Tag: Kathryn Lynch

Accessibility and Trails Marketing in Lane County

Presenter(s): Hannah Buckingham—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s):Nikos Skoufos, Tenley Ong, Ethan Baher, Spencer Palanuk, Alli Gerhardt, Grace Diaz

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch, Alexa Foor

Session 4: Environmental Leaders Program

Eugene’s reputation of highly accessible spaces has begun to attract users in need of unique accommodations and design considerations, and our tourism industries have begun to focus on identifying and marketing accessible trails. Eugene, Cascades, and Coast is one tourism marketing nonprofit focused on connecting visitors with usable and accurate trail information, and our purpose is to research their website and determine what accessibility information and trail information they are missing . By comparing Eugene, Cascades, and Coasts’ data against the USFS trail websites, we will contribute valuable suggestions, blog posts, and updates to the Eugene, Cascades, and Coast trail information websites . Our suggestions and updates will focus on accessibility needs, like bathrooms, parking, trail surface, and slope . The structure of our current project has changed given current events resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19, and while our previous task was to measure and record accessibility data ourselves, we will now focus on finding and communicating what data already exists . Through our work we hope to strengthen and deepen the degree of detail on our partner’s website, which will in turn help people searching for accessible trails find outdoor spaces in which they can recreate . Ultimately, our goal is to increase the justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion of our outdoor spaces .

Yerba Mate—Production Analysis and Education of Sustainable Alternatives

Presenter(s): Sarah-Anne Bedrosian—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s):Cian Whalen, Garren Lum

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckl, Kathryn Lynch

Session 1: 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 .

COVID-19, Climate Change, and Collages—A creative analysis disguised as an educational approach to inform about the connection between climate change and COVID-19.

Presenter(s): Alexandra Acosta-Torres—Earth Science

Co-Presenter(s):Jaemie Bynum

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckl, Kathyrn Lynch

Session 1: Environmental Leaders ARC

Being quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic has left people in a state of desperation to fill their time with entertainment and fulfilling activities . The purposes of our project are to teach about the connections between COVID-19 and climate change and provide a video tutorial on how to make a meaningful collage . Collaging is an accessible, environmentally friendly type of upcycling that can fill that time . The research looks at scientific and social connections between climate change and COVID-19 . The collage created has a collection of themes regarding nature, the use of nature, loneliness, eco-grief, and the impacts of pollution, with the overall goal of visually symbolizing the impacts of climate change and COVID-19 . It is essential for the general public to understand the social and scientific connections between the impacts of climate change and COVID-19 because climate change requires social and scientific awareness in order to be resolved . We teach how to collage and challenge our audience to collage in our YouTube video . Our project aims to create a friendly activity that can be shared with friends while also generating interest in environmental issues and the current pandemic .