List of Master's Projects

Project participants will be exposed to numerous professional development opportunities through collaborative research and formal training sessions with specialists from our partner organizations including Crossroads
Research Center, Stewards of the Land Farmer Cooperative, Midwest Permaculture, and Local Food Shift. In addition, there will be opportunities to work with partner governmental institutions including the City of
Mackinac Island, the State of Michigan DNR & MDARD, Mackinac State Historic Parks, USDA FNS & NIFA, and Hiawatha National Forest. These relationships will enable distinguishing expansion of professional
networks.

These partnerships will also provide potential to greatly increase expertise in myriad areas relevant to careers in sustainability and the environment: sustainable systems concepts such as systems thinking, design frameworks,
and appropriate technology; justice issues such as food security and equal access; engagement techniques including creative outreach and event promotion; policy topics including governance, strategy, analysis, and
negotiation; and collaborative skills such as co-learning, coordination, and mediation.

Students will also have ongoing opportunity to present research findings and represent the group at conferences
and meetings including Michigan Local Food Council Network meetings, various partner university and state extension conferences, and the National Farm to School Conference.

• Understand the material issues of leading industries in emerging markets.
• Develop a network and interact with institutional investors, regulators, and other parties (environmental regulating agencies).
• Gain management consulting expertise.
• Develop ability to work and lead in cross-cultural scenarios.
• Improve communicational skill in a second language (Spanish).
• Improve communicational skill through interaction with top executives (e.g Conduct ideation and scenario analysis workshops, etc)
• Develop and gain expertise understanding and analyzing the interaction and dependencies between sustainability and the capital markets.

Students will have the opportunity gain key insight into how environmental data is measured and tracked at a global multinational corporation, engage with diverse internal and external Amcor stakeholders including a variety of employees, and gain comprehensive understanding of the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical
packaging industry and exposure to the decision-making process in a global corporation.

Planning and development of nature preserves and nature centers provides for a very large range of career benefits. This project can be approached from many angles, and will benefit from an integrated approach that reflects the ideal methodology for private and academic consultation. Particular knowledge includes (but is definitely not limited to) community and population ecology, aquatic biology, interpretive design, project management, resource management, facility management, sustainable development, etc… The skills and experience learned here will be of direct benefit to academic departments, companies and consulting firms that seek to undertake similar tasks. Additional career opportunities include the opportunity to work with experts in multiple fields.

This project includes numerous professional career development benefits. Students will gain experience in incorporating various, wide-ranging goals into cohesive programming. Students will need to utilize existing wisdom and research, as well as explore creative solutions to create their master plan. They will gain experience in one or more research methodologies, and have the opportunity to present findings and recommendations to leadership at Kalamazoo College. These recommendations will be incorporated into the establishment of the Center for Environmental Stewardship, through which they will affect numerous Kalamazoo College students and faculty members, as well as Kalamazoo community members.

Students would have the opportunity to gain field experience, learn about market-based solutions for poverty alleviation, develop a relationship with WDI and other stakeholders, and disseminate their work through WDI as cases, blog posts, etc. There may also be an opportunity for a team member to develop an internship opportunity that leverages the relationships developed as part of the project and contributes to its objectives.

TVCDC interacts on an ongoing basis with numerous city, private, and institutional organizations that will offer researchers significant professional career development benefits.The primary points of contact on this project are:

• Mac Farr, Executive Director of The Villages CDC
• Alessandra Carreon, PE, LEED AP, The Villages CDC board member (Product Environmental Engineer at Ford in Sustainability and Vehicle Environmental Matters, Co-Owner of PizzaPlex L3C in Detroit, board member of EcoWorks and the West Village Neighborhood Association)

Participation in a project of this scope will prepare students for a range of climate-related careers, from climate research to environmental policy and governance, which involve complex issues, multiple goals, limited resources and planning in the context of global climate change. Students will work under the direct supervision of a member of the UNFCCC Secretariat. In addition, students may expect engagement with a variety of stakeholders and will partner with one or several secondary client organization (see possible list on p1) working directly on climate change issues in the Seychelles.

Students may expect to build on a range of skills from quantitative and qualitative, research and report writing, communication and awareness raising, to policy and planning. Team members will complete this project with a thorough and in-depth understanding of climate change issues and the barriers to climate change adaptation. In addition, there may be a possibility of students attending and presenting their findings at the international climate conference held in Bonn, Germany, in May (Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), and/or at the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) held in November. This would provide the students with professional networking opportunities and the chance to experience first-hand how climate research is used and presented to inform policy. If the project proves successful, there may be further opportunities for students to present the outcomes of their work at additional meetings and conferences under the NWP.

Students will have the opportunity to develop environmental management, geo-spatial analysis, policy analysis, environmental plan development, and social data collection and analysis skills. Students will also have opportunities to interact with federal and state natural resource agencies and environmental organizations that work in the field of forest restoration and natural hazard mitigation. Students will develop a webinar to share findings, which will provide valuable skills in science communication and environmental media. Students will also have opportunities for presenting the project findings at professional meetings and co-authoring a publishable journal article.

This project combines active research and data collection with public policy education and advocacy. Students will interact with diverse constituencies including academics, public officials, government regulators, and tribal and community leaders (see above for specific groups). The project may advance best-practices, evolving science, and important public policy goals and public trust principles and provide students with practical, hands-on opportunities to improve the stewardship and oversight of the Great Lakes.

• This project will place the student team into the center of a real-world regional planning and management situation.
• Students will gain knowledge of biophysical processes and evaluation methods for blue carbon, groundwater resources and salmon support systems.
• Students will develop skills and familiarity with decision-making processes, conceptual frameworks, and stakeholder engagement, for future work in research, management, restoration, consulting, and education.
• KBNERR has a very active research programs, and students will have the opportunity to engage with researchers and graduate students from several different institutions, as well as KBNERR staff.  This will provide valuable networking and learning opportunities. 

Students will gain experience in compiling and summarizing site-specific natural history data and producing a natural areas management plan. This experience is directly transferable to natural areas management planning and conservation planning for government and non-profit conservation agencies or for work for consulting firms doing such planning.

• Experience a simulation of a multi-disciplinary environmental firm
• Work directly with supervisors and directors of one of the largest Hospitals in Michigan
• First hand involvement on a major LEED driven project
• Opportunity to monitor the effectiveness of engineered wetland habitats that are created

• Project team participation with management probabilities with a community and professional group.
• Survey and community consultation design and implementation.
• Interpersonal contact in public meetings and contacts with businesspeople.
• Financial and technical analysis of funding options and project management.
• Networking with local businesses, financial firms, utilities, local government. Levin Energy Partners will provide networking opportunities in Detroit area, statewide, and potentially nationally.
• Project management and implementation experience in pilot project development.

This opportunity for students to accelerate the energy-related sustainability efforts of a community that has been successful in designing and implementing community supported clean energy projects in Michigan. The project will provide the opportunity for students to work with professionals to develop experience in public policy planning, communication strategy development and implementation, renewable energy facility management and installation and writing a strategic plan for a model. There will be hands-on opportunity to implement a pilot project in conjunction with experienced community, technical and financial leaders. An important outcome of this project is replicability. The project will provide opportunities to develop publications and presentations that will be of value and utility to other communities.

Project participants would:

1. gain experience in the practical application of water resources policy and management coursework;
2. improve their knowledge of Western water law, Western land use, and Western water resources and land management, as well as critical water issues facing the arid West (as well as other parts of the world); and
3. gain experience with effective environmental education and the application of effective communication tools.

Participants would have opportunities to make contacts with individuals at a variety of federal, state, regional and local entities engaged in water resources issues. There are many ongoing professional conferences held in Colorado, and elsewhere, on Western water issues; there may be opportunities for students to present their work at some of these conferences.

In addition, this project may be of particular interest to SNRE students who are interested in western land conservation issues through the Wyss Scholars program.

Experience in working with a public school, and  an interdisciplinary group, working with a non-profit, developing curriculum, evaluating policy, working on a place-based education program that could applied to other schools, possibly presenting at a national conference.

1. Analytical skills
2. Development of relevant and valuable methodologies for performance measurement that will benefit the profession of landscape architecture
3. Comprehensive approaches to sustainable development in areas of Environment, Community, Economics and Art
4. Graphic depiction of quantitative information (DW will provide a workshop and design review to aid the students in capturing their research in a professional, graphically sophisticated report).
5. Scientific method
6. Development of project narrative
7. Use of measurement tools, including infrared thermometer, speed gun, light meter, sound meter
8. Final report - experience of compiling, summarizing, depicting research, writing
9. Opportunity to submit to present at CELA
10. Minimum (1) one visit to Ann Arbor by Kurt Culbertson to advise the student team
11. Monthly Skype calls with the research team 

This project will place the student team into the center of a real-world regional planning and management situation.  They will gain several practical skills that are frequently sought by employers in our field:

• The “situation assessment” is an analytic tool used to unravel the complexity of “wicked problems.” It is an important tool in the “tool kit” of environmental professionals.
• Development of a first-hand (vs. textbook) understanding of the legitimate but often conflicting interests of the “community” of people, organizations, governments, and businesses that comprise a “problem domain.” Employers seeking references for potential employees often ask questions such as: “How does this individual deal with a situation involving people with very different perspectives?” “How are their communication and meeting management skills?” “Are they able to conduct assessments that illuminate the underlying factors that must be addressed in a situation?” “Do they understand that problems are complex and require unpacking?” This masters project will build those skills.
• Skills in cross-case analysis to derive lessons for a place-based enterprise.
• Professional presentation skills.

Opportunity to engage in natural systems related decision making in developing countries. Opportunity to educate and inform decision makers.

Students have the opportunity to gain direct experience in multiple disciplines and career areas — areas as diverse as real estate/community development, brownfields, fundraising, green remodeling, and landscape architecture.  Among the volunteer planning team for the site design are architects, environmental engineers, landscape architects, and green building experts.  Opportunities to interview/visit similar centers in the US and Canada may provide networking connections in other communities.  The chance to work on this project also provides the opportunity to understand how community-based nonprofits work.

Broadly, the ability to identify opportunities for local governments to improve their sustainability in a financially, socially, and politically viable way.  Outreach, coalition building and negotiation will likely be key to success - along with careful analysis and communication of project benefits.  You will connect with people in Michigan doing similar work, and others around the country engaged in similar efforts - all through the U.S. D.O.E.

This project provides a team with experience that approximates a future work environment while providing WWF with a solution to a complex environmental issue: resilience.  Students have the opportunity to identify and enhance their skills working across sectors with a broad audience, including the largest conservation organization in the world and multinational companies.  This project will provide an opportunity to gain insight into the workings of agricultural supply chains and those that influence them.  Students will gain perspective on the current state of response to climate change in the field of conservation as well as the private sector. 

Students will have the opportunity to work in a fast-paced real-world environment with a project that has immediate and important implications in conservation and business.  Students can expect to develop contacts within WWF, present products internally to WWF, develop contacts within multinational corporations and other private sector actors, and see their work published on the WWF website or another media outlet.

• Research design and implementation
• Communication design
• Project management
• Evaluation design and implementation
• Expertise in organic waste management
• Contacts in NYC non-profits and governmental groups
• Opportunity to present work at a wide number of conferences
• Potential for publishable research

Team Size: 3 or 4 students

• An understanding of technical, institutional, and economic aspects power systems in the context of renewable energy expansion
• Opportunities to make contacts and network with IRENA as well as the possibility to work with policy makers and practitioners from particular member states

Students will gain in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the built environment required for supporting a professional sports team. Additionally, students in this group will gain experience in energy audits and will learn how to make business recommendations which justify sustainable solutions to upper management.

This is a great opportunity for a systems thinking approach to problem-solving, which is useful for any professional ambition.  There are several conferences about development in Africa, and the students will also find resources in other academic and professional realms where these types of efforts are and have been made.  So there will be plenty of knowledge to tap into.  This is also a great opportunity to learn the extent and limitations of renewable energy sources on a small scale, urban infrastructure, social dynamics and acceptance of new technologies and processes, developing world experience and economic and environmental analysis.

• Experience working with Ashoka - one of the world's best known promoters of social entrepreneurship
• Access to Solar for All's extensive network of international partners, including socially responsible investment firms (e.g. Bamboo Finance), foundations (e.g. Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation), and NGOs (e.g.  International Renewable Energy Agency).
• Experience with renewable energy system technology
• Direct involvement with social entrepreneurship strategies to improve access to electricity

This project will give team members valuable experience in the following:

• Life Cycle Assessment
• Technical Analysis of Biomass-to-energy systems
• Collaboration with real-world industry clients
• Project Management
• Working in Multidisciplinary teams: Engineering, Business, Science
• Hands-on exposure to biogas facility operations

• Exposure to, and networking opportunities with, a wide variety of partner organizations.
• Analyzing and developing expertise in a cutting-edge land-management initiative with both private and public agency components.
• Presenting findings at nationwide meeting of CFLRPs.
• Gaining practical skills regarding collaborative natural resource management.

• Greater understanding of the factors that promote collaborative management.

It is anticipated that the students who work on this project will benefit professionally in a number of important ways.  These students will experience the application of non-motorized transportation design in an urban setting that is functionally decayed.  It will enable the students to provide appropriate conceptual design images for the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy to enable their product(s) to be shared widely in the community. 

The students will gain through the very practice of interacting with personnel from the City of Ann Arbor, the staff and members of the Washtenaw County Parks and recreation Commission, the Washtenaw Drain Commission Office and the University of Michigan Transportation planners. The students will communicate their work in stages to the members of the Board of Directors and members of the Advisory Council of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy. 

This effort may result in a paper for a professional conference or a journal if the project team produces a useful and professionally solid product.  In addition, this activity is a real project that has momentum that has been a concept for a number of years in the community.  It will expose students to a variety of folks: local government, rail road company, home owners, small business people, major research university, mixed traffic types (pedestrians, rail, and vehicle) in an urban setting, as well as all the natural resource issues including flood plain management of the floodway and flood plain along the Allen Creek Drain.

WRI brings a wide range of expertise and concrete project experience to help increase the conservation and sustainable management of private forests through payments for watershed services projects. SNRE students will work closely with a number of staff engaged in research.  Through the People & Ecosystems Program, specifically the Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services Initiative (MESI), WRI has emerged nationally and internationally as a leader in providing decision-makers in government, business, and multilateral development banks with information and assessment tools that link ecosystem health with the attainment of economic and social goals. In addition, to providing information, WRI helps develop new markets, economic incentives, and public policies that restore and sustain ecosystems.

As part of the MESI initiative, WRI has been working extensively to align ecosystem stewardship with the attainment of business goals. WRI was instrumental in developing The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (CESR), a structured methodology that helps businesses manage the risks and opportunities arising from their dependence and impact on ecosystems. Through the CESR, WRI has built an innovative partnership between WRI and leading companies dedicated to advancing business strategies, markets, and policies that align corporate performance and ecosystem stewardship. Through this partnership, WRI is working to connect ecosystem beneficiaries (companies) with sellers (private landowners) of ecosystem services.

Students can expect to gain valuable skills and professional experience around how to affect change within complex business environments, manage a multitude of stakeholders to rally around common goals and develop intricate action plans that are environmentally and socially sound. Students can also expect to gain greater exposure to life cycle analyses, international agriculture policies and regulations, global agribusiness and supply chain operations.

This project provides the opportunities for students to develop an industry-wide sustainability framework to be adopted by Kellogg Company and other partner companies, representing a large-scale potential for impact. The recommendations will be presented to Kellogg’s sustainability and procurement departments, in addition to the company’s partners (Cargill and Unilever) pending interest. Findings may also be presented at future sustainability conferences or published as industry resources. 

• An understanding of technical, institutional, and economic aspects of a mini-grid power systems and transformations to renewables
• Understanding of the operations of social ventures in least developed countries
• Opportunities to make contacts and network NGOs and renewable energy companies working in the space
• Development of business knowledge transferable to other NGO’s and/or social ventures

• Professional Career Development Benefits
• Gain management consulting expertise
• Develop ability to work and lead in cross-cultural scenarios
• Improve communicational skill through interaction with top executives (e.g Conduct ideation and scenario analysis workshops, etc)
• Develop and gain expertise analyzing social/environmental return of sustainability initiatives and promoting the initiatives to generate employee engagement
• Cross-border organizational change management

Students can expect to work with a variety of Metroparks staff including ecologists, environmental educators, park planners, and engineers. Upon completion, the project team will have the opportunity to present their findings to park planners and other decision makers.

Systems thinking, green building and rural/urban infrastructure, energy and water system design, social dynamics and acceptance of new technologies and processes, developing world experience, adoption of technology, economic and environmental analysis.

Skills, knowledge and contacts necessary to address complex, multi-jurisdictional natural resource issues in the Rocky Mountain West. Also, land use issues, particularly the use of conservation easements.

SNRE students will:

• Have access to New Latitude - Ho avy project staff and their expertise, and will be paired with local University of Toliara students during their time in Madagascar
• Be able to meet with regional officials in conservation, i.e., WWF staff, possibly Kew Botanical Gardens, Missouri Botanical Gardens, Wildlife Conservation Society and Conservation International, and will be able to request meetings with ministers, local officials, policy makers and mining company representatives
• In conjunction with Ho avy, organize a conference in Madagascar and invite all stakeholders invested in the region. Students and their Malagasy counterparts will present projects and submit an action plan to the local communities as well as to WWF, appropriate ministers and policy makers about how best to conserve and restore the forest by offering sustainable action through conservation incentive opportunities.
• Be provided with room and board while in the field and housing in Toliara, (hotels, internet and food while in cities will be covered by students).

This type of research could generate enough data and productive interpretations to submit a (or two) short research article(s) to a journal (i.e. specific methodologies that were replicated, describing the academic/applied interface, etc.). The students’ research could be presented at the annual Stewardship Network conference or other professional conference. There would be an opportunity to present at LTC’s annual EcoStewards Volunteer Kick-off event, and may be other opportunities to present to the LTC board or general members. The students would hopefully get to spend considerable time learning from and working alongside our consulting foresters and/or wildlife biologist (retired MI DNR biologist).

Students will learn to formulate and share concrete policy options for an emerging field of great interest. Along with access to the expertise of the Great Lakes Commission staff, students will also have the opportunity to interact with offshore wind and transmission leaders in government and the nonprofit and private sectors during the course of gathering research and developing the end deliverables.

Since there is very little research on offshore transmission in freshwater areas, the students will be producing novel research and their work will help pave the way for future developments in this area.

Students will have the opportunity to present their findings through either poster presentations or panel sessions at various conferences and meetings such as the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative Annual Meeting, the American Wind Energy Association Wind Power Meeting, or the Canadian Wind Energy Association Meeting.

Students will also be invited to speak with members of the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative's Offshore Wind and Regional Transmission Workgroups during the course of the development and completion of their project.

The Valles Caldera National Preserve is an active member of the Southwest Jemez Mountain Landscape Collaborative, a muti-agency collaborative that informs the implementation of CFLRP projects. There is an annual March meeting that would be ideal for students to present their project deliverables. This collaborative effort may influence the project design and implementation, offering a unique opportunity for networking with federal land managers, biologists, NEPA specialists, interpreters, tribal, and non-profit representatives.

I would work closely with team, advising them on the work and mentoring them as requested, throughout the project.  In order to develop the "mini-business cases," the project team would be expected to engage with/interview a diverse group of employees throughout GM.  Any travel would likely be limited to driving to GM's Headquarters in Detroit, GM Technology Center in Warren, and possibly some nearby assembly plants.  Interviews could also be conducted by phone.  At the conclusion of the project, I would expect the team to present this to GM leadership and as well as presenting it to a global GM audience, probably via a webinar.  

Students can expect to develop skills and knowledge in renewable energy development and land use policy. The expertise they will gain from this project will be transferable to jobs in the renewable energy, land conservation advocacy, and climate change fields. Students will make valuable connections with federal land managers, renewable industry experts, and the conservation community. Their research and materials will be used directly to influence land use decisions in California and west-wide. They may expect to be called upon to present their findings to land managers, members of the conservation community, and concerned citizens.

Students will have the opportunity to make contacts with Nashville MTA and public transit professionals and policy makers in an emerging city. Through the project work, they will develop an understanding of the technical, social, and environmental aspects of new public transit systems. Also, students will learn more about the interface between qualitative and quantitative data, as well as how best to communicate the two to a variety of audiences with different interests.

Skills students can expect to develop are critical thinking skills regarding systems thinking at a citywide level. Students will develop skills assessing the power and roles of institutions interconnected amongst the incinerator and zero waste challenges/opportunities presented in Detroit waste management. Students will gain knowledge about municipal waste incineration and the associated social and health impacts. Students will gain policy skills through zero waste and incinerator policy research at a citywide level. Students have the potential to gain hands-on policy experience through engagement in the City’s Green Task Force subcommittee on zero waste. Students will have the opportunity to gain experience with the following technical skills: spatial analysis, life cycle analysis, and multi-criteria analysis. Students will build relationships with community leaders/members of the environmental justice movement in Detroit. There is a potential to present these findings at professional conferences, present to and engage with Detroit City Council and/or Detroit City Council Green Task Force and its zero waste subcommittee, present to environmental justice community in Detroit via EMEAC. 

This project involves students contacting stakeholders across a range of resource management and conservation related agencies, which will improve students’ knowledge and understanding of these organizations as well as develop professional contacts.  Students will learn skills in using data for decision support across jurisdictions and institutions, which is a skill set that is growing in demand among resource agencies and NGOs.  Students will present results to professionals at The Nature Conservancy and the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Landscape Conservation Cooperative, a high-level group of resource and conservation professionals. The Northern Forest Working Group of the LCC currently comprises representatives of the US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Departments of Natural Resources in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Wayne State University, Illinois Natural History Survey, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Trust for Public Lands, University of Wisconsin Extension, US Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the University of Vermont.

Direct experience working with tribes; land and resource planning; complex problem solving; interdisciplinary project linking ecology, economics and geospatial analysis; publication potential in disciplinary and interdisciplinary journals.

• Improve networking skills and expand career network by interacting with key city department leaders and other key stakeholders
• Increase knowledge of environmental justice
• Enhance research and analytical skills
• Make presentations to key stakeholder groups to discuss key findings
• Data collected from GHG Inventory will be included in the Climate Action Report, with mention of student's names, which will be presented to city government leadership and other elected leaders (County and State)

The team will develop high level consulting skills such as working closely with the client to identify gaps and propose solutions on how to address such issues. The project will also develop LCA skills and gain in-depth knowledge of how a private company can uniquely use a CSR report to address sustainability goals and progress.

Students will gain experience in curriculum development, educational writing, and design. They will need to be in close contact with university faculty and community members, as well as speaking with environmental educators as part of their research: all useful contacts. Stakeholder engagement will be key to the success of this project, and is a valuable skill moving into the job market. In addition, working closely with the farm staff and the UMSFP, students will gain knowledge on sustainable food and agriculture, and the inner workings of a small sustainable farm, and how a university program operates. Potentially, students could explore grant-writing opportunities as well.

This is an opportunity to work with the non-profit and government sector. Groups consulted with will include the Florida Department of Transportation, West Florida Regional Planning Council, The Nature Conservancy, City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department and Public Works Department.

Skills gained include starting with field work and using the results for environmental planning and design at both the city and site scales.

• This study will present a real world challenge to the participating SNRE graduate students, and provide an opportunity to work closely with an interdisciplinary team of environmental planners, design practitioners and various sub consultancies.
• The study results will potentially be presented at conference such as ASLA (American Association of Landscape Architecture), APA (American Planning Association), NAPCC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign) International Conference, as well as considered for award and publication submissions.
• The project will provide experience and exposure to professional networking with project client, local communities and professionals from various disciplines.  

The students will be considered subject area experts in the State of Michigan for sustainability and local governments. The students will have developed a network of sustainability practitioners, local elected officials,  affiliated state agencies (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Community Health, Michigan Agency on Energy), Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association, Michigan Association of Counties, and national philanthropic funders (Summit Foundation, Kresge Foundation). The students will be expected to present at the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Green Communities Network (maybe USDN annual meeting or a monthly USDN webinar??)

• Interaction with state and local government especially city planning commission and the planning and development department, politicians, political figures, influential non-profit organizations, and socially responsible private companies in the city of Detroit.

• The project will provide the opportunity to gain knowledge of available technology and implementation i.e. geothermal technology, solar thermal, photovoltaic. Learn about these technologies, their value and feasibility, and their benefits from a community perspective, in a context whereby financial savings leveraged for low, moderate and middle-income persons has the immediate potential to directly improve the quality of life. Cost-benefit analysis skills development of potential project variables, as well as replicability in other areas, as well as other similar markets.

• Freedom to work independently in the research and planning phase. Great amount of flexibility based on the interests, energies, and talents of those involved. This is an excellent opportunity to see positive change first hand, interact with an urban community as well as city leaders, and find creative solutions to environmental and community issues.

• Gain experience with budgets, grants, and allocation of fiscal resources. Garner excellent communication, long-term planning, and short term implementation skills. Learn about current urban issues facing environmentalists, and current environmental issues facing urbanites, and potential local, state and federal funding sources to implement activities.

• Experience with community organizing - through garnering support, leading volunteers, and implementing understanding and education. Strengthen public communication and ability to work with a variety of ideas, interests, and individuals.

Students working on this project will gain professional and career development benefits by working with organizations, agencies, and members of the local community. Students will have the opportunity to interact with professionals in organizations and governmental agencies from the Sarapiquí region as well as nationally in Costa Rica. They will gain knowledge about conservation, ranging from awareness of the issues and efforts within the community to the programs and organizations that exist at the various levels within the country.

Furthermore students will interact directly with members of the local community to integrate available resources and knowledge for developing sustainable, long-term programs to address forest health and water quality in the region.  They will gain the skills necessary for finding solutions by collaborating with various stakeholders in the Bijagual River watershed.

The project will produce data and information that are suitable to submit for publication and to present as talks or posters at professional meetings and conferences. The protocols and educational materials developed by the students will be shared with other organizations and communities interested in watershed conservation. Within the Bijagual River watershed, students also have the opportunity to present their results to different community forums and meetings—specifically, meetings with the Local Advisory Council for the San Juan - La Selva Biological Corridor and the Sarapiquí Environmental Education Commission as well as the annual environmental expo in November attended by up to three thousand citizens from the community.

List of potential collaborating organizations:

Comisión de Educación Ambiental de Sarapiquí; FONAFIFO; FUNDECOR; ASADA Chilamate; Organization for Tropical Studies; Selva Verde Lodge; Ministerio de Educación Pública; Proyecto Panthera; Consejo Local del Corredor Biológico San Juan-La Selva; Univesidad de Costa Rica; Ministerio de Agricultura; Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía; Ministerio de Saludo; CECOS; Proyecto Bandera Azul; Fondo del Primer Canje de Deuda por Naturaleza EE. UU. – C.R.

Participating students can expect to gain a solid foundation in the community-based design process, and to develop contacts across greater Detroit. Potential partner organizations include Jefferson East, Inc. (a former SNRE study partner), the Villages CDC and the Greening of Detroit. Students will have an opportunity to work with Pewabic artists and designers, and potentially showcase their work through the Detroit Design Festival. The project will provide a powerful case study in building on community strengths towards a sustainable future. Participants will have an opportunity to practice ecological design as part of urban design, historic preservation, landscape planning and site planning and gain experience working with nongovernmental organizations.

At the completion of this project, students will know how to: evaluate a business for its current energy uses, identify possible energy improvements, research and evaluate each of these capital improvements for total life cycle costs, and prioritize these in a cost-benefit analysis for that business.

The students will also understand the political and community issues that need to be addressed in any business improvement, and how to engage both the community and the customers to ensure they agree, support, and help with achieving the energy savings plan.

Ultimately the process of developing this integrated energy systems and business plan may be used to achieve similar goals with other energy intensive businesses both within and beyond the craft brewing sector.

The  breadth and quality of this project will be make it possible for it to be appropriate for presentation at national and international scientific meetings or design and planning professional meetings, as well as at EPA-sponsored seminars and workshops.  Students will learn and practice fundamental skills for synthesizing and applying scientific knowledge with practice in design and planning practice, as well as with local knowledge and values. They will work with the client organization's well-established network of grassroots community organizations and block groups on the Lower Eastside of Detroit.

-    Ground floor participation in the development of new approaches, technologies, systems and conceptual frameworks that form the basis of the emerging New Mobility industry
-    Work with pioneers in New Mobility consumer uptake research through UM-SMART
-    Networking and presentation opportunities through Ford, Next Energy, and SMART.

• Ford Blueprint project and sustainability network links with a wide community of businesses and other partners related to New Mobility innovation and industry development. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to meet and work with highly skilled researchers, planners and engineers within the global auto industry.
• Next Energy / SMART Entrepreneur Events: NextEnergy provides direct assistance to start-up companies in the commercialization of products and intellectual property in the advanced energy industry. SMART works to advance New Mobility entrepreneurship globally including in Michigan, as well as through the Mobi prize and registry (see www.mobiprize.com) Students will get an opportunity to interact with entrepreneurs and business leaders at these events.
• SMART Events: Students will have the opportunity to meet some of SMART's "Living Lab" partners as well as business forum and entrepreneurs network members at a global network retreat that will be held in Ann Arbor in March 2013. They will also connect with transportation, innovation, and tech transfer related U-M faculty as part of SMART's wide network.
• Through the above events and networks students will also link with Michigan transportation/planning/ economic development agencies.

- Ford is interested in exploring the changes coming for mobility.  The growth of Mega-cities and global urbanization are driving a diversification of transportation solutions.  The automobile needs to be viewed as one element of a transportation ecosystem and we need to look for new ways to optimize the entire system.  There is not a single "magic bullet" solution. It requires new technologies, new products and new business models functioning in a holistic approach. It will also involve company partnerships and collaboration with governments - all of us working together for a common goal to create new opportunities.

- NextEnergy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2002 to drive advanced energy investment and job creation in Michigan. Located in Midtown Detroit's innovation corridor, NextEnergy serves as a catalyst for advanced energy technology demonstration and commercialization in the state. Since its inception, NextEnergy has helped to attract more than $1 billion of new investment, including over $150 million generated by programs in which we have directly participated.  This particular project would be organized through NextEnergy's New Market Services unit, which is responsible for all of NextEnergy's industry and venture services related to emerging sectors.

- SMART catalyzes and collaborates to develop new approaches to implementing integrated multi-modal transport through a growing number of "Living Labs," or collaborative on the ground transportation projects, in communities and regions around the world. SMART will draw on these partnerships, resources, and learning that have been generated through the specific areas of focus on connecting the dots, moving money and moving minds, along with parallel work on the trends that drive the global future of transportation. In particular SMART is a pioneer in New Mobility industry cluster development, and in New Mobility consumer uptake.

- Economic Mapping: Students will be exposed to (and possibly contribute to) the development of SMART's new economic mapping technology.

- Students will be introduced to various methods used to conduct consumer behavior analysis.

This project would provide students with the opportunity to work at an island system level with the opportunity to create a plan that could be adopted by County government and be a model for other rural Hawaiian islands.  There would be access to key government and private sector decision-makers in Hawaii and the opportunity to learn how to practice research and consulting skills in an interesting physical, social, and political environment.  There would be opportunities to present at the annual state-wide professional planners conference.

We believe this project would serve an immediate, urgent need by informing the citizens of Ann Arbor and the surrounding eight townships about the contributions of the Greenbelt Program. However, this project has the potential to educate and inspire policy makers at all levels of government, as well as community groups and citizens throughout the United States. Thus, there is a tremendous professional development opportunity here for a dedicated group of researchers not only to assess the Greenbelt, but to imagine its potential as a model ordinance for other communities. The Greenbelt Program Manager and members of the Greenbelt Advisory Commission, who bring a great deal of experience and expertise to issues of land preservation, local agriculture, economic development, and sustainability, are eager to collaborate and lend assistance as needed to ensure this project is a success.  We believe additional professional venues for showcasing this work will be relevant, including potentially The Conservation Fund workshops or webinars, and professional conferences.

Students will acquire hands on experience evaluating the economic and environmental outcomes associated with the acquisition, treatment, and conveyance of water, an increasingly scarce, yet essential resource in sustainable development, agriculture, industry, recreation, and residential sectors. This work will provide the members with an in depth understanding of water use and specifications for brewing processes. The deliverables from this project will be of interest to many breweries in the state of Michigan and potentially beyond. The team can anticipate opportunities to present at regional, if not national conferences hosted by brewer’s guilds, the Master Brewers Association of Americas, and the Brewers Association, in addition to other events organized by stakeholders with an interest in sustainable water management.