Conference to focus on protecting, restoring, and interpreting Ohio’s unique natural areas

May 14, 2018

Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists (OCVNs) and the general public are invited to attend the June 8-9 conference on protecting, restoring, and interpreting Ohio’s unique natural areas. Hosting the conference is a great way for our OCVNs to meet their continuing education requirement, to network with other volunteer naturalists and environmental professionals, learn about OCVN volunteer service and see some of Ohio’s unique natural areas, says Anne Baird, program director for the OCVN program with Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University.  

Faculty Member Awarded Academic Enrichment Grant

May 7, 2018

Kristi Lekies, an associate professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources was awarded an Office of International Affairs Academic Enrichment Grant for travel to Germany in Autumn 2018.  She will be working with the Institute for Applied Research on Childhood, Youth, and the Family (IFK) at the University of Potsdam, visiting research centers, and networking with higher education programs in the natural resources field.  In the mid-1990’s, Kristi conducted her dissertation research on rural youth in the state of Brandenburg, which was part of the former East Germany.  Her work with IFK will focus on a 20-year follow up study to understand changes in rural communities and life opportunities for youth over time.    

Thirty Ohio State students and faculty are the recipients of the 2017-2018 Academic Enrichment Grants, enabling them to conduct research over the next year in a variety of international locations. The grant competition, with separate tracks for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty, is supported by the Office of International Affairs, the Office of Research and the Office of Undergraduate Education. Read more about the grant and awardees.

Faculty Member Receives BETHA Endowment Grant

Apr 30, 2018

Monitoring Social and Economic Impacts of Green Infrastructure: Blueprint Columbus, a project led by Jeremy Brooks, a faculty member in the School of Environment and Natural Resources was awarded  funding through the Battelle Engineering, Technology and Human Affairs (BETHA) Endowment annual grant competition. The Endowment supports projects that examine the complex relationship between science and technology on society and cultural issues. A record number of 37 proposals were submitted for the 2018 competition and six were selected for funding.

Blueprint Columbus aims to improve water quality using green infrastructure (GI), but GI may also improve mental health, physical health and social relationships. Previous research has produced mixed results about whether and in which contexts GI can produce such benefits and has largely ignored whether the planning and implementation process affects perceptions of GI in a way that affects these impacts. This project will use interviews and focus group meetings in two Columbus neighborhoods to address these gaps by capturing local perceptions of the process and outcomes associated with GI installation.

Joint Venture Launches New Conservation Strategies

Apr 23, 2018

The Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Laboratory (TWEL) hosted Greg Soulliere and Mohammed Al-Saffar from the Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes (UMR&GLR) Joint Venture science office in early April 2018. Greg and Mohammed, along with Drs. Chris Tonra (TWEL) and Robert Gates (TWEL) rolled out the Joint Venture's new waterfowl and waterbird conservation strategies, and discussed the biological foundations of all-bird habitat conservation planning, including the current land bird and shorebird conservation strategies.  There was lively discussion about incorporating human dimensions and ecosystem goods and services goals into the biological planning of bird conservation at the landscape scale during an afternoon session held at the 4-H center on the campus of The Ohio State University.