At night, the brass band and crowds of Bourbon Street rung through the hotel walls. But, during the day discussions on coastal resilience flowed throughout the conference rooms reserved for the Challenges of Natural Resource Economics and Policy: 6th National Forum on Socioeconomic Research in Coastal Systems (CNREP). Not only is New Orleans ground zero for combating sea-level rise and land subsidence, but it is regularly exposed to natural disasters. This was my third time visiting the city, but first time learning about how Louisiana and other states are working to increase the resilience of ..read more

This summer my research partner Abbi Belvin and I, along with some help from our friends GuruBandaa Khalso, Adrianna Gorsky, and Professor Randolph Chambers, monitored the Diamondback Terrapin population within the Catlett Islands on the York River to look at the population’s distribution and dynamics as well as nesting ecology within the islands.  Following the recent research of ENSP’s Honor student Holy Funkhouser developed a GIS-based model of terrapin occurrence in the Chesapeake Bay, that predicted the Catlett Islands would be a suitable nesting habitat and environment for Diamondback Te ..read more

This summer I have been a part of an ongoing study of Asclepias syriaca (Common milkweed) and how changes in population affect known pollinators. To study this, a crew and I traveled to different field sites across Virginia: Blandy Experimental Farms, Sky Meadows State Park and Presquile Wildlife Refuge. At these sites we took plant demographic data (i.e. height, number of flowers, number of leaves, herbivory, etc.) as well as observation videos. The observation videos consisted of 20 minutes of footage focused on a single inflorescence. In addition to observation videos, we conducted and reco ..read more

by Sarah Snipes Getting the opportunity to help out and participate in this workshop was such an amazing experience. Not only did I learn how to effectively advocate for the environment, but I also met others who share my same passion for the environment. A highlight of the day was the park ranger who talked with us, and he was such a character. He opened by calling his boss on the phone and having the whole room sing happy birthday to her. I also got the chance to be a “senator” so people could practice their pitches, and everyone did so great! Also, we all got free swag, and who doesn’t love ..read more