Tim Billo, instructor of our Natural History of the Puget Sound Region course, practices what he preaches. He uses his research into the natural history of our local sword ferns as a way of introducing undergraduates to research, demonstrating to them that they can make important contributions to natural history, as well as to helping to solve pressing ecological issues. Indeed, as the article suggests, this research would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of many concerned citizens, including our students who have played crucial roles over the past four years. 

Read more in the Seattle Times

Double major Rachel Fricke is using iBobber, a sonar fish-finding tool to distinguish pathways for invasive aquatic species, including the areas where recreational fishing occurs.

More barren patches show increased fern die-off, this time in Kitsap forests. UW POE’s Tim Billo quoted.

Program on the Environment’s Spring 2018 Capstone Symposium featured 38 projects that addressed an array of environmental challenges students worked on for 9 months. From greening UW’s sport facilities to assessing water quality, piloting waste management plans and exploring the impact of environmental education, students shared their work with passion and finesse.
The symposium, held twice a year, drew colleagues, faculty advisors and students from across campus as well as parents and community (Capstone) partners. 

The Program on the Environment will host our Spring 2018 Capstone Symposium on May 23 at the Fisheries Sciences Building. We welcome all to attend and support students as they present on the culmination of three quarters of hard work.

Sword ferns in Seattle’s Seward Park are disappearing and nobody really knows why. UW’s Tim Billo, Paul Shannon and national fern experts are investigating the phenomenon.

Sword ferns provide valuable ecosystem benefits, holding soil in place to prevent erosion and invasive plant growth. They also provide a habitat for forest birds such as the Pacific wren, and a food source for wildlife, such as mountain beavers. And in Seattle’s Seward Park, they are dying off at alarming rates.
Nobody really knows why, but Program on the Environment lecturer Tim Billo and Seward Park steward Paul Shannon have some ideas, which they shared with King 5 News reporter Alison Morrow last Friday. 

Communicating on Twitter about environmental topics and Capstone project experiences has become the new norm for Environmental Studies students in Sean McDonald’s three-quarter Capstone Course Series. Some are still skeptical of the power of social media, while others, like Amy Haymond, have taken to it, finding value in the access it gives to myriad environmental leaders and organizations.
During the course’s “topic of the week” Twitter assignment, students were called to find and connect with an expert doing work related to their Capstone, and Amy tagged Conservation Corridor, who then reached out to Amy to provide a student perspective on studying wildlife connectivity. 

Shruti Parikh is a junior at UW, majoring in Environmental Studies and Environmental Sciences and Resource Management (ESRM), with a QSCI minor. She’s lived in Washington for the majority of her life and is passionate about good air quality.
She recently won a Mary Gates Research Scholarship for her research on using plants to purify air and reduce pollutants such as arsenic, a known carcinogen. 

Professor Janneke Hille Ris Lambers at UW is seeking some Environmental Studies students to work with her this fall. Details below!
The HilleRisLambers lab studies the impacts of climate change on plant communities in the Pacific Northwest. We are interested in understanding how warming temperatures and declining snow levels will affect the geographic distribution of tree species and the phenology (seasonal timing) of wildflower reproduction.