Environmental explorations in your own backyard

This exhibit will highlight current local research projects conducted in classes and research labs of the Environmental Science Program. Students from the Environmental Science Field Skills and Geographical Information Systems courses will be displaying the results of our ongoing study of the Allen Creek Watershed located in Brighton, Henrietta, and Pittsford. Students in Environmental Science Capstone Course will share their ongoing work on environmental and sustainability focused projects in Western New York. Campus wetland restoration projects, soil science demonstrations, migratory bird studies, and the RIT bird banding station will be highlighted. We will have posters and live displays with a variety of hands-on activities (Birds! Bugs! Dirt! Worms!) for kids to interact with. Guests will learn what issues are facing local watershed systems – invasive species, development, pollution, loss of species and climate change. Visitors will also be able to see first-hand some of these animals and plants – a fun experience for all, but especially for kids. We will set up aquaria and viewing trays with some common aquatic species, along with interactive exhibits showing how excess nutrients and different plants and animals can influence their environment. We will have soil cores and sampling equipment to highlight the underground ecosystem. Students and faculty from our courses, along with research students, will participate. Visitors to our exhibit will learn about what an environmental scientist does. We will highlight that environmental science is the interplay of hydrology, geology, biology, chemistry, and physics. Several of our research sites are right in the “backyard” of the visitors, so there is often a personal connection with the exhibit. We will be educating the public about lifestyle changes they can consider to reduce their carbon footprint and address climate change.