6 minute read
Environmental Science
WRITERS, ARTISTS AND SCIENTISTS: CONFLUENCE LAB TACKLES ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
In the Confluence Lab, scholars in the humanities, arts, social and biophysical sciences tackle Idaho environmental issues alongside community members. The collaboration began in 2019 and was co-founded by previous CNR faculty Theresa Cohn, alongside English faculty Associate Professor Erin James and Professor Jennifer Ladino. The Lab has since embarked on seven funded projects and has received about $700,000. “We came together to think about ways we can address and explore environmental issues in Idaho and in the region in more interdisciplinary, creative and community-based ways,” Cohn said. The team uses interdisciplinary approaches — especially related to storytelling, emotions and communication — to develop holistic approaches to complex environmental issues, such as public land use, wildfires, water, energy infrastructure and climate change. Visualize Confluences and learn about more projects here: uidaho.edu/class/
news/confluence
Funded by the National Science Foundation, “Stories of Fire” is a Confluence Lab project that draws from the narrative voices of fire managers, firefighters, fire scientists and people affected by wildland fire. These stories provide rich learning experiences for rural Idahoans in informal STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — learning environments. Research shows that learning is enhanced through storytelling, which is often lacking in traditional communication between scientists and the public, Cohn said. “When we listen to stories, we learn what it is like to experience fire first-hand,” said Assistant Professor of English Erin James. The team, which includes CNR fire ecologist Leda Kobziar, is building curriculum that incorporates interviews with “frontliners” who have firsthand experience with wildland fire, including the beneficial use of prescribed fire and the suppression and management of wildfire.
“The American West is rife with personal narratives of evacuation, smoke and disaster,” Cohn said. “Yet, alongside these deep, dramatic events, fire scientists carry a quieter but no less important message that fire has always been part of the Western landscape, and many wildland fires play natural and beneficial roles.” The Confluence Lab team will provide workshops to train STEM educators, pilot summer programs and create a podcast based on their findings. Work will be supported by Environmental Science doctoral student Kayla Bordelon, Silverton, Oregon, and English master’s students Michael Decker, Bonners Ferry, and Jack Kredell, Lemont, Pennsylvania. “Enhanced knowledge about fire science and STEM can empower Idaho residents to conquer the challenges of living in a fire-prone region,” Kobziar said.
By Leigh Cooper, UCM, January 2021.
New Students Dive into Field Experience and Career Exploration
Debuting Fall 2021, “Careers in the Environmental Sciences” is a new course focused on providing field experience for freshmen and transfer students during their first semester. The Fall 2021 version kicked off with a 3-day rafting trip on the Lower Salmon, where faculty and graduate students served as river guides. Along the way, students learned about river ecology, the importance of tourism and recreation in conserving wild places, the ancestral history of native cultures along the river and the multiple dimensions of complex issues such as dam removal proposals and salmon fish conservation. The remainder of the semester, ,students learned about pursuing careers across the spectrum of environmental sciences.
Visit uidaho.edu/cnr/departments/environmental-science-program
Leave No Trace
Engels traces plastic pollution from outdoor recreation
We often think of plastic pollution as an ocean problem. But according to U of I Assistant Professor Mary Engels, only about 4% of plastic waste makes it to the ocean. So, Engels raises a bigger question: where is the rest of it going? Engels’ research focuses close to home as she is studying how and where plastic enters the environment in Idaho’s outdoor recreation settings. “What is captured by us if we pay attention, and what waste makes it into the environment and our soil, despite our best efforts?” questions Engels.
By Kelsey Evans, CNR, Fall 2021.
From High School to Postgraduate, U of I Opens Doors for Emma Arman’s Success
At Camp Sanders in North Idaho, Emma Arman directs campers from station to station, teaching them stages of the water cycle. Four years ago, Arman was a high school sophomore learning water science from Area Water Educator and CNR alum Jim Ekins (‘51.). Now, as a U of I Extension intern, Arman travels the region with Ekins, bringing water quality lessons to life. “The very first day we drove to Sandpoint where I got to lead experiments and observe different teaching styles,” Arman said. “I realized I’d come full circle. I was passing my knowledge onto another generation.” Freshly done with her bachelor’s degree at 20 years old, Arman sees her internship experience as one more big steppingstone in her quest for lifelong learning and making her own way. Over the past four years, she’s put that mentality into practice by earning an associate degree in high school and by digging deep to connect her passions and talents to her future field of work. Each step of the way, U of I helped make her dream a reality. With Masters students Mandira Panta and Matthew Cox, Engels is sampling soil, collecting plastic, and collaborating with management and camp hosts of Farragut, Heyburn, Ponderosa and Lake Cascade State Parks, as well as Payette National Forest. “We’re working closely with State Parks and National Forests because this data isn’t just about plastic. It’s about littering, waste management practices and the value of our Park Rangers and Hosts.” Engels also hopes to shed light on how pervasive plastic is with applications to the evolving field of human and animal health. “There is a lot that we just don’t know about where plastic is in the environment. The human and animal health component of plastic in the environment is a field that is taking off, and this work will help inform that larger conversation.”
Arman excelled in school from the beginning, but she didn’t connect with the definition of “success” she heard growing up. “Everybody tells academically advanced students that you become a lawyer, doctor or engineer,” Arman said. “But I wasn’t interested in any of those fields.” A perfect storm of opportunity and asking questions early in high school helped Arman pave a different path. When she told her dad she liked math, science, policy and talking to the public, he suggested she meet an environmental manager. Through his job at Inland Empire Paper Company, Arman’s father helped open his daughter’s eyes to environmental law and communications. Meanwhile, her science class was participating in The Confluence Project, a water-science education program led by U of I — including Ekins — and regional partners. For the science fair portion of the project, Arman researched chemical policy history in the Spokane River. “We’re showing students that science is not just doing things with beakers in a lab,” Ekins said. “Connecting them to field science right here in their hometown? That’s pretty powerful.” The project connected Arman with government organizations and private industry, and she saw first-hand how science and organizational priorities don’t always match up. “The Confluence Project was the selling point,” Arman said. “That’s when I realized I wanted to be involved in environmental science all the time. I wanted to be a communicator, someone who bridges gaps and could be an advocate.” “I have a better understanding of who I am so I’m prepared to mold my own future,” Arman said. “It starts one small step at a time. One little conversation, one experience can change everything.”
