Source: VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS TO ENHANCE CLIMATE CHANGE CURRICULA FOR UNDERREPRESENTED COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1012298
Grant No.
2017-38821-26404
Cumulative Award Amt.
$297,479.00
Proposal No.
2016-06476
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 1, 2017
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2022
Grant Year
2017
Program Code
[EP]- Teaching Project
Recipient Organization
VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
PETERSBURG,VA 23803
Performing Department
Dept of Agriculture
Non Technical Summary
This is a teaching (joint institution) proposal with Virginia State University (VSU) as the lead institution and Delaware State University (DSU) and Morgan State University (MSU) as collaborators. This proposal will provide innovative and uniform instruction to minority students on climate change science and integration of geospatial technologies. The proposal falls under NIFA's Program Type (teaching a, b, c, and e). The activities proposed address the Program Priority Areas: climate change and environmental science (j), water quality (d) and agricultural sustainability (g) within the Program Discipline Code: s: C1 (environmental science and natural resource conservation) and J2 (environmental science and management).The project focuses on the delivery of instruction to meet the Capacity Building Grant (CBG) Program's three Program Priority Areas: Global Climate Change including Environmental Science (j), water quality (d), and sustainable agriculture (g). Our proposal is unique due to the common missions of 1890 and HBCU institutions for place- and problem-based learning. This partnership will achieve the three major goals of the CBG: 1) advance cultural diversity of the food and agriculture scientific and professional work force by attracting and educating more students from underrepresented groups; 2) strengthen partnerships among the 1890 and HBCU institutions (VSU, DSU, MSU); 3) build linkages with 1862 universities (Virginia Tech and the University of Florida, conducting USDA-NIFA AFRI PINEMAP grant on climate change, and USDA-ARS laboratories in Beltsville (Maryland) and College Station (Texas) for intensive hands-on experiences through summer internships; and (4) utilize specialized instructional delivery methods for climate and environmental science, including Climate, Adaptation, Mitigation, & e-Learning (CAMEL). The proposal is the result of discussions with external collaborators and stakeholders, including North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech (through which VSU students did research internships funded by USDA NIFA AFRI PINEMAP on the impacts of climate change on Southern pine species), ASM, GLOBE Trainers in Climate Studies, professionals using GIS and remote sensing at USDA-ARS and VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation), and Virginia Cooperative Extension Specialists in Natural Resources and 4H, and instructors from community colleges and high schools in Virginia. Though this proposal is primarily a teaching proposal, it includes research by engaging students in summer internships at research intensive laboratories (USDA ARS in Beltsville and College Station) and on each campus during the academic year (VSU--Appomattox River watershed; DSU--Delaware Bay, and MSU--Chesapeake Bay).Specific objectives (VSU, DSU, and MSU) are as follows:(1) Curriculum development: Review/enhancement of academic curriculum and development of appropriate courses for program enhancement.(2) Provision of student experiential learning opportunities through faculty-supervised research projects and internships.(3) Faculty development related to pedagogy, instructional delivery and use of technology.(4) Increased awareness of climate change through education of community college and high school students.(5) High school teacher training for integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
80%
Developmental
10%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1120430107050%
1240320207050%
Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 124 - Urban Forestry;

Subject Of Investigation
0320 - Watersheds; 0430 - Climate;

Field Of Science
2070 - Meteorology and climatology; 1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
This is a teaching (joint institution) proposal with Virginia State University (VSU) as the lead institution and Delaware State University (DSU) and Morgan State University (MSU) as collaborators. These institutions have an ongoing regional partnership to engage students in climate change teaching and research. This proposal will provide innovative and uniform instruction to minority students on climate change science and integration of geospatial technologies.The goals of this proposal are consistent with the missions of the universities involved. These universities promote and sustain academic programs that integrate instruction, research, and outreach in a design most responsive to the needs of minorities. This proposal is also aligned with the mission of VSU's College of Agriculture--to improve the educational and socio-economic well-being of students, families, and communities, focusing on excellence through integrated instruction, research, and extension programs.
Project Methods
Methods of delivering the proposed project follows the objectives in the proposal.Objective 1: Curricula DevelopmentThe activities will include a review of the academic programs and curricula at VSU, DSU, and MSU. The course content of the climate change courses offered by the 1862 land-grant universities (University of Florida and Virginia Tech, conducting USDA-NIFA AFRI PINEMAP grant) will be reviewed to revise/enrich these courses: Climate Change and Adaptation (AGRI 350) at VSU, Climatology (NTRS 30-302-03), Intro to Environmental Science lecture/lab (NTRS 30-103-03 and 01), and Soil and Water Management (AGRI 30-401-03) at DSU, Ecology (BIOL 205) and Marine Science (BIOL 603) at MSU. Protocols will also be written so that students from all partner institutions can use WeatherBug (purchased through previous NIFA Grant) to take periodic data on air temperature, relative humidity, and wind direction at their local sites.A new course, "Applications of Geospatial Technologies in Climate Change Science" will be developed through the efforts of the PI, Co-PIs, and consultants Ms. Darlette Meekins (GIS Analyst, Virginia DOT and VSU Adjunct teaching GIS) and Dr. Stacy Nelson (Professor teaching remote sensing applications in Natural Resources and Management, North Carolina State University). The course will include the basics of GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing, nuts and bolts of integrating these techniques for studying the impact of climate change on agricultural, environmental, and aquatic ecosystem. The course contents will consist of written lectures, hands-on activities, and data collection in the field with GPS, and mapping with ArcGIS and ERDAS Imagine software packages. The course will include activities for studying the ecosystem changes by using remote sensing techniques. The faculty-led team at each partner university will write protocols on using remote sensing techniques which will include use of satellite images for classification of land cover features to interpret climate impact on ecosystem land cover changes.Students will also be making an inventory of trees on the VSU campus using i-Tree Eco, which involves knowledge of trees/species and collecting data on species, size and condition by location. These data are complemented with water quality monitoring at study sites. By using ArcGIS, the study sites are mapped to demonstrate the benefits of trees in urban settings on water quality. Baseline data from the tree inventory will be compared with data collected during the project (2016-2019) to further elucidate the ecological services of trees on the VSU campus.Objective 2: Students Experiential Learning Students enrolled in climate change and related courses at VSU, DSU, and MSU will be provided guidance by the PI and Co-PIs at DSU and VSU and MSU's Estuarine Research Center to apply for 10-weeks dedicated independent research in the research laboratories of Agricultural Research Station., During the academic year, the students will be trained in ongoing research efforts and this project at each institution which allow them to integrate climate change concepts.Objective 3:Faculty Professional DevelopmentThe faculty development workshops will be hosted at each partner institution to facilitate interactions with role model educators teaching climate change with focus on STEAM, impact of agricultural practices on climate change; adaptation and mitigation (see Table 3). Faculty from the other two collaborating universities will attend. The instructional materials (Protocols on Climate Studies, Atmosphere, Biosphere, and Hydrology) developed by the NASA and GLOBE will be procured. The faculty members will be provided travel funds through the project budget to participate in faculty development workshops (Diversity Weather Workshop by AMS, GIS in Studies on Atmosphere by NCAR, Colorado, ICE at the University of Colorado, and Geoscience at Texas A&M University). Dr. David Blockstein (Executive Director of National Council of Science and Environment, D.C. will provide assistance with planning workshops at each partner campus.Objective 4: Delivery of Instruction and E-learningThe collaborators (VSU, DSU, and MSU) use Blackboard for posting the course materials, schedule, and course management. Through this project, a e-Learning website for online teaching and sharing of the materials on climate change among the three partners (VSU, DSU, and MSU) will be enhanced based on the website for the previous NIFA project, "Climate Change: Chesapeake Bay and Agricultural Sustainability".The PI and Co-PIs will communicate with organizers of the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation E-Learning (CAMEL) community that has been created by National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). The faculty teaching climate change at VSU, DSU, and MSU will have access to the resources at the CAMEL for enhancing the teaching. Instructors will be able to access sub-portals for sharing education material and experiences with other faculty members. Through the E-learning, approximately 80 individuals (faculty and students) and interested community members will benefit.Objective 5:High School Teachers Training The details of climate change instruction during the summer at VSU and DSU for area high school and community college students are described hereafter. Students will participate in a 3.5-week summer course on climate change and adaptation offered by VSU's Department of Agriculture. The course will be offered as a Local Open Online Course (LOOC) for $299, which will include course materials. The majority of the course will be offered online, but will include one meeting for hands-on activities each week. The hands-on activities will include field trips to Appomattox watershed for collection of water samples and water quality monitoring (turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, nitrates and phosphates). The field activities will also include the use of GPS for collection of waypoints, uploading GPS data into Google Earth and mapping with ArcGIS. We will also consider adopting appropriate lesson plans on Atmosphere, Biosphere, and Hydrosphere developed by the GLOBE Program, which is supported by NASA, NSF, NSF, and the Department of Education. The PI, as the GLOBE Coordinator from Virginia, will coordinate with members of the GLOBE Program in Colorado, NASA Langley, NASA Goddard, and NASA West Virginia. This summer program will help in promoting positive attitudes towards careers in agricultural and environmental sciences that can increase the number of minority students pursing agriculture and related sciences.Train the Trainer / Teacher Preparation at VSU and DSU: In order to involve high school science teachers in creating awareness of climate change and environmental sciences, ten (10) teachers will be recruited from high schools in each state, near VSU and DSU, to participate in the "Train the Trainer" program during the academic school year. At VSU, Drs. Sriharan and Catanzaro will be responsible for program content, while Dr. Ozbay will coordinate at DSU. The focus is in training participants as GLOBE-certified teachers for integrating climate, environmental, and agricultural topics in school curricula and SOLs.

Progress 05/01/17 to 04/30/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The project's large audiences included 24 undergraduate students (Virginia State University, Delaware State University, and Morgan State University) and 3 graduate students from Virginia State University and Delaware State University. A total of 10 faculty members from VSU, DSU, MSU, and HBCUs (Bethune-Cookman College, University of District of Columbia, and Elizabeth City State University) participated in the professional development activities. A total of 10 high school students from high schools in Virginia and Delaware participated in student awareness workshops, coordinated by VSU and DSU. At VSU, 25 teachers from high schools in Petersburg, Hopewell, and Colonial Heights Cities, and Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, and Prince George counties participated in the teachers' workshops. Teachers (6) from Sussex and Petersburg made efforts in integrating climate science topics in Science and Environmental Science classes. Changes/Problems:From March 2020, the change/problems were the restrictions on active participation of project directors and students engaged in the project at all campuses due to COVID-19. The timely performance of the project activities to achieve the objectives of the project was not accomplished due to limited interactions between the project director, co-project directors, and students. The workshops for faculty development, high school teachers, and high school students could not be hosted from 2020-2022. The overall successful participation between 2018-2020, resulted in participation of over 24 undergraduates in internships, 10 faculty members in faculty development, 10 high school students in high school students' workshops, and 25 teachers in teacher preparation workshops. In 2022, few students travelled to conferences to make oral and poster presentations. ? What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Student training: Funding from this CBG collaborative project provided research internships to 24 students during 2017-2019. The opportunities for undergraduate students at VSU, DSU, and MSU, and graduate students (VSU and DSU) were provided for hands-on research during academic year and summer. A total of 24 undergraduates and 3 graduate students received experiential experiences in climate change by use of equipment and instruments for collection of data on weather conditions related to Atmosphere and Hydrosphere, technology Satellite images (Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2), (GIS, GPS, Google Earth), software (Arc GIS, ArcGIS Pro, and ENVI) for making shapefiles of selected study sites (agricultural fields/farms at VSU and DSU), Marine Research Lab at MSU, Pocahontas Park in Virginia, wildfires in California, and classification of features of interest (Land Cover and Land Use, Water, Forests, Vegetation, and Urban) to interpret the results. Dr. Ozbay at DSU trained students on environmental and climate change studies for comparing stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes to examine feeding trends in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) across vegetation zones in Blackbird Creek, investigating environmental parameters and level of Vibrio spp. in Seawater at Slaughter Beach, Delaware, examining differences in water quality and how it affects oyster growth in Rehoboth Bay, and short and long-term effects of chemical pollutants on the human health risks. The students from DSU made presentations at the Delaware State University's NIFA CBG Annual Symposium (2019-2021), published as peer reviewed journal article, and provided in other products section. At MSU, Dr. Fan developed a partnership with Chesapeake Bay Foundation to bring a group of 17 students to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's workboat"Snow Goose" toprovides a unique platform from which students can study the dynamic relationship between the Port of Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay's Patapsco River. Students investigate environmental issues and trends, often within the context of urban ecology The students presented their research outcomes at the conferences such as NIFA CBG Delaware State University's Summer Research Symposium, Virginia State University's HBCU UP, EPA's Environmental Justice Conference in Minority Students Sessions, Washington, D.C., American Water Resources Association hosted at University of District of Columbia, and HBCU Climate Change Conference, New Orleans. Professional development of faculty: The project directors at VSU, DSU, and MSU communicated on the progress of the teaching approaches during the 207-2019 at workshops, via telephone, and email. The research activities were discussed and submitted for publications. These are listed in faculty Publications in Other Products. Dr. Chunlei Fan-Co-Director) showed the use of remote sensing techniques in downloading data from satellites and demonstration of changes in the natural resources and environment. Dr. Deksissa from UDC made presentation on analytical procedures used in chemistry laboratory for measuring the chemicals from water samples. Dr. Jiru Mintesinot (CSU) discussed about writing case studies on global topics. Dr. Sriharan coordinated the workshops and discussed integration of GLOBE Protocols (Hydrosphere and Atmosphere) in teaching of Climate Change. Dr. Sriharan, Dr. Mintesinot, and Dr. Tolessa Deksissa participated in the faculty development workshop sponsored by the NSF Center, SESYNC at the University of Maryland. A case study was written because of their participation in this workshop. This is published in the SESYNC Proceedings and mentioned in faculty publications. High School Students' Awareness of Climate Change Issues During 2017-2018, Dr. Sriharan, coordinated 3-day workshops during the summer for high students from Petersburg, Matoaca, Prince George, and Chesterfield counties. A total of 10 high school students learned about basics of climate change, weather data collection, importance of water quality, use of technology (satellite images, GPS and GIS) for understanding the global climate change. Teacher Preparation: At VSU, a total of 5 Teachers' Workshops were coordinated for high schools' teachers (25) from Petersburg, Hopewell, and Colonial Heights Cities, and Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, and Prince George counties. These teachers were engaged in hands-on activities on weather monitoring, water quality monitoring, use of GPS to collect data on waypoints at VSU's Randolph Farm and Campus. At the end of the training, the teachers had opportunities to discuss topics for integration of climate change topics and activities in classes on ecology, and environmental science in high schools. Workshop topics also included "StormwaterEnvironmental Solutions by Demonstration with Hands-on Activities" by Dr. David Sample, Virginia Tech. ? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The PI and Co-PIs of this project participated in the faculty development workshop sponsored by the NSF Center, SESYNC at the University of Maryland. A case study was written on lead in the waters of District of Columbia and published in the SESYNC Proceedings and mentioned in faculty publications. The results of the project activities at VSU, DSU, and MSU were presented at student conferences, HBCU Climate Change Conference, New Orleans, EPA's Conference on Environmental Justice, Washington the abstract by one graduate student was accepted in the Conference on of Wetland Scientists, Washington, D.C., American Water Resources Association, Washington, D.C. NSF Emerging Researchers Conference, Washington, D.C., NIFA CBG project Directors' Conference, URISA PRO-GIS Conference, New Orleans, The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), Washington, D.C., Global Water Resources Conference, Saskatoon, Canada, and Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS). Dr. Ozbay of DSU presented project outcomes at the Outreach Conferences such as Central YMCA, Wilmington, Delaware, and Earth/Arbor Day Celebration. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Delaware State University. The outcomes of the project activities were integrated in high school teachers' preparation during workshops for high school teachers and summer programs for high school teachers for creating awareness of climate change topics. The high school teachers were provided training during teachers' workshop in using GLOBE Protocols on Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere by Dr. Sriharan), learning hands-on activities on Sea-level Rise, Climate Change and Food-Web Activity, Measuring Carbon Dioxide from the Laboratory Manual, using Google Earth for selecting scenarios across the globe and correlation with climate change by Dr. Ozbay. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Curriculum development:A total of three (3) courses on Climate Change were developed at Virginia State University (VSU) offered the course on Climate Change and Adaptation (AGRI 250-01 and 250-020) in fall, 2020 and Delaware State University. These courses are Climate Change and Adaptation-Agri 250-01 (Lecture) and Climate Change and Adaptation -02 (Laboratory) at VSU and Climatology (NTRS 30-303-01) at Delaware State University (DSU). At VSU, the project director, Dr. Shobha Sriharan (VSU) taught the courses AGRI 250-01 Synchronously at VSU during 2020-2022 due to Covid-19 pandemic. A total of four (4) courses were integrated with topics in Climate Change.Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295) at VSU, the Introduction to Environmental Science (NTRS 30-103-01), Environmental Toxicology (NTRS 466-01 CRN 16709) at DSU, and Introduction to Environmental Science (BIOL 203) and Marine Science (BIOL 603) at Morgan State University (MSU). The courses Marine Science and Introduction to Environmental Science at MSU were taught by the Co-Director, Dr. Chunlei Fan, Co-Director. The course on Environmental Toxicology at DSU allowed seniors majoring in Environmental Science and other Agriculture majors, to become familiar with some of the contaminants that are potential threat to human health, living organisms and environment. The course, Contemporary Global Studies, AGRI 295 was updated by writing current case studies on current global climate change and impact on environment, health, and economics, and needful Citizen Action. Rubrics were updated to assess students' performance in the above-mentioned courses. These rubrics helped in evaluating students' performance both in written (reports) and oral (power point presentations) communications. 2. Provision of student experiential learning opportunities through faculty-supervised research projects and internships. During 2017-2019, students at all collaborating universities (VSU, DSU, and MSU) participated in research internships on campuses and research-intensive organizations. A total of 24 undergraduate and 3 graduate students participated in research internships at VSU, DSU, and MSU. The students gained hands-on experiences in collecting data and presenting results in conferences and publishing on following topics, environmental data monitoring, carbon dioxide, weather parameters (temperature, humidity, precipitation, water quality monitoring (chemical and biological parameters) at watersheds in Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland. At VSU, students conducted studies on water quality monitoring at Appomattox River watershed and collected data on concentrations of nitrogen, nitrates, total phosphorus, dissolved orthophosphate, and suspended sediment. The students mapped the study area by using geospatial techniques. The students used ArcGIS Pro and ENVIR 5.6 software. At MSU, Dr. Chunlei Fan (Co-PI) provided internship to students to study the historical decline of Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) size continues in a 50+ year fishery-independent survey in the Chesapeake Bay. This research was conducted at Morgan State University Patuxent Aquatic and Environmental Research Lab (PEARL). At DSU, Dr. Ozbay trained students in using three types of shell containment gear to monitor and compare the setting efficiency rate and post-set survival. The outcomes of this research showed that the stacked aquaculture trays were advantageous for several reasons: reducing handling time, uniform shell distribution within tanks, environmentally friendly alternative, and ease of cleaning detritus between shell layers. The results of this research were published as peer reviewed journal article and provided in other products section. Summer internships were provided to the students at intensive universities/ organizations such as North Carolina State University (NCSU), Lawrence Berkeley Research Laboratory, University of Delaware. The students were engaged in research on learning different software (Arc GIS and Arc GIS Pro) for mapping of Land Cover and Land Use at agricultural farms near NCSU and Randolph Farm of VSU, wildfires (Camp Fire at Paradise City) in California. The students received awards for their presentations at the student conferences (HBCU Climate Change Conference in New Orleans, NIFA CBG Undergraduate Research Conference at Delaware State University, and EPA's Environmental Justice Conference in Washington, D.C.) In 2020 and 2021, summer internships at off campus were not available to students due to Covid-19 Lockdown. A total of 10 faculty members from collaborating universities (VSU, DSU, and MSU) and HBCUs (Elizabeth City State University and Bethune-Cookman College), University of District of Columbia (UDC), and Reynold Community College participated in the faculty development workshops at VSU. The faculty members were provided teaching materials on climate change education from American Metabiological Society (AMS), NASA's Outreach Program, and GLOBE Program. The participants also received hands-on experiences on using GLOBE Protocols on Hydrosphere, Atmosphere), Water Quality Monitoring, use of GPS, and mapping by Arc GIS. The training was provided by workshop presenters from by workshop presenters from educators from Virginia Tech, NCSU, Morgan State University, Delaware State University, and UDC, and USDA ARS Scientists, College Station, Texas. Workshops were hosted at VSU, DSU, and MSU during 2017-2019. At MSU, Dr. Chunlei Fan conducted workshop on use of E-learning for communication of data on climate change between the project collaborators and members of Environmental/Climate Research Organizations. The faculty workshops also included field trips at MSU's Marine Research Laboratory for observing activities on marine organisms and suspended sediments by remote sensing. At DSU, Dr. Ozbay hosted workshop by GIS Specialist, Ms. Darlette Meekins on GIS application for climate change related data and how to adapt this technology for in-class learning and enhance students' learning. The PI and Co-PIs also participated in faculty development workshops hosted by AMS, American Geophysical Society, NASA Langley, University of Maryland NSF Center for Socio-Environmental Synthesis. 4. Increased awareness of climate change through education of community college and high school students. A total of 10 high school students from Petersburg, Hopewell, and Matoaca were engaged in experiential learning activities on climate change during 3-day summer workshops at VSU. The students participated in lecture and hands-on activities. These included introduction to climate change topics, GLOBE Protocols on Atmosphere and Biosphere, use of GPS (Global Positioning System) for tracking the waypoints on VSU campus and Randolph Farm and making observations of study sits by Google Earth. During 2020-2021, the workshops for high school students could not be coordinated due to Covid-19 pandemic. 5. High school teacher training for integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula During 2017-2019, a total of five (5) workshops were conducted for school teachers from schools in Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights Cities, and Sussex, Matoaca, Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Chesterfield Counties in Virginia by VSU. A total of 25 teachers had the opportunities to listen to lectures on global climate change topics, receive teaching materials from the GLOBE Program, and participate in hands-on activities on GLOBE Protocols on Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere, collect weather data (CO2, temperature, and humidity) from weather stations. The teachers from Sussex and Petersburg high schools integrated basic climate change exercises in the courses on Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Science. Teachers received Certificates for their participation by the courtesy of the GLOBE Teachers Program and Teachers' Professional Development Program from VSU.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ozbay G, Jones M, Gadde M, Isah S, Attarwala T. 2021. Design and Operation of Effective Landfills with Minimal Effects on the Environment and Human Health. Hindawi Journal of Environmental and Public Health 2021, 13, 1607. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6921607
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ozbay G, Khatiwada R, Smith S, Chintapenta LK. 2021. Efficacy of Heavy Use Area Protection Pads (HUAP) in Poultry Farm. MDPI Agricultural Systems and Management Journal in Special Issue: Resource Conserving Agricultural Practices for Ecological Sustainability. Agriculture.11(2):154; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11020154
  • Type: Other Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Lankowicz, K. M., Bi, H., Liang, D., & Fan, C. (2020). Sonar imaging surveys fill data gaps in forage fish populations in shallow estuarine tributaries. Fisheries Research, 226, 105520. Song, J., Bi, H., Cai, Z., Cheng, X., He, Y., Benfield, M. C., & Fan, C. (2020). Early warning of Noctiluca scintillans blooms using in-situ plankton imaging system: An example from Dapeng Bay, PR China. Ecological Indicators, 112, 106123.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Oseji, O. F., Fan, C., & Chigbu, P. (2019). Composition and dynamics of phytoplankton in the coastal bays of Maryland, USA, revealed by microscopic counts and diagnostic pigments analyses. Water, 11(2), 368. Dong Hee Kang, Kelton L. Clark, James G. Hunter, Chunlei Fan, Anastasia E. M. Chirnside, Andrew Z. Farkas, Mark M. Bundy. (2019) Evaluation of recycled concrete aggregate for oyster aquaculture. World Environmental & Water Resources Congress 2019. Pittsburgh, PA. May 19-23.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ozbay, G, Reckenbell, B, and Phalen, L, 2020. Remote set of Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in various aquaculture gear. The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research. Volume 46, Issue 4, December 2020, Pages 397-403.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ozbay G. 2020. Water Resources: Preserving Our Liquid Assets and Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems. Green Job Youth Program. July 16, 2020. Virtual Youth Training.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ozbay G, Babu B, Peatman E and Kouhanestani ZM. 2022. Prescreening veterinary drug residues, heavy metal concentration, and genetic authentication in retail catfish fillets in the Northeast United States. Food Control 135(1-2):108792. DOI:10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.108792
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jackson, L, Hines, J., and Llorico, J., and Sriharan, S. 2022. Studies On Climate Change at The Five Major River Basins of Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, HBCU Climate Change Conference, New Orleans, April 10-13, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Llorico, J., Jackson, and Sriharan, S. 2022. Demonstration of Change in the Canopy of Study Sites at Pocahontas State Park by Field Studies and Remote Sensing, NSF-HBCU Undergraduate Student Conference, Virginia State University, April 1, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Ozbay, G.2022. Climate Change Workshop Virtual: Creating a Stable System of Agriculture to Feed the Worlds People. VSU-DSU-Guyana University Partnership, March 8, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jacobs, K. 2020. Studies on Addressing Issues Concerning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Marijuana (Cannabis) Industry. Environmental Justice Conference (Session: Engage, Motivate, and Innovate-EMI), Washington, D.C., April 22-25, 2020. Engage, Motivate, and Innovate (EMI) session of Environmental Justice Conference, Washington, D.C., April 22-25, 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ozbay, G. 2021. Human Population and Climate Virtual: Measuring Growth and Its Impact. November 15, 2021.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Deksissa, T., Ozbay, G, Sriharan, S., and James, N. 2018. Socio-Environmental Synthesis for Water Quality Study: Toxic Contaminants in Our Tap Water and Water Use Policy (2017-7), Oct 22, 2018: https://www.sesync.org/socio-environmental-synthesis-for-water-quality-study-toxic-contaminants-in-our-tap-water-and-water
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Hines, J, Jackson, L, Meekins, D., Ozbay, G, and Sriharan, S, 2021. Correlation between Field Types, Locations and Demographics and Potential Greenfield Development, using GIS to Map Brownfields in Richmond, Virginia, submitted to National Conference on Environmental Justice, https://www.epa.gov/environmental justice/federal-interagency-working-group-environmental-justice-ej-iwg#emi.
  • Type: Other Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Fan, C, Clark, McLean, N, and Bundy, M. 2020. The impacts of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) on epifaunal community structure and eastern oyster recruitment: Implication of using RCA as bottom conditioning material for oyster restoration and aquaculture in Current Research. Environmental Sustainability, 2 (2020) 100012
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ozbay, G. 2021. VSU Global Seminar Class: Climate Change Case Studies. November 12, 2021. Virtual Invited Lecture. Attarwala T. 2021. Short and Long-Term Effects of Chemical Pollutants on the Environment and their Potential Human Risks. Research Day 2021, Dover, DE, April 16, 2021. Invited Oral Presenter. Maina J, Stone M, Ozbay G. 2021. Comparing Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes to Examine feeding trends in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) across Vegetation zones in Blackbird Creek. Professional Agriculture Workers Conference (PAWC), Tuskegee University, AL, Dec 5, 2021. Graduate Student Poster, Virtual Competition.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Maina J, Stone M, Ozbay G. 2021. Comparing Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes to Examine feeding trends in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) across Vegetation zones in Blackbird Creek. Research Day, Delaware State University, DE, April 16, 2021. Graduate Student Oral Presentation.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Teat M*, Bland A, Maina J, Nakazwe M, Ozbay G. (2021). Artificial Oyster Reefs and Oyster Farms Impact on Recruitment, Species Diversity, and Water Quality in Rehoboth Bay, Delaware. 2021 Delaware State University Virtual Research Symposium, Dover, Delaware. Invited Virtual Poster Presenter
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Staples, A. A. Bevans, T. Ihde, and Fan, C. 2021. Size matters: The historical decline of Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) size continues in a 50+ year fishery-independent survey in the Chesapeake Bay. Poster Pres. at 151st Ann. Meet. Amer. Fish. Soc. Baltimore, MD, 6-10 November 2021
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Staples, A. A. Bevans, T. Ihde, and Fan, C. 2021. Size matters: The historical decline of Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) size continues in a 50+ year fishery-independent survey in the Chesapeake Bay. Poster Pres. at 2021 Chesapeake Watershed Forum, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (virtual). 1-5 November.


Progress 05/01/20 to 04/30/21

Outputs
Target Audience:The project's large audiences included 14 undergraduate students (Virginia State University, Delaware State University, and Morgan State University) and 3 graduate students from Virginia State University, Delaware State university, and Morgan State University. Six teachers from Sussex High School were communicated for their continued interest in enriching teaching of environmental science integrated with climate change topics. One high school student at Delaware State University. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Student training: At VSU, the research conducted by one graduate student and one undergraduate student during summer and fall of2020 was compiled in the excel sheets. The students used the tabulated data to interpret the differences in chemical components in water samples in five river basins (Appomattox, James, York, Rappahannock, Potomac, and Susquehanna) which empty into the Chesapeake Bay. The results on the concentrations of nitrogen, nitrates, total phosphorus, dissolved orthophosphate, and suspended sediment were measured and mapped. The research conducted by the students on Randolph Experimental Farm of VSU during early spring 2020 was submitted as the abstracts to the conferences, Society of Wetland Scientists (2021) and National Environmental Justice Conference (2021). These abstracts are listed in student presentations in Other Products. Dr. Ozbay (Co-Director) at DSU trained students in using three types of shell containment gear to monitor and compare the setting efficiency rate and post-set survival. One of the students involved in preparation of the research article. Shell containment gears included diamond, plastic mesh bags (2009, 2011), wire baskets (2011, The results showed that the stacked aquaculture trays were advantageous for several reasons: reducing handling time, uniform shell distribution within tanks, environmentally friendly alternative, and ease of cleaning detritus between shell layers. This project is published in peer reviewed journal article and provided in other products section. At MSU, Dr. Fan (Co-Director) trained students in evaluating the suitability of using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) from road projects as an alternative bottom conditioning material for oyster restoration and aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay. The results showed there was no significant difference across substrate type (RCA, oyster shell, and RCA with oyster shell) in terms of their impacts on benthic community diversity and oyster recruitment, demonstrating that RCA, as an alternative material, generally similar to natural oyster shell with regards to ecosystem services. Further, this could be a potential source for much needed bottom substrate for oyster restoration and aquaculture. This project is published in peer-reviewed journal article and provided in other products section. Professional development of faculty The project directors at VSU, DSU, and MSU communicated on the progress of the teaching approaches during the on-line teaching. The research activities were discussed and submitted for publications. These are listed in faculty Publications in Other Products. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?At VSU, the abstract by one graduate student was accepted in the Conference on of Wetland Scientists, Washington, D.C., 2021on-Line). An undergraduate student's abstract has been accepted by the EPA's Conference on Environmental Justice, Washington, D.C., 2021 (on-Line). A graduate student at MSU won the second place award for oral presentation given at the National Technical Association's 92nd annual conference based on Investigating methods of DNA extraction and analysis for marine invertebrates along the US North East Coast (September 2020). One graduate student, Jackie Maina presented her research during the Shellfish Research Meeting and the Professional Workers Agricultural Conference hosted by Tuskegee University virtually. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1. Curriculum Development: Review/enhancement of academic curriculum and development of appropriate courses for program enhancement. The courses on climate change, AGRI 250-01 (Lecture) need to be updated with current topics on climate change. The topics on recent advances available from NASA, USGS, and NOAA, will be included by using the videos. The laboratory course, AGRI 250-02 (Laboratory) will be enriched with more hands-on activities using the Protocols on Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere, and examples from laboratory activities at 1962 universities (Virginia Tech and University of Florida). Objective 2: Providing student experiential learning opportunities through faculty supervised. research projects and internships. At VSU, one graduate student and one undergraduate student will be engaged in research on topics related to climate change. During summer, these students will be provided internship opportunities opportunity at North Carolina State University (NCSU) during summer 2021, in case NCSU provided the internship opportunity to VSU students. VSU and NCSU has an ongoing At MSU, summer undergraduate internship on marine and coastal science will be offered during the summer of 2021. The detail information can be found at: https://www.morgan.edu/research_and_economic_development/cross_school_research_programs/centers/patuxent_environmental_and_aquatic_research_laboratory/education/summer_internship_program.html At DSU, one graduate and one undergraduate student will continue working on "Application of stable carbon nitrogen isotopes to examine feeding habits in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) across various vegetation zones in Blackbird Creek, Delaware." Objective 3: Faculty development related to pedagogy, instructional delivery and use of technology. The syllabus on Climate Change Laboratory course (AGRI 250-2) will be updated to revise the course level student learning outcomes (CLSLOs) at VSU. The model for student assessment of the course on Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295) developed by the PD (Dr. Shobha Sriharan) will be adopted to revise the Climate Change courses (AGRI 250-01 and AGRI 250-02). In fall2021 and spring 2022, student assessment will be conducted to confirm that learning outcomes are achieved. In fall 2021and spring 2022, the Co-PD, Dr. Ozbay will be invited to a faculty development workshop along with the Co-PD from MSU and faculty members associated in teaching of Climate Change at all participating institutions. Dr. Ozbay will demonstrate the hands-on activities on climate change. These activities have been complied in the Laboratory Notebook by Dr. Ozbay. Ozbay G and Phalen L. 2019. Hands-On Activities for Climate Change and Environmental Science. Compiled from various laboratory hands-on activities. Delaware State University, Dover, DE. April 3, 2019. Pp. 120. Objective 4. Increased awareness of climate change through education of community college and high school students. In the event VSU campus facilities become available during the summer 2021, a 3-day workshop on using technology (Internet and GIS) for understanding of climate change concepts will be hosted at VSU for a group of 10 students from schools in Petersburg, Dinwiddie, Matoaca, Prince George, Sussex, and Colonial Heights. The number of participants will be limited. The Project and Co-project directors, and Instructor teaching GIS at VSU will be the trainers. Objective 5. High school teacher training for integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula. At VSU, a 2-days workshop on hands-on training in integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula. The teachers (10) from high schools in Sussex, Dinwiddie, Petersburg, Matoaka, and Prince George will be invited to this workshop.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this project period, Virginia State University (lead Institution) and collaborating institutions (Delaware State University and Morgan State University) could not conduct regular project activities due to Covid-19 issue. However, with online opportunities available at all three institutions, the accomplishments made are reported. 1. Curriculum development: Virginia State University (VSU) offered the course on Climate Change and Adaptation (AGRI 250-01 and 250-020) in fall, 2020 and spring 2021. The course was offered on-line (synchronous) by the project director, Dr. Shobha Sriharan. Climate Change Laboratory course (AGRI 250-02) was enriched with hands-on activities by using the Laboratory Book, "Hands-on Activities for Climate Change and Environmental Science" compiled by Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay, Co-Director at Delaware State University (DSU) and Laurieann Phalen (DSU). A few examples are: Greenhouse gases and Climate Change: The Incredible Carbon Journey, Climate Change and Sea Level Rise, Wetlands: At VSU, The course on Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295) which is a General Education course and taken by students from the schools of Science, Business, and Liberal Arts includes use of case studies on Global topics. This course was taught synchronously by Dr. Sriharan. One case study on Climate Change was integrated with most up-to-date information on Climate Change by using the most recent articles (Pro and Con opinions). The students were divided into two groups to read the articles and use Internet to write their impressions and make power point slides for oral presentations and debate. The students were assessed by using rubrics for each of these two types of impressions. This approach has created more excitement among the students. In spring 2021, two sections of AGRI 295 (Agri 295-01 and AGRI 295-02) are formed with 20 students in each section. At Delaware State University (DSU), Dr. Ozbay taught the courses, Climatology (NTRS 30-303-01) and Introduction to Environmental Science (NTRS 30-103-01). She also compiled the Laboratory Handbook, "Hands-on Activities for Climate Change and Environmental Science". At Morgan State University (MSU), Dr. Chunlei Fan (Co-Project Director) taught the course, Introduction to Environmental Science (BIOL 203) and Marine Science (BIOL 603) by integrating climate change topics. Dr. Ozbay offered a new course "Environmental Toxicology (NTRS 466-01 CRN 16709). This course allowed seniors majoring in Environmental Science and other Agriculture majors to become familiar with some of the contaminants that are potential threat to human health, living organisms and environment. 2. Provision of student experiential learning opportunities through faculty-supervised research projects and internships. Due to Covid-19 lockdown, VSU, DSU, and MSU did not allow faculty members and students to be on campus during this reporting period. However, the project directors used innovative approaches conducting students experiential learning and having students work on data collected from previous years and learn how to do literature review and prepare research papers. Two graduate students and an undergraduate student worked online during the reporting period. The students collected data on the chemical components of water quality in the river basins of the Appomattox, James, York, Rappahannock, Potomac, and Susquehanna, which empty into the Chesapeake Bay. The data was collected at various sites along these six Virginian river basins to examine the chemical and physical characteristics and health of the water. The concentrations of nitrogen, nitrates, total phosphorus, dissolved orthophosphate, and suspended sediment were measured and mapped. The research was conducted by the students on campus and Randolph Experimental Farm of VSU during early spring 2020 submitted as the abstracts to the conferences, Society of Wetland Scientists and EPA's Conference on Environmental Justice. These abstracts are listed in student presentations in Other Products. 3. Faculty development related to pedagogy, instructional delivery and use of technology. Again, due to Covid-19 pandemic, faculty development workshops could not be hosted at any of the collaborating institutions. The project directors communicated via telephone, email, and zoom to discuss the progress on curriculum development and student research experiences. The faculty publications are listed in Other Products below. 4. Increased awareness of climate change through education of community college and high school students. This activity could not be conducted due to Covid-19 pandemic. 5. High school teacher training for integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula Due to Covid-19 issue, the activities could not be conducted. However, the project director was in communication via email with the teachers from Sussex High School. The teachers from this school are very much interested in including the topics in the environmental science class and they were consulted via virtual meetings and phones with the program team

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Sriharan, S, Meekins, D, Jackson, L, Hines, J, and Ozbay, G, 2020. Mapping the Water Quality of the River Basins in Virginia Using Chemical Indicators, In Preparation
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jarell Hines (Undergraduate Students) Correlation between Field Types, Locations and Demographics and Potential Greenfield Development, using GIS to Map Brownfields in Richmond, Virginia, submitted to National Conference on Environmental Justice, https://www.epa.gov/environmental justice/federal-interagency-working-group-environmental-justice-ej-iwg#emi.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Latia Jackson (Graduate Students) Studies on Water Quality in Five River Basins of Chesapeake Bay: Chemical Parameters and Mapping the River Basins submitted to the Society of Wetland Scientists: Multicultural Mentoring Program (SWaMMP)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Nikelene Mclean (graduate student) at MSU: Investigating methods of DNA extraction and analysis for marine invertebrates along the US North East Coast. National Technical Associations 92nd Annual Conference. September, 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Maina J, Bland A and Ozbay G. 2020. Comparing Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes to Examine Feeding Trends in 2 - Blue Crabs (Callinectes Sapidus) across Vegetation Zones in Blackbird Creek. 78th Virtual Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, Remotely, December 6-8, 2020. Oral Presentation.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Maina J, Bland A and Ozbay G. 2020. Comparing Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes to Examine Feeding Trends in Blue Crabs (Callinectes Sapidus) across Vegetation Zones in Blackbird Creek. 74th Virtual Annual Shellfish Conference & Trade Show. Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association. October 2-8, 2020. Poster Presentation.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Fan, C., Clark, McLean, N, and Bundy, M. 2020. The impacts of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) on epifaunal community structure and eastern oyster recruitment: Implication of using RCA as bottom conditioning material for oyster restoration and aquaculture in Current Research. Environmental Sustainability, 2 (2020) 100012.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ozbay, G, Reckenbell, B, and Phalen, L, 2020. Remote set of Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in various aquaculture gear. The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research. Volume 46, Issue 4, December 2020, Pages 397-403
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ozbay G. 2020. Water Resources: Preserving Our Liquid Assets and Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems. Green Job Youth Program. July 16, 2020. Virtual Youth Training.


Progress 05/01/19 to 04/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences included 17 undergraduate students from Virginia State University, 4 undergraduate students from Delaware State University, and 2 undergraduate students from Morgan State University. Three graduate students (1 each from VSU, DSU, and MSU) are among the target audience in the project activities. In addition 5 high school students participated in the project activities. Three (3) VSU students availed themselves of summer internship in 2019 in research related to climate change at research-intensive laboratories of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University. Total of 22 teachers and faculty from community colleges received training in hands-on activities, and information/activities for integrating climate change topics in school curriculum. Faculty members from 1890 Land-Grant Universities (VSU and DSU), HBCUs (Morgan State University, Coppin State University, and University of District of Columbia benefited by their participation in faculty development workshops at VSU, DSU, and MSU, workshops and opportunities at University of Maryland and professional conferences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In summer, 2019, three (3) undergraduate students and one (1) graduate student spent 10 weeks as summer interns at North Carolina State University (NCSU, 1862 Land-Grant University). The students conducted research in the Center for Geospatial Analytics. Initially, they spent a few weeks in learning the new software of ESRI, ArcGIS Pro. The teachers learned how to use Tutorial on hands-on exercises with image of Raleigh, North Carolina. Later, each student conducted an independent project. They reviewed current topics related to climate change. The independent projects were focused on application of ArcGIS pro for classification of land cover with remote sensing techniques under the supervision of Dr. Stacy Nelson, Professor, Geospatial Analytic Center, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, NCSU. The students retrieved satellite images from USGS Landsat 8 and Sentinel and preparation of subsets to select area of interest. The satellite images of Butte County, Paradise City, Los Angeles, and Ventura County, California were studied in detail. The true color and false color images were compared to get an idea of the extent of damage due to wildfires. These images were compared with Google Earth to assess that images correspond to the study sites. Later, the students performed the Supervised and Unsupervised classification to separate out the important land cover features: Forest trees, Burned Forest Trees, Barren Land, Urban, and Water). To check the accuracy of their classification techniques, accuracy assessment was performed. Overall, the students finished these tasks in 5 weeks. The outcomes of the summer internship were presented at the conferences mentioned in Dissemination Section. Dr. Sriharan coordinated activities for students to received travel awards to conference, HBCU Climate Change in New Orleans, November, 2019. Three students made presentations and received travel awards. As a mentor, Dr. Sriharan also participated in this conference and was awarded a travel grant. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project results were disseminated at the conferences by the project director, co-project directors, and students. The students from VSU made presentations at the HBCU Climate Change, New Orleans, and November, 2019. They also made presentations at Undergraduate Research Conference on VSU campus and NIFA-Supported Undergraduate Research Conference at Delaware State University, in summer, 2019. Three students made presentations at the Environmental justice Conference in 2020. Dr. Sriharan presented the outcomes of the project teaching and research outcomes at the Second Water Future Conference at the University of Saskatoon, Canada, May, 2019 and URI SA Pro Conference in New Orleans, September, 2019. Ms. Nikelene Mclean (Dr. Fan's graduate student) presented the research outcomes at the Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 25, 2019, and at the 91st National Technical Conference at Coppin State University, Baltimore MD, September 25-27, 2019. Flyers were prepared on the Climate Change and Adaptation Teaching at VSU. These are distributed each semester to publicize the project activities. The students of VSU also showed their support of Climate Change at the HBCU Climate Change Conference and their participation in the Climate Change March in Washington, D.C. This activity was supported by Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University, New Orleans. This Center is actively involved in engaging students from HBCUs in voicing their concerns on climate change at public platforms and community action. Dr. Fan developed a partnership with Chesapeake Bay Foundation to bring a group of 17 students to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's workboat"Snow Goose" toprovide a unique platform from which students can study the dynamic relationship between the Port of Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay's Patapsco River. Students investigate environmental issues and trends, often within the context of urban ecology. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The activities mentioned in the reporting period are for the third year of the grant period. However, a No-Cost Extension will be requested for one year (May 1, 202-April 30, 20210). If No-Cost Extension is awarded, the project directors at VSU, DSU, and MSU will prepare more extensive hands-on activities for teaching of climate change at these universities. Secondly, they will work hard to get more students enrolled in this course. The course contents will be revised to attract more students from Non-Science disciplines. Faculty members will be encouraged to write case studies to engage students in communication/debate on climate change Pro- and con issues. More case studies will be written to integrate different aspects climate change (impact on health, environment, economic, and social) for enriching course materials. Teacher preparation activities will be conducted to encourage more schools to participate for integration of climate change in high schools. The undergraduate students will be encouraged to participate student experiential experiences related to climate change. They will be encouraged to also apply for summer internship opportunities. Efforts will be made to disseminate and publicize the project outcomes at the professional conferences for students and faculty members. At Morgan State University, we will continue to recruit 6 to 8 undergraduate students into the PEARL summer intern program. Students will participate in the authentic research related to climate change and environmental science.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Curriculum Development: Review/enhancement of academic curriculum and development of appropriate courses for program enhancement. The upper-level course on Climate Change and Adaptation (AGRI-350) at Virginia State University (VSU) was revised and approved to lower-level course, AGRI-250 and offered in fall, 2019 and spring 2020. As a result of this, the students from science and non-science majors are enrolled in this course. The lecture contents are prepared to include topics of interest to students from non-science disciplines. To make this course more attractive to students in STEM area, a 1-hour laboratory course was developed and approved. This laboratory course (AGRI 250-laboratory) is offered in spring 2020. As a result of these accomplishments, this course is getting publicity as a Science Elective. Objective 2: Providing student experiential learning opportunities through faculty-supervised research projects and internships. Opportunities were provided to undergraduate students (8) and graduate student (1) at VSU to participate in research during academic year. These students conducted research under the supervision of the project director, Dr. Shobha Sriharan. The research areas were: impact of climate change on water quality in the watersheds of Appomattox and James Rivers; role of urban trees in reducing runoff from Appomattox River; mapping of the study sites with geospatial techniques with ArcGIS Pro (new software on VSU computers since 2019); Impact of Northern California wildfire, Camp Fire on Paradise City and Butte County; Impact of Southern California, Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura County; and Brownfields in Richmond and Gentrification. The outcomes of research are mentioned in the list of student presentations. Objective 3. Faculty development related to pedagogy, instructional delivery and use of technology. Faculty development workshops were conducted at VSU for the faculty members from VSU, Delaware State University (DSU), Morgan State University (MSU), Coppin State University (CSU), and University of District of Columbia (UDC). Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay (Co-Director-DSU) demonstrated the use of hands-on activities for enriching the teaching of Climate Change. Dr. Chunlei Fan-Co-Director) showed the use of remote sensing techniques in downloading data from satellites and demonstration of changes in the natural resources and environment. Dr. Deksissa from UDC made presentation on analytical procedures used in chemistry laboratory for measuring the chemicals from water samples. Dr. Jiru Mintesinot (CSU) discussed about writing case studies on global topics. Dr. Sriharan coordinated the workshops and discussed integration of GLOBE Protocols (Hydrosphere and Atmosphere) in teaching of Climate Change. Dr. Sriharan, Dr. Mintesinot, and Dr. Tolessa Deksissa participated in the faculty development workshop sponsored by the NSF Center, SESYNC at the University of Maryland. A case study was written as a result of their participation in this workshop. This is published in the SESYNC Proceedings and mentioned in faculty publications. Dr. Sriharan participated in the URISA Pro Conference and made presentation on the Camp Fire Impact on Land Cover in Paradise City. She also participated in the American Geophysical Union Conference. Objective 4. Increased awareness of climate change through education of community college and high school students. To create enthusiasm among the high school students in Southside Virginia, activities were conducted to demonstrate the use of hand-held GPS (Global Positioning System). Teachers were contacted to recruit students in high schools at Colonial Heights and Sussex. In cooperation with the teachers, sessions on GPS hands-on activities was conducted at the Science Club Meetings. This activity created awareness among the students for application of this technology in environmental and climate change. Objective 5. High school teacher training for integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula. At VSU, two workshops were hosted for teacher preparation and faculty development of community college faculty. The purpose of these workshops was to provide the information, study guides, and hands-on activities which will help in integration of climate change topics in school curricula and environmental science program in community colleges. In spring 2019, a 2-day workshop. "Stormwater: Environmental Solutions by Demonstration with Hands-on Activities" by Dr. David Sample, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was conducted. The demonstration include Equipment to collect and Analyze Pollutants. Graduate students of Virginia Tech provided hands-on training to a group of 15 teachers and faculty members. A second workshop was hosted on Climate Change: Hands-on Activities to Integrate in School Curriculum" with speakers from collaborating universities (VSU, DSU, and MSU). Dr. Sriharan (Project Director) coordinated the workshop at VSU and showed how to include the GLOBE Protocols on Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere, and use of educational kits for teaching of Climate Change. Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay (Co-PD from DSU) demonstrated activities on, "Hands-on Activities for Climate Change and Environmental Science", from the Manual on Laboratory Exercises prepared by her. The reference to this manual is given in the list of faculty publications.The activities included Sea-level Rise, Climate Change and Food-Web Activity, Measuring Carbon dioxide. Dr. Chunlei Fan (Co-PD, MSU) demonstrated how remote sensing techniques can be applied in relating climate change in environmental science classroom. Ms. Darlette Meekins, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture (VSU) trained the participants in using Google Earth for demonstrating the scenarios across the globe and correlation with climate change. A group of 15 teachers from high schools in Southside Virginia and faculty members from community colleges in Richmond participated in the workshop.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Deksissa, T., Ozbay, G, Sriharan, S., and James, N. 2018. Socio-Environmental Synthesis for Water Quality Study: Toxic Contaminants in Our Tap Water and Water Use Policy (2017-7), Oct 22, 2018: https://www.sesync.org/socio-environmental-synthesis-for-water-quality-study-toxic-contaminants-in-our-tap-water-and-water.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Sriharan, S., Logan, D., Austin, A., and Meekins, D. 2019. Case Study: California Wildfires: Effects on the Communities within the High Risk Vulnerable Areas, URISA GIS-Pro Conference, New Orleans.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Sriharan, S., Meekins, D. Georges, E., Logan, D., Jackson, L, and Nelson, S. 2019. Water Quality Studies at Appomattox River Watershed in Virginia: Importance of Urban Trees in Reducing Storm Water, Global Water Future, 2nd Annual Science Meeting, University of Saskatoon, Canada, May 15-17, 2019.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Isah S, Ozbay G. 2019. Valorization of Food Loss and Wastes: Feedstocks for Biofuels and Valuable Chemicals. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems Journal, Specialty Section: Nutrition and Sustainable Diets. Accepted.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Ozbay G, Reckenbeil B, 2019. Remote Set Practices in Delaware Oyster Gardening Program: Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Larval Set Efficiency Survival Rate, and Feasibility of Gear Type. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Sciences. Accepted.
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Ozbay, G. and Phalen L. 2019. Hands-On Activities for Climate Change and Environmental Science. Compiled from various laboratory hands-on activities. Delaware State University, Dover, DE. April 3, 2019. 120 pp.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Dong Hee Kang, Kelton L. Clark, James G. Hunter, Chunlei Fan, Anastasia E. M. Chirnside, Andrew Z. Farkas, Mark M. Bundy. (2019) Evaluation of recycled concrete aggregate for oyster aquaculture. World Environmental & Water Resources Congress 2019. Pittsburgh, PA. May 19-23.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Lankowicz, K. M., Bi, H., Liang, D., & Fan, C. (2020). Sonar imaging surveys fill data gaps in forage fish populations in shallow estuarine tributaries. Fisheries Research, 226, 105520.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Song, J., Bi, H., Cai, Z., Cheng, X., He, Y., Benfield, M. C., & Fan, C. (2020). Early warning of Noctiluca scintillans blooms using in-situ plankton imaging system: An example from Dapeng Bay, PR China. Ecological Indicators, 112, 106123.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Oseji, O. F., Fan, C., & Chigbu, P. (2019). Composition and dynamics of phytoplankton in the coastal bays of Maryland, USA, revealed by microscopic counts and diagnostic pigments analyses. Water, 11(2), 368.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wells, J. 2019. Geospatial Technologies to Study Climate Change and its impact on Wildfires: Butte County, California Camp Fire, November 8, 2018. HBCU Climate Change Conference, New Orleans, November 13-16, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Greenfield, T. 2019. Climate Change its Impact on California Wildfires: A Spatial Analysis of Factors Contributing to Social Vulnerability. HBCU Climate Change Conference, New Orleans, November 13-16, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackson, L. 2019. Studies on Water Quality Monitoring and E. coli in Appomattox River during Different Seasons. HBCU Climate Change Conference, New Orleans, November 13-16, 2019. McMillan, T, Spann, A., Sriharan S. Ozbay. G., Nelson, S 2019. Studies on Land Cover in Butte County, California as a result of Camp Fire. Undergraduate Research Conference at Delaware State University, Dover, July, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Logan, D., Georges, E., Nelson, S., and Sriharan, S. 2019. Comparison of Classification Operations in the Land Cover Assessment of Virginia State Universitys Randolph Farm, Petersburg, Virginia, NSF-supported Conference, Emerging Researchers National Conference, Washington, D.C.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Georges, E., Logan, D., Austin, A., and Sriharan, S. 2019. Climate Change and its Effects on Virginias Weather, Wildlife, Food Production, and Water Supplies, NSF HBCU UP Undergraduate Research Symposium, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: N. Mclean, C. Fan (2019). Long-term Population dynamics of the Atlantic Bay Nettle Chrysaora Chesapeakei in the Patuxent River and adjacent creeks. Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 25, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: N. Mclean, C. Fan (2019). Long-term Population dynamics of the Atlantic Bay Nettle Chrysaora Chesapeakei in the Patuxent River and Adjacent creeks. 91st National Technical Conference, Baltimore MD, September 25-27, 2019.


Progress 05/01/18 to 04/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience included 22 undergraduate students (Virginia State University, Delaware State University, Morgan State University, and Coppin State University), and two graduate students (Virginia State University). Five VSU students participated in summer internship programs on the integration of ArcGIS Pro in climate and environmental sciences research projects. Also included were undergraduate students at VSU and DSU during the 2018-19 academic year, and high school teachers from Central Virginia and Dover, DE, who were trained. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Faculty development related to pedagogy, instructional delivery and use of technology. Dr. Sriharan and Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay (Co-project director) at DSU) pursued faculty development opportunities to enhance their teaching of the courses on Climate Change and Adaptation Science (VSU) and Microclimate (DSU). They participated in faculty workshops on writing case studies in the areas of climate and environmental sciences at the NSF-Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, University of Maryland in Annapolis. As a result of this participation, the following case study was created and integrated into courses: "Socio-Environmental Synthesis for Water Quality Study: Toxic Contaminants in Our Tap Water and Water Use Policy". The faculty development activities contributed to expansion of roles paid by Dr. Ozbay at DSU. These include participation in the following committees: Earth/Arbor Day Planning Committee, General Education Committee, Professional Development Committee, and Educational Policy Committee. She is also a member of AGNR Natural Resources Curriculum and AGNR Personnel Committee, Association of Public & Land Grant Institutions BIFAD Review, and USDA Northeast Climate HUB Member. At MSU, Dr. Chunlei Fan (co-project director) interacted with professionals teaching climate change and environmental science. Further, Dr. Fan participated in NIFA-supported conferences at DSU for advancing the research activities of MSU students. These helped Dr. Fan develop teaching materials for Introduction to Environmental Science (BIOL 203). He also coordinated the participation of MSU students in summer research and supervised the research activities of one student at MSU's Patuxent Aquatic and Environmental Research Laboratory (PEARL). Providing student experiential learning opportunities through faculty-supervised research projects and internships. At VSU, under the supervision of Dr. Sriharan, four undergraduate students and one graduate student were provided opportunities to participate in the project's student experiential learning objective. Students measured water quality parameters (turbidity, nitrites, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, pH, and temperature) at locations along the Appomattox River. Samples were analyzed for biological indicators such as levels ofE.coli. Students collected GPS (Geographical Position System) points at the study sites, downloaded in the computer, and mapped the study paths with ArcMap to draw conclusions on the water quality parameters. Three students presented findings at the HBCU Climate Change Conference in New Orleans in September 2018. One student, Latia Jackson, received a presentation award. VSU students who participated in the 2018 Summer Internship Program at Lawrence Berkeley Research Laboratory presented posters at the ERN (Emerging Researchers National Conference) in Washington, D.C., February 2019. In summer 2019, five students participated in summer internships in learning the Tutorial on ArcGIS Pro at the Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University (NCSU). They applied knowledge gained using ArcGIS Pro software tutorials to demonstrate the impact of the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, California, the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history. Findings were presented at the HBCU Climate Change Conference in fall 2019. At MSU, one undergraduate student participated in the research activities at MSU's Patuxent Aquatic and Environmental Research Laboratory (PEARL) on the impact of salinity on population dynamics of Atlantic sea nettle in the Patuxent River and adjunct creeks. High school teacher training for integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula. Eight high school teachers from central Virginia participated in a two-day workshop in 2019 at VSU. This workshop was focused on infusion of GIS technology and hands-on activities related to climate change in the teaching of STEM and STEM-related courses. Presenters were professionals teaching climate change and related disciplines at the University of District of Columbia, Coppin State University, DSU, MSU, and VSU. At DSU, Dr. Ozbay conducted two workshops for high school teachers in Dover and provided hands-on activities for them to include climate change topics in their teaching. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project outcomes were disseminated by all the collaborators at professional conferences such as ERN and EPA's Environmental Justice Conferences in Washington, D.C., HBCU Climate Change Conference in New Orleans, Faculty Network Conference in Washington, D.C., NIFA 1890 Land-Grant Institutions' Project Directors Conference in Washington, D.C., and NSF SESYNC, University of Maryland, Annapolis. The promotion of climate change education at the precollege level was done at teachers' workshops at VSU. The integration of climate change instruction in science curriculum was discussed with faculty members at minority institutions during conferences attended by PD and Co-PD of this project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Teaching activities will be enriched further in the courses Climate Change and Adaptation Science (AGRI 250), Introduction to Remote Sensing (AGRI 290), and Contemporary Global Studies, and Independent Studies (AGRI 401) offered through the Department of Agriculture at VSU. For this, brochures will be prepared to describe the outline of courses which are connected to undergraduate-level STEM instruction course. The course contents of the ongoing courses Environmental Science (AGRI 150), Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295), and Introduction to Remote Sensing (AGRI 290) will be revised. The contents include climate change and mitigation, impact of natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes, and applications of GIS and remote sensing. Information on software (ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro) will also be updated in these courses. A tutorial on ArcGIS Pro will be written in a step-by-step format so that new students taking courses on climate change and remote sensing will be able to easily learn this software in place of ArcMap. More faculty development activities will be explored via the Internet and information/announcements will be disseminated among the faculty members and community college/high school teachers. Hands-on activities will be designed on using ArcGIS Pro and comparing advantages with ArcGIS Pro versus ArcGIS Map with the assistance of Dr. Stacy Nelson, Professor, Center for Geospatial Analytics, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, NCSU. Additionaltechnology-oriented lesson plans will be developedusing GLOBE Protocols on Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere. Faculty members teaching of Environmental Science, Earth Science, Climate Change, and Biology will be encouraged to attend STEM-related conferences such as ERN, HBCU Climate Change, AGU (American Geophysical Union), and NSF-supported faculty development workshops, to include these topics in their teaching activities. Workshops will be planned for high school teachers interested in fusion of environmental science and climate change concepts in science curricula in high schools. Efforts will be made to host workshops for teachers interested in becoming GLOBE-certified teachers in spring 2020.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Curriculum Development: Review/enhancement of academic curriculum and development of appropriate courses for program enhancement. At VSU, the courses Climate Change (AGRI 250), Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295), and Introduction to Remote sensing (AGRI 290) were enriched as follows. During 2018-19, students were asked to provide their assessment of two courses: (a) Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295) and (b) Introduction to Remote Sensing (AGRI 290). The students were provided revised course level student learning outcomes (CLSLOs) for these courses and asked to rate how well the outcomes were realized. Students' assessments in fall 2018 were used to make needful revisions. Newly-developed case studies helped to restructure AGRI 295 (Contemporary Global Studies), and a 1-credit laboratory was added to Climate Change and Adaptation Science (AGRI 250). The new Climate Change Laboratory course is being offered in fall 2019. The course content was updated to include exercises to support real-life climate change scenarios. The course Introduction to Remote Sensing (AGRI 290) was revised to include use of new software, ArcGIS Pro. This software provides access to classification of land cover features with ease. The project director (Dr. Shobha Sriharan) is also using this software to enrich the curricular contents of the Climate Change (AGRI 250) Laboratory. Further, content was written to expand the applications of ArcGIS in Introduction to Remote Sensing (AGRI 290). Curricula development at Morgan State University and Delaware State University were as follows. At Morgan State University, the course Introduction to Environmental Science (BIOL 203) was developed and will be offered in fall 2019. At DSU, a new climate science laboratory manual was developed. A laboratory manual with hands-on activities was developed by Dr. Ozbay (DSU) for climate change concepts (related to the hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere), which was distributed at a teachers' workshop at VSU. Increased awareness of climate change through education of community college and high school students. The project director visited Sussex and Colonial Heights High Schools to create awareness of climate change science. Brochures were distributed on the B.S. degree program in environmental science with focus on climate change. One high school student interested in pursuing a B.S. degree program in environmental science participated in project activities at VSU. Faculty development related to pedagogy, instructional delivery and use of technology. Dr. Sriharan and Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay (Co-project director) at DSU) pursued faculty development opportunities to enhance their teaching of the courses on Climate Change and Adaptation Science (VSU) and Microclimate (DSU). They participated in faculty workshops on writing case studies in the areas of climate and environmental sciences at the NSF-Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, University of Maryland in Annapolis. As a result of this participation, the following case study was created and integrated into courses: "Socio-Environmental Synthesis for Water Quality Study: Toxic Contaminants in Our Tap Water and Water Use Policy". The faculty development activities contributed to expansion of roles paid by Dr. Ozbay at DSU. These include participation in the following committees: Earth/Arbor Day Planning Committee, General Education Committee, Professional Development Committee, and Educational Policy Committee. She is also a member of AGNR Natural Resources Curriculum and AGNR Personnel Committee, Association of Public & Land Grant Institutions BIFAD Review, and USDA Northeast Climate HUB Member. At MSU, Dr. Chunlei Fan (co-project director) interacted with professionals teaching climate change and environmental science. Further, Dr. Fan participated in NIFA-supported conferences at DSU for advancing the research activities of MSU students. These helped Dr. Fan develop teaching materials for Introduction to Environmental Science (BIOL 203). He also coordinated the participation of MSU students in summer research and supervised the research activities of one student at MSU's Patuxent Aquatic and Environmental Research Laboratory (PEARL). Providing student experiential learning opportunities through faculty-supervised research projects and internships. At VSU, under the supervision of Dr. Sriharan, four undergraduate students and one graduate student were provided opportunities to participate in the project's student experiential learning objective. Students measured water quality parameters (turbidity, nitrites, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, pH, and temperature) at locations along the Appomattox River. Samples were analyzed for biological indicators such as levels ofE.coli. Students collected GPS (Geographical Position System) points at the study sites, downloaded in the computer, and mapped the study paths with ArcMap to draw conclusions on the water quality parameters. Three students presented findings at the HBCU Climate Change Conference in New Orleans in September 2018. One student, Latia Jackson, received a presentation award. VSU students who participated in the 2018 Summer Internship Program at Lawrence Berkeley Research Laboratory presented posters at the ERN (Emerging Researchers National Conference) in Washington, D.C., February 2019. In summer 2019, five students participated in summer internships in learning the Tutorial on ArcGIS Pro at the Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University (NCSU). They applied knowledge gained using ArcGIS Pro software tutorials to demonstrate the impact of the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, California, the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history. Findings were presented at the HBCU Climate Change Conference in fall 2019. At MSU, one undergraduate student participated in the research activities at MSU's Patuxent Aquatic and Environmental Research Laboratory (PEARL) on the impact of salinity on population dynamics of Atlantic sea nettle in the Patuxent River and adjunct creeks. High school teacher training for integration of environmental, climate, and agricultural topics into school curricula. Eight high school teachers from central Virginia participated in a two-day workshop in 2019 at VSU. This workshop was focused on infusion of GIS technology and hands-on activities related to climate change in the teaching of STEM and STEM-related courses. Presenters were professionals teaching climate change and related disciplines at the University of District of Columbia, Coppin State University, DSU, MSU, and VSU. At DSU, Dr. Ozbay conducted two workshops for high school teachers in Dover and provided hands-on activities for them to include climate change topics in their teaching.

Publications

  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Deksissa, T, Ozbay G, Sriharan, S and James, N. 2018. Socio-Environmental Synthesis for Water Quality Study: Toxic Contaminants in Our Tap Water and Water Use Policy. SESYNC Case Study. https://www.sesync.org/socio-environmental-synthesis-for-water-quality-study-toxic-contaminants-in-our-tap-water-and-water.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Huo, Yuanzi, Shi Honghua, Zhang Jianheng, Liu Qiao, Duan Yuanliang, He Qing, Yu Kefeng, Bi Hongsheng, Fan Chunlei, He Peimin. 2019. Spatio-temporal variability of phytoplankton assemblages and its controlling factors in spring and summer in the Subei Shoal of Yellow Sea, China. Acta Oceanologica Sinica 34(7):97104, doi: 10.1007/s13131-019-1345-2.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Oseji, Ozuem F, Chunlei Fan, Paulinus Chigbu. 2019. Composition and Dynamics of Phytoplankton in the Coastal Bays of Maryland, USA, Revealed by Microscopic Counts and Diagnostic Pigments Analyses. Water 2019, 11(2):368; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020368.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Ozbay, G, Sriharan S, Fan C, Chintapenta K, Kalavacharla V, Alvarez M and Jiru M. Multi-Institutional Student Experiential Learning with Outreach Training on Water, Climate, Food Security, and Sustainable Agriculture. USDA NIFA Capacity Building Grant Project Directors' Conference. USDA-NIFA Waterfront Building, Washington D.C., July 10-11, 2018. Poster Presentation.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Sriharan, S, L Jackson, E Georges, D Meekins, and S Nelson. 2019. Water Quality Studies at Appomattox River Watershed in Virginia: Importance of Urban Trees in Reducing Storm Water, Water and Global Water Future, 2nd Annual Science Meeting, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada, May 15-17, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Sriharan, S, D Meekins, A Austin, and D Logan. 2019. California Wildfires: Effects on the communities within the high risk vulnerable areas, URISA GIS Pro Conference, New Orleans.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wei, Zhangliang, Yuanzi Huo, Qiao Liu, Fangfang Yang, Lijuan Long, Hongsheng Bi, Chunlei Fan, Peimin He. 2019 A field scale evaluation of Gracilaria lemaneiformis co-cultured with Crassostrea gigas as a nutrient bioextraction strategy in Yantian Bay, China. Algal Research, Volume 38, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2019.101407.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Austin, A and D Logan. 2019. Studies on Water Quality of Appomattox River at Selected Locations in Southside Virginia, NSF HBCU UP Undergraduate Research Conference, April 5, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Edwards T, LK Chintapenta and G Ozbay. Microscopic Identification of Benthic Diatom Communities and Their Distribution in Blackbird Creek, Delaware. Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 26, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Gadde, M, DL Carter, M Moore, KL Chintapenta, G Ozbay. 2019. Utilization of Diatom Species to Address Water Quality in Blackbird Creek, Delaware. ARD Research Symposium, Jacksonville, FL. March 30April 3, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Georges E, L Jackson, D Logan, SAC Nelson and S Sriharan. 2018. Comparison of Classification Operations in the Land Cover Assessment of Virginia State University's Randolph Farm, Petersburg, VA. Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 26, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Georges, E, D Logan, and A Austin. 2019. Climate Change and its Effects on Virginias Weather, Wildlife, Food Production, and Water Supplies, 2019. NSF HBCU UP Undergraduate research Conference, Virginia State University, April 5, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Logan, D, E Georges, L Jackson, SAC Nelson and S Sriharan. 2018. Comparison of Classification Operations In The Land Cover Assessment Of Virginia State Universitys Randolph Farm, Petersburg, VA, Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 26, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Logan, D. and E Georges. 2019. Comparison of Classification Operations in the Land Cover Assessment of Virginia State Universitys Randolph Farm, Petersburg, VA., NSF HBCU UP Undergraduate research Conference, Virginia State University, April 5, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: McPhillips, E, S Sharestani, and C Fan. 2018. Impact of Salinity on Population Dynamics of Atlantic Sea Nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) in the Patuxent River and Adjunct Creeks. Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 26, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Mezil-Thomas, J. 2018. The effect of broiler diets on intestinal villi morphology if broilers are exposed to heat stress. LSAMP Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, July 26, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Spann, A. 2019. Evidence of climate change within the five regions in Virginia: Water Quality Monitoring and Mapping the Study Sites, NSF HBCU UP Undergraduate Research Conference, Virginia State University, April 5, 2019.


Progress 05/01/17 to 04/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences included 18 undergraduate students (Virginia State University, Delaware State University, Morgan State University, and Coppin State University) and one graduate student from Delaware State University is among the target audience. Ten VSU students availed themselves of summer internships in 2018 in research related to climate change at research-intensive laboratories (NCSU and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). Over 25 teachers and faculty received training at VSU in adopting water quality and climate change topics into public school science curricula. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Undergraduate students were provided internship opportunities to involve in research and present it during the summer symposiums. Local teachers were provided variuos hands-on activites to help them expand their science teaching contents and include the climate change topics in their teaching. Teachers also earned professional development credits for their participations to both workshops. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes. Via teachers' involvement in our workshops. we shared the program activities to the teachers. There were a lot of interest by the attending teachers to learn new hands-on activities to make the materials clear and simple for their students and engage their students in earth science and climate change related topics. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue offering our courses with more hands-on activites tocreate an interactive learning environment in our classes and also provide this model to others who are interested in adapting from other 1890 Land Grant Institutions and HBCUs and local schools. We will also continue offering workshops to the teachers to help them enhance their science contents and especially on climate change and environmental issues. We will also provide an opportunity to young professional like graduate student to first hand mentor undergraduate interns and conduct research as a team with them. Professional development opportunity via curriculum development and other program meetings will allow young faculty to learn from the senior faculty members. Our program efforts will be disseminated as intern research presentations, faculty presentation and program presentation to the USDA. We plan of presenting the program activities during the national meeting like AGU or GSA.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We provided experiential learning opportunities via spring and summer internships to 18 undergraduate students. A graduate student from Delaware State University had opportunity to learn about mentornship of undergraduate students and taught them how to monitor water quality both in the field and in the lab for nutrient monitoring. Five faculty members involved in this program had opportunity to network and learn from one another and develop coherent teaching and student experiential plan. Teachers from local high schools participated in two workshops focused on climate change and environmental sustainability. They were able to use technology like Arc GIS to learn how to display data on the map. They were provided variuos hands-on activites by DSU Co-PI to prepare them for their in-class activites with their students.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Ozbay G, Sriharan S, Fan C, Chintapenta K, Kalavacharla V, Alvarez M and Jiru M. Multi-Institutional Student Experiential Learning with Outreach Training on Water, Climate, Food Security, and Sustainable Agriculture. USDA NIFA Capacity Building Grant Project Directors' Conference. USDA-NIFA Waterfront Building, Washington D.C., July 10-11, 2018. Poster Presentation.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Georges E, Jackson L, Logan D, Nelson SAC and Sriharan S. 2018. Comparison of Classification Operations in the Land Cover Assessment of Virginia State University's Randolph Farm, Petersburg, VA. Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 26, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Logan, D, E Georges, L Jackson, SAC Nelson and S Sriharan. 2018. Comparison of Classification Operations In The Land Cover Assessment Of Virginia State Universitys Randolph Farm, Petersburg, VA, Delaware State University Summer Research Symposium, Dover DE, July 26, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Ozbay G. Monitoring Total Bacteria and Vibrionaxeae in Eastern Oysters Crassostrea virginica Exposed to Various Water Quality Stresses. Aquaculture America 2018 Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, February 19-22, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Mezil-Thomas, J. 2018. The effect of broiler diets on intestinal villi morphology if broilers are exposed to heat stress. LSAMP Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, July 26, 2018.