Appalachian Teaching Project

As part of ongoing research for the Appalachian Teaching Project (now known as the Appalachian College Research Initiative), Dr. David Sanchez supervised students in engaging and serving Appalachia (Fayette County). The effort included visits to Connellsville, Uniontown, and Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where students visited with residents and local businesses. The group hosted a large luncheon with the Uniontown Mayor, city council, all 3 Fayette County commissioners, community leaders, and teachers and students from Uniontown Area High School. Other community stakeholders included Bill Talkington, Brad Trott, and Kelly Trott

Work was completed in collaboration with Dr. Michael Glass (Urban Studies), Dr. Kris Kanthak (Political Science), and Bryan Schultz (Business)

Nurdling with Central Valley High School

In 2022-23, student groups supervised by Dr. David Sanchez investigated the environmental impacts of the Shell Cracker Plant, which recently began operations in Beaver County. With a goal of producing polyethylene, the plant creates small plastic pellets called “nurdles,” which are then used to produce plastic products However, nurdles can create negative environmental impacts by becoming plastic pollution and leaching chemicals To create gather both nurdle baseline data and complete future nurdle collection, Pitt students identified several Ohio River sites upstream and downstream of the plant. Pitt undergraduate students in the Sustainability Capstone course also met with local Central Valley High School students to sample sites and share information.

Pittsburgh Pirates Green Team Pilot Supporting Earth Day

To help celebrate Earth Day 2023, MCSI collaborated with the Pittsburgh Pirates to help raise awareness among fans about their green initiatives via a pilot "Green Team" program. Pitt student volunteers from environmental honors fraternity Epsilon Eta Delta were stationed throughout the ballpark, where they discussed the Pirates' waste diversion programs with fans and helped them properly discard their recyclables.

Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

In Summer 2022, MCSI hosted the Phipps High School Internship Program for a sustainabilitythemed tour of campus and environmental justice presentation by the Pitt Sustainability team to MCSI’s summer undergraduate research students.

In Fall 2022, MCSI collaborated with the Frederick Honors College to provide a sustainability tour of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

In Spring 2023, MCSI provided a guest judge for the Phipps Fairchild Challenge, an annual environmental education competition for K-12 schools throughout Western Pennsylvania This year’s competition, “Top it Off,” challenged middle and high school students to create wearable hats made from repurposed materials.

Vesper Gaucho Solar Tour

In Fall 2022, Pitt students, faculty, and staff visited the under construction Vesper Gaucho solar facility, located near the Pittsburgh International Airport along the Allegheny River. Participants toured the 20megawatt solar facility, which will provide 18% of Pitt’s future electricity needs for the next 20 years

Patrick Shirey, LenPetersFacultyFellow

Dr. Patrick Shirey (Environmental Studies) and Dr. Sarah Moore (Film & Media Studies) are working with the Chalfant Run Thompson Run Watershed Association, Hedin Environmental, and Allegheny Land Trust to collect pre-restoration data on Chalfant Run and its fish community before stream restoration at the Churchill Valley Greenway (former Churchill Valley Country Club), which will remediate Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and legacy pollution (fine sediment on floodplain).

Their Before-After-Control-Impact design will help communicate the importance of restoring Appalachian Region steams like Chalfant Run that are impacted by multiple sources of pollution. Surveys showed Creek Chub minnow populations upstream of the worst AMD pollution are significantly higher than downstream populations.

In 2023, undergraduate students supported by MCSI funds will be conducting research on Churchill Valley Greenway’s streams and collecting data throughout the Chalfant Run and Thompson Run Watersheds. Learn more in this video showing the electrofishing work created by Pitt’s Undergraduate Admissions team.

Tony Kerzmann, LenPetersFacultyFellow

In Fall 2022, Dr. Tony Kerzmann organized a student tour of the Perks Solar Farm in Jefferson Hills.

A subsequent Spring 2023 tour allowed more students and faculty to visit the solar farm along with a cattle, dairy, and sheep farm in Somerset County.