The Soundscape Project
2013
Faculty: Kristen Daley, Jack Ou
Partners: Bernie Krause (Wild Sanctuary), Jessie Olsen Bay (Composer), Center for Environmental Inquiry
Geography and computer science students recorded and curated sounds from the SSU preserves. Composer Jesse Olsen Bay created an original composition from their recordings which provided a backdrop for a 30-min dance performed by students in Person Theater and in the Green Music Center. Noted soundscape guru Bernie Krause served as a consultant on the project.
Coastal Prairie training materials
2009 to 2013
Faculty:
Partners: Bodega Pastures, CDFW's Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program, California Native Plant Society, California State Parks, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Ocean Song, Sonoma Counjty Ag & Open Space, Sonoma Land Trust, Center for Environmental Inquiry, UC Davis Plant Sciences, UC Davis CSTARS Lab, UC Davis Bodega Marine Reserve
As part of the Coastal Prairie Enhancement Study, Preserve staff prepared a suite of educational materials and trains SSU students and community members how to identify, appreciate and manage these disappearing unique habitats.
Marsh sedimentation rates at the Osborn Preserve
2012 to 2013
Faculty: Michelle Goman
Partners: Center for Environmental Inquiry, Sonoma County Water Agency
A marsh at SSU's Fairfield Osborn Preserve has been gradually filling with sediment. Students quantified rates of sedimentation and successional infilling by dating mud cores.
Changes in land use at the Osborn Preserve
2013-present
Faculty: Steve Estes
Partners: Center for Environmental Inquiry, History Department, Donors and Faculty Affiliated with Osborn Preserve
Graduate students in History 500 conducted interviews with members of the Roth family, neighbors and previous land managers to better understand the history of land use changes in the area.
California's Coastal Prairies website
2010 to 2013
Faculty:
Partners: Ocean Song Farm and Wilderness Center, Center for Environmental Inquiry, Diana Jeffery
The Center worked with Diana Jeffrey and Kathleen Kraft to create the California's Coastal Prairie website, the first of its kind to bring together a diversity of information about the evolution, ecology, and management of this rare habitat.
Center Marketing Project
2013
Faculty: Kyuho Lee
Partners: Business Administration, Center for Environmental Inquiry
The Center creates educational and research experiences for disciplines across campus, yet the SSU community has limited awareness of Preserve opportunities. MBA students in Kyuho Lee's Strategic Branding class developed a strategy to raise awareness about the Center with the SSU campus and surrounding communities.
Bob Johnson oral history project
2012
Faculty: Steve Estes
Partners: Center for Environmental Inquiry
Dr. Bob Johnson, a generous donor to the Center, was awarded an honorary doctorate degree for his life's accomplishments from California State University in 2011. A series of three interviews resulted in transcripts and video about his life, work, family, and passion for preserving the vision of his father-in-law Fred Galbreath at the Galbreath Preserve.
A Mobile Climate Sensor
2011 to 2012
Faculty: Farid Farahmand
Partners: Engineering Science, Center for Environmental Inquiry
Deployment and maintenance of climate station networks can be a technological challenge. We developed a low-cost ZigBee-based sensor that can be used to collect data from sensors carried by mobile users.
Land use changes at the Galbreath Preserve
2011 to present
Faculty: Steve Estes
Partners: Center for Environmental Inquiry
This oral history project gathers information about land use changes affecting the Galbreath Wildlands Preserve.
Galbreath Special Status Species Assessment
2010 to 2011
Faculty: Nathan Rank, Derek Girman, Rich Whitkus, Matt Clark
Partners: Center for Environmental Inquiry
Special status species are species listed with some level of protection by non-governmental organizations or state or federal agencies. A team of students and Preserve staff mapped potential habitat for 110 special status plants and animals on the Galbreath Wildlands Preserve.