Talia has been working on a project entitled: AN ON CAMPUS, COLLABORATIVE RESTORATION OF LANDFILL AND DEGRADED SUBURBAN ECOSYSTEMS. Her work was funded for the 2023 Summer and she is now headed to several national conferences to present her work. See abstract below.
As urbanization has increased, native habitats have become increasingly fragmented in suburban areas. Habitat fragments provide fewer ecosystem services than large, intact ecosystems; however, restoration efforts can improve ecosystem services that benefit both the natural environment and relevant stakeholders. In this paper, a landfill and two degraded suburban ecosystems on Roanoke College’s campus in Salem, Virginia serve as a case study for an innovative on-campus, collaborative restoration in a suburban setting. Known as the Roanoke College Environment Center, this project has provided opportunities for undergraduate students, college faculty, and external community groups to participate in restoration efforts intended to improve ecosystem function while providing a unique learning experience. Presently, the Environment Center is being used as a field station for further restoration, research, and monitoring. Students have access to learning soil, ecological, and hydrologic field techniques such as soil sampling and analysis, quadrat surveys, aboveground biomass collection, and UAV imaging. It also continues to be used as a non-traditional setting for community-oriented environmental literacy events, as well as an educational space for Roanoke College classes. While outdoor classroom spaces are used on other college campuses, the Roanoke College Environment Center is novel in its mission to both restore a degraded suburban ecosystem, especially a landfill, while providing benefits to the students, to the college, and to the greater community. It is our intention that this local-scale restoration will serve as an example for what can be accomplished when small, collaborative efforts contribute to a larger project that will benefit many.