Hello Everyone, Are you interested in green infrastructure, watershed
management, urban land use, and translating science to solutions?
At the upcoming Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting in Portland,
Oregon in August 2017, the Earth Stewardship Initiative (ESI)
Demonstration Project is organizing a “learning from the city” program.
Working in conjunction with the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental
Services (BES), we will evaluate Portland’s green infrastructure (GI)
design and implementation practices and propose research and monitoring
strategies to consider in addition to their current practices. We will
do so through a field trip, targeted workshop, and writing session
during the ESA.
We now invite applications for as many as 30 ESI Student Fellows to
participate in this exciting project. Since 2014, ESI has collaborated
twice with representatives from the cities where the ESA conferences
were held and brought together multiple local organizations and academic
institutions. ESI solicits fellows from around the country to work with
city officials, practitioners, and ESA organizers on large-scale land
planning projects. Participants collaborate on an urban design process
to generate sustainable design strategies, and propose ways of improving
research methods for these projects through designed experiments and
other adaptive management tools.
ESA 2017 offers unique opportunities to evaluate current GI design for
the City of Portland and to develop designed experiments with a team of
senior ecologists, ecology students, and city managers. Portland is a
national leader in implementing green infrastructure, and has
established a city-wide green network drawing on considerable experience
with GI design, implementation, monitoring, maintenance, and community
engagement.
Prior to the meeting, selected ESI Fellows will review synthesized
materials from Portland and participate in a conference call with ESI
advisors and the City. At the ESA meeting, fellows will attend an
organized field trip on August 8 to Portland GI sites with BES
officials, and discuss how research can be integrated into the design of
these built environments to assess their ecological value and add
ecological function.
During a subsequent workshop organized on August 10, fellows will
collaborate with senior ESA research scientists, landscape designers,
and city managers to develop strategies around the design, engineering,
and maintenance of local GI for the future integration of ecological
research. Workshop participants will engage in a collaborative
brainstorming session to develop strategies for integrating experimental
research into GI projects. Following the workshop, fellows will hold a
writing sessions to synthesize materials from the field trip and
workshop and make recommendations for integrating monitoring and
research through designed experiments and other adaptive management
tools for GI in Portland. After the meeting fellows will use this
synthesis work to complete a white paper on Portland’s GI
implementation, leading to a publication. Fellows will also benefit from
opportunities to network with ESA scientists and City of Portland BES
officials.
ESI fellows are expected to: 1) register for and attend ESA 2017 for
both the field trip and workshop, 2) review materials and attend the
conference call and planning session, 3) attend the workshop, field
trip, and writing session during the ESA in Portland, and 4) dedicate
several days of remote work following the conference to edit and
complete the white paper. We have received NSF funding in past years and
anticipate receiving support. We have support for U.S. minority
students. If funding is available, it will be used to cover registration
and transportation costs.
To apply, please send a one-page statement of interest and resume/short
CV as a single PDF document to Yishen Li (yishen...@yale.edu) by May
20th. We look forward to working with you!
Best regards, Alexander Felson, PhD Registered Landscape Architect,
Certified Senior Ecologist Associate Professor Yale School of
Architecture Director, Joint Degree Program School of Architecture and
School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Director, Urban Ecology &
Design Lab www.uedlab.org alex.fel...@yale.edu
