There is currently a rapid rate of urbanization taking place across the world. It is estimated that by the year 2050, 34 percent of the world’s population will be living in rural environments and 66 percent will be living in urban environments (UN 2014). With urbanization comes an increase of industry, burning of fossil fuels, […]
Read More… from The Value of Planting Trees in the Urban Setting
The mid-term report assessed three environmental education frameworks, exploring how they function and the results of their application to invasive species management or general environmental issues. These frameworks are the public-based learning method, the social learning framework and the identity-based environmental education model. The key idea of the public-based learning method, which is described in […]
Read More… from Public Education in Invasive Species Management
As of 2014, over half (54 percent) of the world’s population resides in urban areas, a number that is expected to increase to two-thirds of the global population by 2050 (UN 2014). Increased human flow into cities results in increased urbanization, a complex process consisting of people altering the landscape through settlement patterns and spatial […]
The ways we choose to modify and manage the landscapes around us have enormous local and global consequences. Single-family houses now dominate the suburban landscapes of Washington, D.C., including Columbia, MD. These planned housing developments typically have a clean, tidy appearance with mown grass and trimmed shrubs. Unfortunately, this ordered presentation does not provide the […]
Read More… from Tidy or Tangled: How People Perceive Landscapes
White tailed deer populations (Odocoileus virginianus) have become troublesome in the United States over the past hundred years. However, deer have not always been a problem in the United States. In the past, natural predators along with hunting by Native Americans, maintained deer populations (Audubon 2003, 3). The arrival of Europeans introduced trade of white-tailed […]
Whether it is Japanese honeysuckle, Oriental bittersweet, Mile-a-minute weed, or any of the other invasive vines present in northeastern U.S. urban forest systems, vines present a continuous burden on urban forest edges. The effects of invasive vines range from mere nuisances to ecological damage, often by smothering native vegetation. In most cases, given their rapid […]
This document aims to address the topics involved in the creation and management of meadows as well as provide informational supplementary sources. In this case, we are examining the potential of meadows to be used as alternatives to open grass spaces that require frequent mowing. These mowed open spaces are maintained as a buffers that […]
In the urban landscape, ecosystems are being fragmented into smaller and smaller pieces that lack the connectivity and resources to function properly. Riparian zones are ecosystems that act as an ecotone, or interface, between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. A properly functioning riparian ecosystem provides a multitude of ecosystem services that help keep the surrounding area […]
Through their work with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland (UMD), the Prince George’s County- Department of Parks and Recreation commissioned this report from the university’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). PALS works with local jurisdictions throughout Maryland to identify projects and problems that can be taught through […]
Read More… from Brandywine Farmer’s Market (Marketing and Engagement)
The group of students provided recommendations to M-NCPPC Parks to develop a pollinator plant selection guide for three stormwater management facilities: a parking lot island, a building foundation planting, and an open field. The selection guide included site information for three types of plantings (proper use of stormwater control measures and viewpoints) and plant use […]