Weather Station
Dr. Chelsea Peters oversaw the installation of the weather station. Now we can collect real time weather data at the site. This opens the door for in-depth research into the hydrology of the site and a plethora of student projects. Follow the weather at the EC, here
Soil Research
Research students from different labs and classes have been assessing the biotic and abiotic attributes of the landfill soil. This pretreatment data is interesting in and of itself, but will be even more important as the restoration of the site progresses.
Planting a Meadow
Student from ENVI 230 Conservation Science worked with faculty to plant more than 20 species of native meadow plants as part of an experiment on how substrate type impacts germination. This is laying the ground work for the major restoration of the landfill into a native meadow in 2023.
Environmental Literacy Outreach
Dr. Rachel Collins worked with Ms. Meg Giuliano Snow’s fields studies class at Community High School as they used forestry techniques to study our urban woodlot.
Drones!
Environmental Studies Senior, Bryce Blake and Dr. Chelsea Peters partnered with Radford University Geology Department to initial base-map models for a former landfill using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based methods. Through collaboration, we aim to establish baseline imagery that can be used to monitor the change of the meadow restoration over time.
Site Prep
In order to turn the landfill site into a native meadow, we needed to spread out the topsoil and compost that has been accumulating on the site.
Invasive Removal
Dr. Laura Hartman and her students from INQ 110 class (Natives Newcomers and Nature) removed a very large and old thorny olive shrub. This invasive species was probably planted as an ornamental more than 50 years ago when the EC woodlot was a manicured lawn. But this invasive shrub has now inundated the woodlot and was removed to promote native plant species.
Picture yourself @ EC
Want to get involved? contact us environmentcenter@roanoke.edu