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Poster of the soundscape project

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. 

Students and wheelbarrow filled with removed weeds

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.

Students taking a core sample in a marsh

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.

Osborn Shed

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. 

Coastal Prairie Website Homepage

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.

Several images of disinterested people

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

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.

Climate Pod Diagram

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. 

Fred Galbreath

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.

Spotted Owl

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. 

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