Chimney Swift Conservation Education - by Meghan Lobsinger
Chimney swifts are birds of conservation concern that breed in masonry chimneys.
Changes in construction practices and the capping of masonry chimneys are
dramatically reducing available chimneys, and chimney swift populations are
declining as a result. My thesis research addresses the question
"Are the outreach methods typically used by conservation organizations effective
in reaching these organizations' goals?"
I am examining Wake Audubon Society's
"Year of the Chimney Swift" programs and fundraising as the case study for my research project.
I am investigating whether Wake Audubon is reaching the public that will have the most
effect on chimney swift conservation -- those homeowners with potential chimney
swift breeding chimneys -- through its outreach efforts.
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We are developing recommendations on how forest corridor width,
adjacent development intensity, and other greenway attributes can be managed
to attract a variety of wildlife. We have examined the use of
greenways of Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina, by breeding and migrating birds,
mammalian bird-nest predators, and aquatic salamanders.
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Status: Dormant, but coming back
I'm pulling together a team at NC State to get involved in the
Do corridors work?
effort being initatiated at Northen Arizona University. We think that
the Triangle's open spaces and greenways would make a great study system for
corridor dynamics in a sub/urbanizing landscape.
The mission of the
Wake Nature Preserves Partnership
is to organize and provide resources to identify ecologically valuable protected open spaces within Wake County and to build capacity for appropriate, long-term stewardship of those areas.
This work has a strong service-learning component, to engage NCSU graduate and undergraduate
student through coursework and graduate research.
Dammed Reservoirs & Equity in North Carolina - by Michael Youth
Access to a supply of drinking water is critical to urban sustainability and is
frequently secured in North Carolina, USA, by constructing a dam to impound a
water supply reservoir. I am using US Census data and GIS analysis to explore the potential
of North Carolina drinking water supply reservoirs to induce gentrification of the
communities surrounding them. My preliminary results are that
(1) the white population (%) tended to be significantly higher within a half mile
of reservoirs' shorelines than in more distant communities, and
(2) even as North Carolina overall became less white over a twenty year period (1990 to 2010),
the white population (%) within the half mile areas tended to increase relative to
the overall white population (%) in the state. These tendencies are consistent with
gentrification or gating the community. Further research can explore whether
these tendencies result from procedural inequities or cultural preferences.
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