Keeping Bears Wild
Melissa Ruszczyk ’09 (CAHNR) ’24 MS, a biologist with CT DEEP and a graduate student in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment is playing a role in making sure wild animals stay wild. She has been studying how human sources of food — unsecured trash, bird feeders, and more — can affect the creatures’ natural habitat.
Sustainable Landscapes
The Many Lives of the UConn Forest
2,100 acres of living laboratories and natural classrooms
The UConn Forest is a key feature of the UConn Storrs campus. Aside from being a beautiful place to appreciate Connecticut’s nature, the Forest is a site for research, education, and extension work.
“Our ability to have the UConn Forest as a living research lab steps away is super important and very convenient. You won’t find this sort of set up on most university campuses,” says Robert Fahey, George F. Cloutier Professor in Forestry.
Using 3D computer modelling, Fahey and his team are working to understand how the structure of the canopy affects carbon dynamics — how much carbon dioxide the trees absorb, sequester, and release — and how the canopy responds to disturbances. Beyond the computer model, Fahey’s team is cutting down trees in the Forest to simulate a windstorm or other disruption. They will monitor these sites for at least 10 years to determine the long-term impact on the canopy. Their computer modelling also simulates the impact 100 years into the future.
Japan’s Flower of the Year Has UConn Roots
A plant based on research from UConn professor of horticulture, Mark Brand, and former PhD student William Smith has reached new heights, even though it only sits about two feet off the ground.
Surf’s Up
Amelia Martin ‘23 ‘25 (CAHNR) is a surfer. She’s also an environmentalist and a budding researcher. These identities have coalesced to make Martin into an entrepreneur too.