Dr. Eve Gruntfest Lectures

The Environmental Center presents Dr. Eve Gruntfest, an internationally recognized expert in the areas of warning systems, flash flooding and integrating social science into atmospheric science, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center Board of Trustees Room. She will discuss “Reducing Losses from Natural Disasters: New Models.”

Gruntfest will describe new models for reducing vulnerability and losses from natural disaster events such as hurricanes and floods. These models integrate the perspectives of both weather scientists and experts on human behavior. This lecture is intended for emergency managers, decision makers, community leaders, weather scientists, social scientists and the general public.

Gruntfest is currently program director of the Social Science Woven into Meteorology program at the National Weather Center and the University of Oklahoma. She is also Professor Emerita in the Geography and Environmental Studies Department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She has been working in the field of natural hazard mitigation for more than 30 years.

This free lecture is generously supported by the Mark Workman Fellowship Grant, a gift established in honor of Dr. Workman by Stephanie and Gerald Mitchell.

For more information about this event, contact Dr. Radha Pyati, UNF Environment Center, at (904) 620-1918.

Environmental Center Seed Grant Applications Now Being Accepted - Deadline November 2, 2009

Seed Grants for up to $4,000 are available to faculty or teams of UNF personnel that include at least one tenure track faculty member. The grants are intended to facilitate the creation or maintenance of multidisciplinary projects related to environmental teaching and research. Seed grant funds may be used for faculty stipends, OPS wages for students, and materials/expenses directly related to proposed project. Seed Grant Application 09 is available and the deadline for submission is November 2, 2009.

2009 Garbage on the Green

UNF will “showcase” its campus garbage on the university greens in the school’s third trash and recycling audit.  The university-sponsored event is aimed at educating students, faculty and staff about ways to reduce campus trash through recycling, litter-prevention practices and other “environmental” issues.  The event kicks off with an early morning “cleanup” of campus litter on October 14, 2009. The event is free and open to the public.

See the links for volunteer and exhibitor registration information, and also, see Report of 2007 GOG and 2008 NWF Yearbook Entry.

Donations will be accepted by E-Scrap, Goodwill and Teacher Supply Depot (TSD). The list can be viewed at TSD Donation Form and E-Scrap.

On Friday, August 28, 2009 at the City of Jacksonville Environmental Symposium, Mayor John Peyton joined the River Accord partnering agencies, the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University (JU) to celebrate The River Accord's anniversary with the release of the second State of the River report. See http://www.SJRreport.com for further details.

2010 SJR MTLO

Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 St. Johns River Transformational Learning Opportunity. Deadline for submission is December 31, 2009. Additional information, including itinerary and application, can be accessed at SJR.

ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED

The UNF Environmental Center is pleased to announce the award of the $1,000 Environmental Center scholarship to Christy Crace. Ms. Crace is currently a graduate student in biology. Her research interests are in elevated salinity on plant-herbivore interactions using a multi-species approach and meta-analysis to elucidate general patterns. This scholarship was funded by the Northeast Florida Association of Environmental Professionals (“NEFAEP”).

Center Fellow’s Buoy Project To Measure Impact

Everyone was asking, “What is that thing behind the Engineering Building?”  Well, now they know that Dr. Pat Welsh and the Advanced Weather Information Systems (AWIS) Lab have (with a lot of help) put a 1,500 pound buoy out in the ocean off Mayport to monitor the weather and ocean currents.   The large yellow jungle gym on a big marshmallow was the frame for the buoy, built and provided on short notice by the Florida Institute of Oceanography and the University of South Florida.   
The UNF AWIS team led by Ramon Colon and Mike Toth, both graduate Electrical Engineering students, designed and built the combined cellular text message and spread-spectrum 900 MHz digital radio communication system for the weather instruments. The weather data will soon be available on a public website after some additional testing.  
The U.S. Coast Guard Maria Bray, a buoy tender vessel, launched on a picture-perfect day and expertly handled the buoy and several tons of chain and anchor, while maneuvering the ship to within five yards of the buoy’s exact charted position.  They were truly professional in every sense of the word.  
Others who have helped include Florida East Coast Railway and their supplier, Greenbrier Rail Services, who provided the railroad wheels on which Mr. James Clemens put his welding talents to work to create the anchor.  Trailer leasing provided the assembly trailer, and Arlington Towing took the buoy to the Coast Guard station for loading on the ship.

BSC 3057 - Introduction to Environmental Studies 3 credits
This course represents the core foundation course for the interdisciplinary Environmental Studies minor. Topics cover a broad range of environmental issues in order to lay the foundation for the understanding of complex environmental issues and the interactions between human behavior, technology, and the natural environment. Course content provides an introduction to issues of biodiversity, appreciating human impact, principles of sustainability, biotechnology, resource conservation, legal and policy issues, ethics, and ecopsychology. (This course cannot be used by biology majors to satisfy degree requirements.)

In early 2006, the Center completed an employment needs survey of about 200 Northeast Florida organizations that hire environmentally trained workers.

Survey Results

The UNF Environmental Center received the JaxPride Award of Excellence for its first annual “Garbage on the Green” trash and recycling audit and "Environmental Expo" held on the UNF campus March 8, 2007. The award was granted by Mayor John Peyton at the 13th Annual Ideas & Actions Forum March 28.

Volunteers sorted, measured and catalogued ½ ton of refuse from several UNF buidings during the day-long event. Art students displayed sculptures made from recycled materials and about a dozen outside organizations erected display for an Environmental Expo on the campus green.

Ms. Stacy Wheeler, a UNF political science adjunct professor, conceived and spearheaded the Garbage on the Green effort. Wheeler founded Recyclemania, a nationwide intercollegiate competition now sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. Steve Nix, Professor and Director of Engineering, would like to form a UNF Water Forum to discuss water resources issues in Florida, possibly establish a student group, and look for ways to collaborate in teaching and research. Please contact him at snix@unf.edu if you are interested.