and complexities for future consideration in similar contexts.

Using Dynamical Systems Theory In Outdoor Adventure Education Research, Jeremy Jostad, Jim Sibthorp, Jonathan E. Butner, Shannon Rochelle, John Gookin

Research in Outdoor Education

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Trophic Rewilding As A Conservation Technique, Aaron Sieve

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The focus for this paper is to define specifically trophic rewilding, determine its efficacy as a conservation technique, and explore ways to lessen one of its key limitations. Trophic rewilding is the conservation technique whereby an extirpated keystone species or ecosystem engineer is reintroduced into a degraded habitat to restore ecological function by triggering trophic cascades. The technique is evaluated through analysis of the concepts of trophic cascades and ecosystem engineers. Key limitations of trophic rewilding are that a lack of population control in reintroduced may cause issues, that many times not enough is known about trophic cascades to be …

Using Consumer Accessible Mobile Devices To Collect Vehicle Emissions Compliance Data, Joshua N. Jensen

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The emissions inspection procedure has been largely stagnate for the last 20 years. Vehicle owners in the United States spend approximately 1.7 billion dollars annually for a technician to perform the simple task of plugging an emissions inspection computer into their car’s computer. Smart Emissions was developed as an Android application to provide a new procedure for emissions inspection utilizing consumer-accessible mobile devices and an ELM327 Bluetooth adapter. With Smart Emissions, vehicle owners utilize the Android devices they already own to connect to a Bluetooth adapter inserted into the diagnostic link connector port of their vehicle. The adapter communicates with …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2017, Natalie Umphlett, Jamie Lahowetz, Bill Sorensen, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

30th anniversary......................1

Stakeholder engagement activities......................................2

Product highlights..................3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Services update........................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

The Route To Water Security For Texas: The 2015-2016 Texas Water Roadmap Forums, Rudolph A. Rosen

Water Resources Science and Technology Conference Papers and Abstracts (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Future Water Stewardship And Fact-Based Water Policy: An Aquatic Science Education Pathway Model, Rudolph A. Rosen, Johnnie Smith, Erin Scanlon

Water Resources Science and Technology Conference Papers and Abstracts (Archived)

No abstract provided.