Tag: Kathryn Lynch

Quantitative Study of Beach Debris in Northern Madagascar

Presenter: Emma Gjerdseth

Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Lynch, Galen Martin

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Economics, Environmental Studies

Marine pollution, with the majority originating from land based sources, poses a significant threat to species depending on marine and coastal ecosystems. By understanding the make-up of the beach debris, more effective and targeted education and awareness programs can be developed to reduce marine pollution originating from land based sources. In this study beach debris was recorded, quantified and classified, on three mostly sandy beaches in the northern Diana Region of Madagascar. At the time of study there were no published reports on debris on Malagasy beaches, thus this paper provides insight to its composition and distribution in the region. The debris was observed and classified using CSIRO transect methods and charts complimented by visual observations. CSIRO has performed similar studies before and using their methods made for easier data comparisons. The abundance of debris per square metre varied between the beaches, showing, as predicted, an increasing trend with usage, whilst plastic debris density remained relatively stable. A total of 1216 pieces of debris was recorded, with 758 pieces of plastic, distributed at an average of 0.158 pieces of debris per square metre, and 0.109 pieces of plastic per square metre. The highest total quantity of debris and plastic litter was found at Ramena followed by Ampasindava, and Baïe de Sakalava.

Cultivating Connections: Garden-Based Education to Connect with the Willamette Valley

Presenter(s): Katy Roy-johnson − Environmental Studies

Co Presenter(s): Becca Perrin, Sydney Morrison, Gracie Williams, Milo Gazzola

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch

Oral Session 4CN

Research Area: Natural Science

Funding: Robert and Catherine Miller Foundation

The goal of environmental education is to foster an awareness of past, present, and future environmental issues, build an empathetic attitude toward the natural world, and establish a platform for action. Through the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon, our team partnered with the School Garden Project of Lane County (SGP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to utilize on-site school gardens as outdoor classrooms to promote stewardship for the natural world. Our service-learning project entailed supporting SGP with their in-school lessons for ten weeks, providing a total of 210 hours of hands-on learning experiences in their school programs. Additionally, we developed three lessons on phenology, citizen science, and food and culture, which we facilitated during the after-school BEST program at local schools, collectively teaching for 70 hours. We introduced 1st through 5th grade students to the importance of local food and encouraged attitudes of excitement and responsibility to participate in growing food. Over the course of two terms, we collectively reached 150 students at 5 schools within Lane County. Our students became aware and knowledgeable about seasonal changes in the Willamette Valley, the Three Sisters of northern Native American agriculture, and personally participated in citizen science data collection. By promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have worked to ensure that our lessons are accessible to all, providing space for our students to foster a strong connection to place, enhance self-sufficiency, and empower students to grow their roots in the local food movement.

Amongst the Ancients: Place-Based Experiential Education Within the H. J. Andrews Experimental Research Forest

Presenter(s): Ned Maynard − Environmental Studies

Co Presenter(s): Kiana Seto, Dylan Plummer, Riley Olson, Ariella Dahlin, Kyra Ortiz, Cahill Shpall, Chelsea Sussman, Ned Maynard

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch

Oral Session 4CN

Research Area: Environmental Education

Canopy Connections 2018: The goal of environmental education is to teach through experiential, place-based activity. Through the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon, the Canopy Connections program partners with the H. J. Andrews Experimental Research Forest and the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute to create day-long field trips for middle schoolers, bringing the classroom to the forest. Our mission is to serve the community by instilling a sense of place in youth, providing our community partners an avenue to educate students about science, and reinforcing the importance of old growth forests. Our program is built around a central theme of natural cycles within the Pacific Northwest. We incorporate storytelling, tree climbing, local research, and citizen science so the curriculum is interdisciplinary and engaging. In building this curriculum, our team developed four individual activity-based stations that take place within H.J. Andrews, along with a pre-trip lesson taught in the classroom. We help the students move from awareness of their local environment to community action by fostering a sense of stewardship, wonder, and scientific discovery. By the end of spring term, we will have reached 290 students across five middle schools. These students will exit the program with a robust understanding of traditional ecological knowledge and the science of phenology, having learned their relationship through the lens of natural cycles. In order to improve the curriculum’s efficacy, we will seek evaluation through methods such as life cycle diagrams, post-trip surveys, and games that assess knowledge retention in the field.

Mushroom Justice?: Commercial, Wild Mushroom Harvesting on the Willamette National Forest

Presenter(s): Becca Marshall − Environmental Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch

Oral Session 1SW

Research Area: Social Science

Funding: Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellowship

This research examines the extent Willamette National Forest’s management of commercial, wild mushrooms incorporates environmental justice principles. In Oregon, the edible, wild mushroom industry contributes to a significant portion of the economy, and thousands of harvesters are out picking (Schlosser and Blatner, 1995) The diverse group of people out picking these mushrooms—commercial, wild mushroom harvesters—live on the fringes of society, are highly mobile, politically weak and largely understudied (Arora, 1999; McLain, 2002). Forest Service lands make up a large swath of the land harvesters pick on in Oregon. And the Forest Service, along with other federal agencies, has to make environmental justice part of its mission—the meaningful involvement and fair treatment of all people in policy decisions. Yet, the voices of the harvesters are missing in public planning processes that impact decisions made on the forest and there has been little investment in managing lands for mushrooms along with little research, inventory or basic monitoring by forest managers. For my research, I interviewed harvesters and land managers, and reviewed the Willamette National Forest’s natural resource documents for how they manage for wild mushrooms. Themes that emerged include a minimal consideration of the mushrooms and the wild mushroom industry, restricting harvesters’ access to the forest, and a focus on managing for timber. All of this suggests an undue burden placed on harvesters because the Willamette NF is not managing for mushrooms. I conclude that the Willamette NF cannot manage the forest in an environmentally just way if they do not consider the commercial, wild mushroom industry and work to involve the harvesters in management decisions.

Planting a Seed By Restoring Connections – A Project of the University of Oregon’s Environmental Leadership Program

Presenter(s): Jordan Baker − ENVS

Co presenter(s): Richie Nguyen, ingra buys, Annabelle Lind, Richie Nguyen

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch

Oral Session 4CN

Research Area: Social Science

Nature plays an essential role in a child’s growth-stimulating imagination, creativity, problem-solving, a sense of wonder, and connection to the larger world. Current formal education emphasizes standardized testing and the accelerated use of technology, and it has become increasingly easy for children to miss out on the valuable lessons offered by nature. The Restoring Connections project was established to reconnect children with their local natural areas.

As a partnership of the University of Oregon’s Environmental Leadership Program, Adam’s Elementary School and Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, our mission is to develop a place-based, experiential environmental education program for elementary school children that cultivates a lasting connection to the land based in reciprocity and respect. Our project provides students, K-3rd grade, three opportunities a year to visit Mount Pisgah and use it as an outdoor classroom to learn ecology of the Willamette Valley. Each grade focuses on a different local ecosystem and studies the plants and animals that live there, followed by an opportunity to see these species in person and build a sense of place in their community. This curriculum is interdisciplinary, inquiry-based environmental education that progresses from awareness in to action.

This year, our team developed a third-grade spring curriculum, which focuses on prairies and the biodiversity within them, as well as developing field activities in celebration of Earth Day. Our goal is to create a spark in children’s hearts and impart a sense of wonder, inspiring them to continue their connection with nature and be the change in the world!

Yerba Mate—Production Analysis and Education of Sustainable Alternatives

Presenter(s): Cian Whalen—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s): Sarah-Anne Bedrosian, Garren Lum

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckel, Kathryn Lynch

Session: Environmental Leaders ARC

Students at the University of Oregon are highly reliant on prepackaged food and drinks to keep energized throughout the day . Many students consume multiple caffeinated beverages each day, often served in a single use container . Due to its popularity on campus, we are using Guayaki brand Yerba Mate as a case study to exemplify the impact of the high consumption of single use products . We hypothesize when analyzing the environmental harm and pollution created by the production of packaging materials, packaging for loose leaf tea will have an overall lower environmental impact than glass bottles or aluminum cans . Our group will research the production analysis of glass bottles, aluminum cans, and packaging of loose leaf tea looking at the embodied energy, waste materials, and overall environmental impact from production . The research will be presented in a video presentation that will educate the UO population about the production analysis of aluminum cans, glass bottles . We argue consumers should consider purchasing loose leaf Yerba Mate and brewing their own tea instead of creating waste by consumption of the drink in a glass bottle or aluminum can . By exploring the production analysis and the environmental, social, and economic components of the different variations of Guayaki Yerba Mate, we hope to educate the student body on the implications of their consumerism and prompt them to make more sustainable consumer choices .

The T-shirt Problem: Environmental Issues Caused by Fast Fashion and Simple Ways to Upcycle a Cotton T-shirt

Presenter(s): Megan Rangel-Lynch—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s): Grace Kowalski, Freya Rhodes, Isaac Wasserman

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckl, Kathryn Lynch

Session 1: Environmental Leaders ARC

The t-shirt is a clothing item that fills all people’s drawers, but when not sourced or disposed of sustainably, can have serious environmental impacts . This project aims to explain the negative environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry, a system of rapid production of on trend items using low quality materials, focused on high consumption rate . We are focusing on the t-shirt because it is a simple item almost everyone owns, and there are easy ways to use the fabric to upcycle, create new products, and reduce additional waste other products create . Our project will present alternatives to throwing away unwanted clothing items by upcycling shirts into reusable bags and plant hangers . Our tutorials provide a reusable alternative to products that create waste and ultimately emphasize a more sustainable way of upcycling items instead of buying new ones . Through researching the impacts of the T-Shirt and product alternatives such as plastic bags we will represent our research and our solutions through DIY instructional videos and an analysis of the data found from our research . By creating a video that discusses our research and gives DIY alternatives to clothing waste, we hope to educate viewers on the negative implications of buying into the fast fashion industry and prompt them to make choices emphasizing sustainability and upcycling old clothing resources .

Dams in the McKenzie Watershed

Presenter(s): Nicole Long—Environmental Science and General Music

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch, Sasha White

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

The McKenzie River is a river at work, and the primary tools for harnessing its power have been dams . The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) owns two of the dam systems on the McKenzie, including the Cougar Dam, the tallest dam in Oregon . The Eugene Water and Electricity Board (EWEB) owns the other two dam systems . I conducted my research through observational site visits to all four dam systems as well as other areas, including a salmon spawning channel maintained by EWEB . I also conducted two semi-structured interviews with a McKenzie River Guide and a staff member of the McKenzie Watershed Council . I supplemented my observations and interviews with literature research . I found that the dams on the McKenzie have cut salmonids off from over 20 miles of their ancestral spawning habitat . In addition to being fish passage barriers, the dams have reduced the McKenzie’s riparian zones due to the cessation of nutrient and debris flows . The large size of Cougar Dam’s reservoir decreases the river’s temperature, which disrupts salmon migration and spawning . Native plant and animal species such as cottonwood, alder, caddis fly, and roughskin newts are affected by the simplification of the river and its floodplain due to the dams . Human communities in the McKenzie Watershed are protected from floods by the dams, and they are a necessary reality . However, there is an ethical way to use the dams, such as renovating their infrastructure, and ways to mitigate their effects, such as restoring habitat downstream .

Restoring Connections: An Online Environmental Education Curriculum

Presenter(s): Katy Kuechle—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s): Zoe O’Toole, Garrett Reagan, Ellie Townsley,

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch, Sasha White

Session 4: Environmental Leaders Program

The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary service-learning program rooted in the University of Oregon Environmental Studies Program . ELP works with Mount Pisgah Arboretum and a cohort of kindergarten through fifth-grade students from Adams Elementary School . Our team mission was to develop an environmental education program for fifth-grade students that cultivated an understanding of the connections between people and their environment, specifically the Kalapuya’s relationship with oak savanna habitats and fire regimes, delivered through online lessons . The Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde provided feedback to our curriculum to accurately portray the history of the Kalapuya . Our curriculum was adapted into an online format to provide students with real-time lessons that deepened a sense of appreciation of the natural world within the local Willamette Valley through interactive activity sheets, journaling, and storytelling . Given the current pandemic and the lack of traditional classroom education, environmental education is more important than ever . Our curriculum helped create a sense of structure by establishing core routines and encouraging them to continue to interact with their environments in a safe and personally relevant way .

Fostering the Next Generation of Climate Leaders: Environmental Education in the Virtual World

Presenter(s): Lenora Davis—Environmental Science

Co-Presenter(s): Lenora Davis, Daisy Jones, Drew Macko, Tenley Ong, Connor Paschke, Madison Rush, Marychris Sitton, Kaylynn Wohl,

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch, Michael Madden

Session 4: Environmental Leaders Program

Through the University of Oregon Environmental Leadership Program, eight undergraduate students— the Majestic Trees team—designed and implemented a virtual environmental education program for local middle school students during the COVID-19 school closures . Students interacted in online lessons and completed activities, explored and learned about local ecology, and analyzed the impacts of climate change on their local environment . Students engaged with these themes through the art of inquiry and interpretation, integrating the sciences, arts, and humanities into a cohesive unit . Utilizing multi-dimensional experiential education, the students communicated, collaborated, observed, and thought critically about key environmental systems and issues . These skills are integral to enabling young people to become engaged global citizens . The goal of Majestic Trees is to instill empathy and awareness in local students, inspiring them to take action to create a better world.