Drs. Peters, Hartman, and Collins present at AESS 2022

From Rubble to Sustainability: Multiple impacts of urban restoration on a college campus

The students in our Environmental Studies Capstone course in 2020 developed a plan for our college to convert a 10-ac degraded, underutilized area on campus into a field station to study environmental restoration. We were so impressed with their vision, we have made it a reality in part because, restoring ecosystem functions in degraded urban lands transforms a problem into a solution. Degraded urban lands are associated with (i) multiple negative impacts on water quality, (ii) declines in native species diversity, (iii) increases in invasive species abundance, to name a few. The restoration of these degraded lands can benefit both the environment and stakeholders through improved environmental services. To that end, we have established the Roanoke College Environment Center (RCEC), which focuses on: (i) the restoration of a landfill site into a diverse meadow ecosystem, (ii) the conversion of two drainage swales into a functioning wetland, and (iii) the restoration of a weedy woodlot into a carbon-capturing forest. We are working with several stakeholders to maximize the impact on the environment and on the community. We are especially interested in developing significant environmental educational opportunities for many distinct groups (e.g., K-12, College students, professionals, and community groups). College students will work on all aspects of the RCEC from research to implementing restoration to outreach in an effort to provide them the skills and knowledge base to be environmental leaders. Our presentation will detail how we are leveraging an interdisciplinary approach with multiple stakeholders to promote sustainability through the restoration of ecosystem function and by building environmental literacy in our community. Our hope is that others will implement similar projects on other degrade urban fragments increasing the impact of our work.