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PAGE #about the journal

The Institute for the Environment & Sustainability, in the College of Arts & Science, educates students as profes-sionals and global citizens through interdisciplinary pro-

grams in environmental science and sustainability, and provides leadership in areas of research and outreach

that address environmental problems and promote a more sustainable society. The IES administers 3 undergraduate co-majors, 1 minor, and 1 professional master's degree.

This journal aims to present sustainability issues in an ac-cessible and engaging way that informs and encourages

readers to get involved. It showcases articles written exclu-sively by Miami University students whose work has been

selected by IES faculty and staff.

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AUTHOR BIO

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table of contents

Capstones

IES 274

Interviews

1-10

11-20

21-26

Grasslands and BiodiversityPromoting Aquifer Longevity

Out of Wild, Onto the PlateTiny Algae; Huge Problem

It Takes a Village to Plant a TreeStormwater in Oxford

ii

about the authors

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Grasslands and Biodiversity pp. 3-6

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Promoting Aquifer Longevity pp. 7-10

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Growing Poison pp. 9-12

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Sustaining Our Future pp. 13-16

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Sharing is Caring pp. 17-20

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IES 274 • 2

When one thinks of biodiversity, the first region to come to mind is the tropical rainforest. We have all heard of the Rainforest Alliance, and there are various other organizations with similar goals in mind such as the Rainforest Rescue Coalition, Amazon Watch, and Conservation International.The goal of these organizations is to protect rainforests from forces such as habitat degradation and pollution that contribute to biodiversity loss.

Although it is important to protect tropical environments, the focus that we have put on them has taken away from our focus on protecting other ecosys-tems – ecosystems that are at a more serious risk than rainforests.

While rainforests, which cover about 7% of the world’s dry land, have expe-rienced habitat destruction of about 20%, grasslands cover between 25 and 40% (depending on definition) and have been destroyed at much higher rates; the prairie lands in the United States, for example, have experienced upwards of 97% in habitat destruction.

Why don’t we realize that this issue reaches us close to home? Biodiversity loss is a major global issue; understanding that it is also happening domes-tically in our grasslands is motivation to change our behavior and work to protect against further biodiversity loss.

Grasslands Around the Globe

Grasslands can be found on every continent around the world except Antarc-tica. They may also be referred to as prairielands, savannahs, plains, steppes, cerrados, moors, parklands, and pampas.

Although what exactly defines a grassland is disputed, there is general con-sensus that a grassland can be defined as an area typically located in a sub humid or semiarid climate in which perennial grasses are what comprises much of the natural vegetation.

This environment naturally covers between 25 and 40% of our terrestrial land. There is much more to grasslands than the fact that they cover vast areas of land; grasslands are biodiversity hotspots.

In an area of less than 540 square feet (50 square meters), a grassland in Romania had the highest number of different plant species than any other ecosystem in the world.

Grasslands and BiodiversityTo what extent have we destroyed our grasslands?

IES 274 • 3

Rainforests are more diverse when a larger area of land, such as a few acres, is surveyed. From this we see that, in small areas, grasslands are more diverse than rainforests. The biodiversity in these areas contributes to a wide range of ecosys-tem services that further help to sustain plant, animal, and human life.

Some of these ecosystem services include mitigating floods and droughts, preserv-ing the health and fertility of soil, controlling against pests, protecting soil from erosion, and protecting watersheds, rivers, and streams.

Grasslands are an ideal environment in which we grow crops due to the richness of the soil. However, our uses of this land have turned out to have heavy consequenc-es.

Causes of Degradation

The leading causes of biodiversity loss in the grasslands, which have led to land degradation, are human activities such as unsustainable agriculture and overex-ploitation of plants and animals. Only about 3-5% of the original North American prairielands remain today. Below is a map in which we see ecosystems that are vulnerable (in yellow), endangered (in orange), and in critical condition (in red).

Notice that many of the areas with grassland ecosystems are in a zone that is classified at least as vulnerable. Unsustainable agricultural practices have played a major role in the destruction of grasslands due to drying out the land with irriga-tion practices and due to stripping the soil of nutrients with practices such as single crop farming and the failure to rotate crops.

Roughly 50% of all water used in irrigation practices is wasted. That means that 50% of all of the water that we are pumping out of aquifers and other bodies of water is misused, contributing to a lowering of the water table and drying out the land from deep down.

When farmers only engage in single crop farming and do not rotate their crops in

IES 274 • 4

different years, the soil loses vital nutrients that it needs to stay healthy.

In order to ensure that their crops continue to grow, farmers add fertilizers to the soil to provide nutrients. In addition, when only single crops are being grown, pests are far more numerous.

A healthy grassland environment has many predators that feed on the pests but in an agricultural environment, there is not enough biodiversity to support the preys of pests.

Because of this, farmers use pesticides to ward off pests, which further imbalance the nutrients of the soil. Agriculture also reduce, in addition to biodiversity, the ecosystem services that the grasslands provide. Services such as mitigating drought and floods are lost.

Unsustainable agriculture was one of the leading causes of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. A drought, which could have been less severe if biodiversity were still strong, occurred and due to the deadness of the soil coupled with the lack of water, crops could not grow and the land was like dust.

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Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu.

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Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean com-modo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.

Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu.

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IES 274 • 5

IES 274 • 6

What Can We Do?

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Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet. Quisque rutrum. Aenean imperdiet. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. Nam eget dui. Etiam rhoncus. Maecenas tempus, tellus eget condimentum rhoncus, sem quam semper libero, sit amet adipiscing sem neque sed ipsum. Nam quam nunc, blandit vel, luctus pulvinar, hendrerit id, lorem.

Think back to the days where you lived a care-free life; not a worry in the world. If you’re thinking hard enough you may stumble upon some fond memories of scratching the newly painted wall at the house, leaving the door of the fridge open before going to bed, accidentally leaving the water running while brushing your teeth (you get the point by now!)

There is one thing I’m sure ALL of us have done at some point throughout our lives: accidentally leaving the water run. The average person typically thinks nothing of it. There’s plenty of water on this earth so who cares if I waste a little, right? WRONG!

Most people fail to realize that water is a finite resource that has the potential to eventually diminish if we continue to carelessly waste it, while avoiding simple conservation practices that could spell disaster for not only our economy, but for our environment as well. Between 70 and 75 percent of the earth’s surface is cov-ered with water, but only 1 percent of that is available for human use.

While both world population and the demand for freshwater resources are in-creasing, supply remains constant (WaterSense). Most people tend to associate water conservation with household uses (faucet, shower, toilet use, etc.), but they often don’t understand that the water they consume in their homes on a daily basis comes from groundwater supplied by an aquifer.

Preserving groundwater in aquifers is directly attributable to water conservation; in an effort to promote and implement sustainable conservation practices through-out our communities here in the United States, we may just be able to avert a devastating “water crisis.”Current water usage in the United States today revolves around three broad sectors of the government that are crucial to our standard of living (ordered from highest to lowest level of water usage): Agriculture, Industri-al, and Municipal use.

We all know (at least we should) that consuming water while also conserving it is a widespread issue here in the United States. However, we aren’t very informed (as a population) as to where our water comes from. Water resources and the numerous conservation techniques that coincide with it is directly applicable to aquifer sustainability along with the promotion of aquifer stability.

People must know how the sustainability of aquifers in general relate to agricul-tural, industrial, and municipal uses in relation to how we carelessly waste water now and how we could transition to a more conservative lifestyle dominated by sufficient sustainable practices as time progresses.

Promoting Aquifer LongevityA Challenging Yet Achievable Effort

IES 274 • 7

Agricultural water usage refers to the groundwater/surface water that’s used directly for irrigation and other farming purposes such as hydrating the livestock, watering the crops, etc. One of the biggest factors concerning the use of ground-water and surface water in agriculture today is excessive or unneeded usage.

Although the USA is classified by Maplecroft as “medium risk” for water stress overall, large areas are already suffering from the depletion of ground water sup-plies, with states including Arizona, California, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas classified as being at “high” and “extreme risk” (Walker, 2012). The agriculture business is always booming; if it weren’t, we’d either be finding our own food or starving!

When business deadlines and other related criteria must be met, farmers will do whatever it takes to meet the demand for their food. In most regions that expe-rience an extended dry season, consumptive water use by agriculture (if uncon-strained) usually generates a demand for crop irrigation in excess of the availabil-ity of renewable groundwater resources, given that extensive areas of cultivatable land usually occur above aquifers (Foster & Shah, 2012).

Unsustainable water usage in agriculture is highly prevalent in the United States alone and it will continue unless we take the necessary governmental actions immediately, thus slowly reducing these occurrences over time or resolving it altogether. Industrial water usage is often associated with various businesses, in-dustries, and factories that consume considerable amounts of water via fabricating, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, etc.

Many aspects come into play concerning wasted/overused water in the industrial sector, nonetheless sustainable solutions can be posed for each and every one of these troublesome issues. Take for example, equipment that constantly uses unnec-essary amounts of water each day. To achieve significant water savings, a greywa-ter treatment system can treat process water to allow internal reuse.

IES 274 • 8

IES 274 • 9

New equipment should be partnered with an awareness raising campaign to assure operators optimise water usage (Danielsson & Spuhler, n.d.). In our efforts to ab-stain from exhausting the groundwater in our aquifers, we must strongly consider implementing water efficient equipment where it’s needed.

It’s also crucial to reuse water whenever the circumstance allows; the end result will certainly cut costs and save a substantial amount of water in every industrial aspect pertaining to the use of that water. Instead of assuming that all processes require drinking quality water, investigate actual water quality needed for internal processes and reuse water within the business or between businesses whenever possible (Danielsson & Spuhler, n.d.).

Although the industrial sector isn’t the leading (number 1 overall) consumer of water here in the United States, it still requires our immediate attention to take the necessary course of action that would lead us towards a more sustainable future in water resources (more specifically, aquifer related resources).

Municipal water usage is mainly known for directly supplying households with safe water that’s not just okay to drink, but to also use for bathing, dishwashing, cooking, cleaning, gardening, etc. When discussing municipal water use and the associated controversies that come along with it, one main issue seems to always be the most prevalent: accidental and/or wasteful usage.

The issue of unidentified residential “mega-users” in California was detailed in a report published earlier this month by the Center for Investigative Reporting. It found that 365 California households each consumed more than 1 million gallons of water from April 2014 to April 2015 (Morin, 2015).

There’s only one word to describe this behavior and that’s LAZINESS. Most people don’t care if they leave the water running for whatever reason because they seem to think that we have access to an infinite amount of safe water to consume on this earth, and that is simply not the case.

For the sake of our aquifers and the groundwater that they supply, people must not only be properly educated on the matter, but also realize the severity and time sensitivity of the issue as well. When it comes time to get down to business, WE will be called into action. A handful of people cannot bring change to such a wide-spread issue calling for such drastic measures.

Preserving groundwater in aquifers is directly attributable to water conservation; in an effort to promote and implement sustainable conservation practices through-out our communities here in the United States, we may just be able to avert a devastating “water crisis.”

The future state of our nation’s countless aquifers is dependent upon whether we continue to treat our groundwater as if it grows on trees (so to speak) or we edu-cate ourselves on the subject and take immediate action that would tremendously benefit our water resources and conservation in the long-term.On everyone’s behalf, I believe the latter would be most appropriate.

IES 274 • 10

To Learn More About Aquifers...

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Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus ele-mentum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, conse-quat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet. Quisque rutrum. Aenean imperdiet. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. Nam eget dui. Etiam rhoncus. Maecenas tempus, tellus eget condimentum rhoncus, sem quam semper libero, sit amet adipi-scing sem neque sed ipsum. Nam quam nunc, blandit vel, luctus pulvinar, hendrerit id, lorem.

about the authors

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

It Takes a Village to Plant a Tree pp. 1-4

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

A New Arrival Into Oxford pp. 5-8

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Growing Poison pp. 9-12

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Sustaining Our Future pp. 13-16

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was written as an assign-ment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Sharing is Caring pp. 17-20

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Interviews • 12

New research is being done in Bodø, Norway to make necessaryimprovements on farmed salmon. Igor Babiak, a professor andresearcher specializing in fish reproduction and reproductivebiotechnology at the University of Nordland, is continuing his studyon a new immunological approach to fish sterilization.

His previous research started in 2010 and published in 2014, showed promising results when the development of reproductive organs of zebrafish were stunted through induced auto-immunization.

Now, with funding from the Research Council of Norway, the same steril-ization methods are being implicated in salmon, which if successful, will be more environmentally safe, more economical and better satisfy thepublic than the previous methods of sterilization or no sterilizationat all.

The sterilization of farmed salmon is necessary to control the impactof escapees into the wild. When farmed salmon escape and reproduce with wild salmon, the population of the native stock suffer. As (Glover et al., 2012) found, survival rates of the wild salmon decrease as the new gene pool is introduced with the nterbreeding of wild stocks and the hundreds of thousands of farmed salmon that escape yearly.

The escape of fertile salmon has previously attempted to be solved by pro-ducing triploid salmon. This triploidy results in infertility in the naturally diploid salmon. Unfortunately, success in producing an entire stock of triploid salmon is unlikely and triploid salmon still attempt to reproduce.

This attempted reproduction presents the farmed salmon as sexualcompetitor. (Fjelldal et al., 2014) found that unsuccessful breedingattempts result in competition with native stock, causingpopulations to decrease.

Along with not be completely successful athalting interbreeding, many deformities and higher mortality ratesoccur within triploid salmon, making it a costly method as well.

Since escape in near inevitable in current salmon farms, this newprogressive research eliminates the dangers that accompanyescaped salmon. By not developing sexual organs, theautoimmunized sterile salmon will create a safety net for situationsof escape.

Out of Wild, Onto the PlateA New Study for Better Salmon Farming

Interviews • 13

When these salmon escape interbreeding with the wild stock will not be possible. Not only will they be unable to breed, the absence of sexual organs will also prevent sexual behavior.

Unlike the triploid salmon, these salmon would not act as sexual com-petitors for the wild stock because they would not reach sexual maturity and produce any reproductive signals, such as the musk the salmon let off when trying to attract mates.

No breeding attempts between infertile domestic salmon and wild salmon would occur and the populations of the wild salmon would remain strong. Dr. Babiak’s sterilization method is not only more environmental friendly, it is also a more economically friendly way of farming salmon.

Since the triploidy method of sterilizing salmon still results in gonad pro-duction, the salmon still uses energy to produce sexual organs. If gonad de-velopment is halted, the energy used for that development is goes towards overall growth, as it was seen in the study on zebrafish.

This overall growth allows the fish to reach a larger size at a younger age The salmon would not take as long to reach a desired weight and more salmon could be produced.

Furthermore, since the autoimmunization is introduced along with the vaccination, the process does not cost more in terms of added time or resources.

These factors would result in faster salmon production, or more salmon produced by weight for the same cost to the farm, but a greater revenue. The price of salmon per kilogram could be expected to decrease.

Interviews • 14

Interviews • 15

In the interview with Dr. Babiak, he stated that “the primary issue in biotechnology is that is must be useful, it must be safe, and it must be pub-lically accepted.” Currently, the only method of sterilization that has been successful is producing triploid salmon, but this is not generally supported.

The general support is lacking mostly due to the methods being considered unnatural. Benfey claims that triploidy produces a new salmon species that is not natural in wild salmon and when introduced causes many health problems and abnormalities (2001).

The new method of sterilization being researched by Dr. Babiak differs because the salmon are being immunized. Vaccinations are used in general to prevent parasites and disease, then the added immunization for steriliza-tion is done simultaneously.

This immunization, or auto-immunization, causes the body to fight against the specific proteins produced by the body to trigger the development of ovaries or testes. By immunizing against these specific proteins, the salm-on never reach sexual maturity.

This creates sterile healthy salmon, that while are not producing sex organs, are not being genetically modified in any way. Auto-immune defi-ciencies occur naturally in most species, so while induced in this research, is natural and more accepted. If successful, Dr. Babiak’s could present a more economical and environmentally stable method of producing salmon.

Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean com-modo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.

Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commo-do ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commo-do ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu.

Interviews • 16

To Learn More About Aquifers...

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Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapi-bus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet. Quisque rutrum. Aenean imperdiet. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. Nam eget dui. Etiam rhoncus. Maecenas tempus, tellus eget condi-mentum rhoncus, sem quam semper libero, sit amet adipiscing sem neque sed ipsum. Nam quam nunc, blandit vel, luctus pulvinar, hendrerit id,

Interviews • 17

All over the world an algae is plaguing waterways, filling the water with potentially harmful toxins that could affect drinking water for many com-munities. The algae affecting waterways is called Microcystis aeruginosa, or more commonly referred to as cyanobacteria. Scientists all over the country are trying to determine the effects and harmfulness of the increas-ing proliferation of cyanobacteria, especially in Lake Erie.

One of these scientists is Dr. Michael Campbell a professor of Mercyhurst University. Microcystis is a colonial forming type of blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria are a type of microcystis bacteria the produces hepatoxic microcystins (liver toxins) according to the California Department of Wa-ter Resources (Waller, 2003).

These algae have larger blooms when it resides in warmer, fresh water that is overly nutrient enriched. With shallow warm waters and larger areas of agriculture and industry surrounding its banks, Lake Erie is an ideal place for the algal blooms.

Campbell described how with climate-change we are seeing the lake wa-ters, and all water bodies warm up earlier in the season. This earlier heat-ing of the water is allowing for larger algal blooms every year and causing more and larger dead zones. Dead zones ae areas empty of all life. Higher nutrient loading can also affect larger growth of cyanobacteria.

Higher concentrations of phosphorous over nitrogen favors blooms. Camp-bell explained, more nutrients are being flushed into waterways because of more frequent, intense precipitation events closer to farmers’ planting season. This higher nutrient load allows for a catalyst of growth among microcystis when they emerge.

Presque Isle Bay, within Lake Erie is experiencing localized phenomenon of cyanobacteria blooms due to these factors and the high density of sur-rounding agricultural and urban areas. Campbell is researching why these events are occurring and if the blooms become large or numerous enough to harm the bay or drinking water supply.

Cyanobacteria become harmful to humans and animals when ingested in large quantities. National Geographic in the article Driven by Climate Change, Algae Blooms Behind Ohio Water Scare Are New Normal writes that cyanobacteria “…can cause vomiting, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, or numbness” (Lee, 2014). The article also states that the toxin can cause neurological problems like paralysis and seizures (Lee, 2014).

Tiny Algae; Huge ProblemThe Global Issue in a Localized Phenomenon

Interviews • 18

This is why when the city of Toledo sucked a mass of microcystis into their drinking water supply, all water sources were immediately shutoff. Campbell clarified that Toledo’s intake pipe for their water supply is situated in the west-ern basin of Lake Erie, which is the shallowest part of the lake.

Therefore it was much easier to draw in the surface dwelling cyanobacteria. Campbell stressed as of right now the city of Erie should have no worries of a contaminated water supply because its intake pipe is much deeper and the city “has one of the most sophisticated water treatment systems in the world” (Campbell, 2015).

The American Society of Civil Engineers presented Erie Water Works with the 2013 Civil Engineering Achievement Award for making improvements to their water treatment process; where they retrofitted a membrane filtration system to treat everything down to coliform (ASCE, 2014).

Campbell is currently conducting research with the Erie Water Authority, collecting samples at the Sommerheim Water Pumping Station, which is the primary intake for drinking water for the city of Erie. He obtains these samples by using the dip method, which involves dipping a sterilized beaker into the water and collecting a surface sample.

These samples will then be processed at a lab to see the number of toxic micro-cystis present. Visual inspection of the surface water can also indicate the size of microcystis blooms and if it will start affecting at least local wildlife. Larger blooms tend to be harmful.

While sampling Campbell noticed larger dense blooms near the mouth of the largest tributary to the bay, Mill Creek. He suggests the reason for this is “during the fall and winter months when waters are lower sediment is being carried down the river depositing here.

Interviews • 19

Then during the warmer summer months, phosphorous stored in the sed-iment is slowly being released into the water column” (Campbell, 2015).The research is still being conducted, but there are no blooms large enough to pose as a serious health risk to humans or animals.

Microcystis aeruginosa is becoming a problem all over the world, especial-ly within Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. Campbell is working with the Erie Water Authority to identify serious toxic blooms which could lead to human and animal health issues.

None have been identified so far, but Campbell’s monitoring will contin-ue until the issue is resolved. Campbell will also soon begin research on cyanobacteria and the other organisms living on the bacteria’s exterior, in which this interaction may be causing the bacteria to produce their toxins.

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In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dic-tum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

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Interviews • 20

What Can We Do?

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Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

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about the teamsHannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was writ-ten as an assignment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

It Takes a Village to Plant a Tree ·

Capstones • 22

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was writ-ten as an assignment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Stormwater in Oxford

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was writ-ten as an assignment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

It Takes a Village to Plant a Tree

Hannah Babel is a Miami University student. This article was writ-ten as an assignment for the IES 274 class. She has worked closely with the university in order to conduct close research on the topic of dodo birds. Her hobbies include programming, working with non-profit organizations, and spending time at the animal shelter.

Stormwater in Oxford

Abstract

The Mill Creek has been both a bane and boon to the Greater Cincinnati area for over a century. Industrial waste, urbanization, and channelization have reduced a once thriving ecosystem and source of enjoyment into a visual blight and source of continuing environmental degradation.

Transforming sections of the creek into a community asset via multi-use trail systems, greenbelts, and gardens is a vital component to a sustainable rebirth of these urban corridors. A community project of this magnitude requires a cohesive marketing vision.

The Mill Creek Tree Planting Project plans on planting 10,000 trees in the Lower Mill Creek Watershed as part of “Taking Root’s” pledge to plant 2 million trees in Cincinnati. The watershed is located in Hamilton County, and encompasses 166 square mile of highly urbanized and industrialized land cover

Objectives:

1. Find suitable locations for Groundwork Cincinnati (GWC) to plant 2,000-3,000 trees over the next year 2. Research best suitable trees, both hardwood and fruit and nut trees, for the Mill Creek Watershed 3. Create maps showing where to plant trees and density of trees

The Site Layout Map for Hamilton Country Fairgrounds is a GIS parcel labeled with four zones, A-D. Zone A is on both sides of the main parking lot and it is suggested that about 40 pollution and stress tolerant trees be planted.

The land use consists of mainly parking cars and heavy foot traffic should be expected. The current ground cover in this zone is grass. Zone B is on the top of the hill near the entrance and it is suggested that 40 trees that are drought tolerant should be planted.

Zone B can be considered to have average conditions. The current ground cover is grass. Zone C is in the Northwest Corner and it is suggested that 35 trees that are drought tolerant should be planted. This zone is also considered to have av-erage conditions. Zone D is in the northern semi-circle of the site. It is suggested that 75 drought tolerant trees be planted. This zone also has average conditions.

It Takes A Village To Plant A TreeFeasibility and Site Selection for Mill Creek Tree Planting Program

Capstones • 23

Capstones • 24

Capstones • 25

Stormwater in OxfordInventory of Structural Best Management Practices

This research project will focus on the first two minimal control measures (MCMs) of public education and outreach and public participation and involve-ment.

In order to meet the measure of public education and outreach, the city must disseminate educational materials or utilize outreach activities on stormwater effects within local watersheds and also use BMPs with measurablegoals (US EPA, 2005).

To meet the MCM of public participation and involvement, the city must meet public notice conditions and establish suitable BMPs with assessable goals (US EPA, 2005).

This research project will also provide some information relevant to the fifth MCM of postconstruction runoff control, primarily concerning retention and detention basins in Oxford.

The Commission asked the project team to identify locations of structural BMPs in Oxford and begin to identify basins in Oxford subdivisions, under-stand how other cities communicate to the public about the use of structural BMPs, provide guidance on effective stormwater education and outreach programs

A team of Master’s students from Miami University’s Institute for the Environ-ment and Sustainability (hereafter “project team”) prepared this report.

The report d scribes the research plan that the project team followed to provide the Commission with: 1) A map of structural BMPs present in Oxford; and 2) Recommendations for effective stormwater outreach.

The project team conducted this research over the course of two semesters to fulfill the requirements for two courses entitled Professional Service Project.This chapter describes the types of structural BMPs that are generally used in Oxford and other municipalities across the nation.

These include vegetated BMPs, non-vegetated BMPs, and retention and de-tention basins, which are often a combination of vegetated and nonvegetated methods. Figure 6 shows a variety of BMPs from vegetation buffers to reten-tion basins.

Capstones • 26

Figure 6. Pictures of Several Common Structural BMPs

A) Vegetation buffer; B) Permeable pavers; C) Rain barrel; D) Rain garden; E) Gree roof; F) Curb cut; and G) Retention/Detention basin

references

Grasslands and Biodiversity:1. “Ecosystem Services from National Grasslands.” USDA Forest Service National Grasslands - 24 Mar. 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.

2. “Grasslands.” WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.” Grass-lands Threats, Wetlands Threats - National Geographic.” National Geographic. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.

3. Mosher, Dave. “Grasslands More Diverse Than Rain Forests- In Small Areas.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 22 Mar. 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.

Promoting Aquifer Longevity:1. Mosher, Dave. “Grasslands More Diverse Than Rain Forests- In Small Areas.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 22 Mar. 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. 2. Lee, J. (2014, August 6). Driven by Climate Change, Algae Blooms Behind Ohio Water Scare Are New Normal. Retrieved September 20, 2015.

Out of the Wild, Onto Plate:1. Glover, K. A., Quintela, M., Wennevik, V., Besnier, F., Sørvik,A. G. E., & Skaala, Ø. (2012). Three Decades of FarmedEscapees in the Wild: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Atlantic Salmon Population Genetic Structure throughout Norway. PLoS ONE, 7(8), 1-18 2. Fjelldal, P. G., Wennevik, V., Fleming, I. A., Hansen, T., & Glover, K. A. (2014). Trip-loid (sterile) farmed Atlantic Salmon Males Attempt to Spawn with Wild Females. Aquaculture Environment Interactions. 5, 155-162 3. Benfey, T. J. (2001). Use of Sterile Triploid Atlatic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) for

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Aquaculture in New Brunswick, Canada. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 58, 525-529 4. Presslauer, C., Nagasawa, K., Dahle, D., Babiak, J., Fernandes, J. M. O., & Babiak, I. (2014). Induced Autoimmunity against Gonadal Proteins Affects Gonadal Development in Juvenile Zebra fish. PLoS ONE, 9(12), 1-30 Tiny Algae, Huge Problem:1. Waller, S., Lehman, P., Gehrts, K., & Philippart, S. (2003). 2003 Microcystis aeruginosa spatial distribution study in San Francisco Bay Estuary. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.water.ca.gov/bdma/docs/MASD_SFEstu-ary_03.pdf 2. Lee, J. (2014, August 6). Driven by Climate Change, Algae Blooms Behind Ohio Water ScareAre New Normal. Retrieved September 20, 2015. 3. Campbell, M. J. (2015, September 16). Tiny Bacteria; Huge Problem: The Global Issue in a Localized Phenomenon [Online interview]. 4. ASCE: Pittsburgh. (2014). Erie Water Works Richard S. Wasielewski Water Treatment Plant Membrane Filtration Retrofit and Improvement Project 2013 Civil Engineering Achievement Award. American Society of Civil Engineers: Pittsburgh Section, 96(16), 1-1. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.asce-pgh.org/Resources/Documents/Newsletter/ASCE_March_14_web2.pdf

It Takes a Village to Plant a Tree:1. Waller, S., Lehman, P., Gehrts, K., & Philippart, S. (2003). 2003 Microcystis aeruginosa spatial distribution study in San Francisco Bay Estuary. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.water.ca.gov/bdma/docs/MASD_SFEstu-ary_03.pdf 2. Lee, J. (2014, August 6). Driven by Climate Change, Algae Blooms Behind Ohio Water ScareAre New Normal. Retrieved September 20, 2015.

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3. Campbell, M. J. (2015, September 16). Tiny Bacteria; Huge Problem: The Global Issue in a Localized Phenomenon [Online interview]. 4. ASCE: Pittsburgh. (2014). Erie Water Works Richard S. Wasielewski Water Treatment Plant Membrane Filtration Retrofit and Improvement Project 2013 Civil Engineering Achievement Award. American Society of Civil Engineers: Pittsburgh Section, 96(16), 1-1. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.asce-pgh.org/Resources/Documents/Newsletter/ASCE_March_14_web2.pdf

Stormwater in Oxford:1. Glover, K. A., Quintela, M., Wennevik, V., Besnier, F., Sørvik,A. G. E., & Skaala, Ø. (2012). Three Decades of FarmedEscapees in the Wild: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Atlantic Salmon Population Genetic Structure throughout Norway. PLoS ONE, 7(8), 1-18 2. Fjelldal, P. G., Wennevik, V., Fleming, I. A., Hansen, T., & Glover, K. A. (2014). Triploid (sterile) farmed Atlantic Salmon Males Attempt to Spawn with Wild Females. Aquaculture Environment Interactions. 5, 155-162 3. Benfey, T. J. (2001). Use of Sterile Triploid Atlatic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) for Aquaculture in New Brunswick, Canada. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 58, 525-529 4. Presslauer, C., Nagasawa, K., Dahle, D., Babiak, J., Fernandes, J. M. O., & Babiak, I. (2014). Induced Autoimmunity against Gonadal Proteins Affects Gonadal Development in Juvenile Zebra fish. PLoS ONE, 9(12), 1-30

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