Senior Research

Each year, many ENVS majors choose to pursue and academic interest and engage in a year of independent research. This project is undertaken with the support of a faculty advisor. Although some choose to work with an ENVS faculty member, many work with advisors in other disciplines. All past ENVS senior research projects are on file in Hibbs Library.

2008-2009 Projects

Senior Research (1 year)

Caiti Shroering: Indigenous Rights and Human Rights in the Global Economy: Three Cases of Brazil and the United States
Meredith Atwood: A Multiyear Survey of Amphibian Demography and Habitat Distribution at a Vernal Pool
Lindsay Ehrhart: Indigenous People, National Parks, and Multinational Oil: A Case Study in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Stephanie Chan: Domination, Development and Destruction: Post-colonial Perspectives on Forest Loss in India and Indonesia
Philip Dickson: New Urbanism, Landscape Urbanism, and Proposals for the State of Ohio
Jackson Means: Hydrochory and Seed Deposition in the Dutch Fork Wetlands of Central Ohio
Emily Shaefer: Building Blocks of Organizational Culture: A Comparison of Two Leadership Training Courses
Jake Henkle: The Effects of Corporate Leadership on Green Advances in American Business
Miranda Carter: Seed Bank and Vegetation Composition in a Central Ohio Mitigation Wetland

Senior Projects (1 semester)

Jack Pearson: A Thermal Performance Study of Olin Hall
Marnie Hyzy: An Examination of the Relationship between Connectedness to Nature and Stress Level of College Students at Denison University
Erica Reckard: Biodiesel at Denison University: A Comprehensive How to Guide for the Implementation of Biodiesel at Denison University
Mike MacDonald: Economics of Small Community and College Recycling
Darrin Collins: Impending Urban Sprawl: Impacts and Responses of Urban Sprawl on Small Colleges and Universities
Shalese Ford: Sustainable Urban Development in Asian Mega-Cities

2007-2008 Projects

Amy Kathleen Cahill - Advisor Abram Kaplan
The Writing on the Wall: A Look at Conservation Behavior in a Public Setting

Elizabeth Strassman - Advisor Tod Frolking
Modeling the Impact of Sustainable Agriculture and Industrial Agriculture on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen using DNDC

Stephen McCarty Julka - Advisor Abram Kaplan
We the People: Public Participation in Brownfield Redevelopment Decision Making

Sarah Page - Advisors Kent Maynard and Susan Diduk
Is it a Cup Half Full?: Fair Trade and Coffee Cooperative in Southern Mexico

Simmone Benoit - Advisor Douglas Spieles
Examination of Vegetation Succession in a Recently Constructed, Central-Ohio Wetland

Chris Carnevale - Advisor Alan Shackelford
Thomas Jefferson, Agrarian Virtue, and Sustaining Agriculture

2006-2007 Projects

The Granville Farmers'Market: A Proposal for the Future

Assessment of Genetic Variation in Cheiroglossa palmata (Ophioglossaceae) Using ISSR-PCR: Implications for Conservation

Initial Plant Community Assembly and Soil Variation in a Central Ohio Wetland

Impermanent Remnants: An Investigation in the Environment Through Art

Spatial Analysis of Ohio Wetland Mitigation Banks

Balancing Practicality and Values in Community Supported Agriculture: A Study of Member Involvement in Four Ohio CSAs

2005-2006 Projects

Assessment of Genetic Variation in Cheiroglossa palmata (Ophioglossaceae) Using ISSR-PCR: Implications for Conservation

A Survey of the Migrating Breeding Population of Spotted Salamanders at the Taylor Ochs Pond in the Denison University Biological Reserve

The Political, Economic and Environmental Threats to the Survival of Nomadic Pastoralists in Mongolia

2004-2005 Projects

A Survey of a Breeding Population of Spotted Salamanders and their Habitat

The Effect of Simulation Type on Perception: A Study of Environmental Preference

2003-2004 Projects

Evaluating the Effect of Genetically Modified Organisms on Organic Farming: Assessing Issues, Cultivating Solutions

Nourishing Change: A Study of Experience, Education and Farm to College Programs

A Narrative History of Helping Hands: Garden of Hope

Human Values in the Sustainable Agricultures of the United States and Japan: Transforming a Destructive Paradigm

Greening of Golf Courses: A Model for Environmentally Friendly Management

2002-2003 Projects

Sustainable Developmenta and Corporate Culture: Green Consideration in Corporate U.S.A.

A Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Hill Wetland Reserve in Granville, Ohio with an Emphasis on Breeding Amphibian Habitat

Land Tenure and Land Degredation: The Relationship and Consequences for Zimbabwe

An Analysis of Future Land Use Change in Licking County: An Application of an Interactive GIS-Based Planning Support System

2001-2002 Projects

Food, Faith, and Farming: Catholic Involvement in Sustainable Solutions for Hunger

Adventure Education and Self-Concept

Environmental Interest Groups: Leadership, Membership, and the Policy Making Process

Struggles, Obstacles and Success: One Community's Battle for Environmental Justice

Growing Foodsheds through Community Supported Agriculture

Student Design of Study Spaces: Does Participation Make a Differences

Rough Waters: North and South Tensions and Environmental Education of the Galapagos Fishing Sector

2000-2001 Projects

The Social Impacts of Industrial Agriculture: A Study of Buckeye Egg Farm and Opposition in Croton, Ohio

Mentoring in the Garden: The Impact of Community Service Experiences on Self-efficacy

GIS Modeling of Bathymetry and Satellite Imagery to Improve Seagrass Classification within Core Sound, North Carolina

People and Their Spaces: A Closer Look at the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center and Slayter Student Union

Social Interaction and Proximity in Small-Town Neighborhoods

Leadership Development in a United States Federal Organization: Do Gender Differences Exist?

1999-2000 Projects

The Agricultural Imagination

Amish Cultural Elasticity: Retaining Autonomy Through Proliferation of Amish Tourism

The Keepers' Role in Watershed Protection: A Voyage for the River's Edge to the Community

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Management: The Effect of Stakeholder Interests in Ohio Metropolitan Parks

1998-1999 Projects

Experts in Their Fields: Apple Growers' Local Knowledge and the Loss of Crop Biodiversity in Central Ohio"

Moving Industry Toward Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Owens Corning

Religious Conversion and Environmental Consequence: The Impact of Missionary Work on Peasants in Chiapas Mexico

Monitoring Submerged Rooted Vegetation Using Satellite Remote Sensing With a Case Study in Core Sound, NC

Environmental Education Through Design: An Investigation of the Barney-Davis Hall Green Renovation

Saving the Farm, Saving the Earth: Connections Between Farmland Preservation and Sustainable Agriculture

Patterns for Parks: Public Participation in Design

Flowering Plants and Land Use History of the Denison University Biological Reserve (Granville Township, Licking County, Ohio): Building a Framework for Field-based Studies

The Places We Live: Community Interaction and Design

Pesticides, Genetic Engineering, and Sewer Sludge: Economic Implications of the Proposed National Organic Program

Public Participation in Brownfield Redevelopment: A Look at the Region V Voluntary Cleanup Programs

Ecotourism, Environmentalism, and Elitism: A Belizean Framing Model for Community and SMO Coalition

Creating an Alternative Way of Living: Rural Development in the Dominican Republic

Communication in Environmental Conflict: How Stakeholder Framing Affects Cooperation in Marion, Ohio

The Organic Debate: Consumer Expectations and Knowledge of Eco-Labeled Food"

1997-1998 Projects

Gene Flow and Population Structure of Metepeira labyrinthea in Lake Erie Islands

The World Bank and the Grameen Bank, A Comparative Study: Which Bank to Bank on for the Environments of Bangladesh

Geographic Information Systems: Siting Rooftop Photovoltaics

"Regional Groundwater Modeling in the Denison University Biological Reserve

A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Olin Science Hall

The Habitat Utilization and Nesting Ecology of the Painted Turtle (Ehrysemys picta) at the Denison University Biological Reserve

1996-1997 Projects

Inventory and Habitat Analysis of Odonata at the Denison University Biological Reserve: Lessons from the Past, Conditions at Present, and Implications for Future Monitoring and Management

Urban Hydrological Sustainability In Columbus and Westerville, Ohio: Integrating Water Resource Development and Conservation

Turning Off the Lights: Motivating Conservation Behavior Among College Students

Inventory and Habitat Assessment of Amphibian Species Assemblages at the Denison University Biological Reserve: Implications for Monitoring and Management of Biological Resources

Is the Food Pyramid One of Sacrifice? Altering the Dominant Meat-Based Pattern of Food Consumption Among American Children and Adolescents

Conserving Biological Diversity Through the Lens of a Specific Taxon: An Inventory and Management Plan for the Papilionoidea of the Denison University Biological Reserve

1995-1996 Projects

Coastal Zone Management in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka: Attaining Sustainability Through Special Area Management

The Abandonment of Pot Creek Pueblo: A GIS Evaluation in the Prehistoric Southwest

Insects as Human Food in the Great Basin: An Ethnoentomological Approach

Culture and Agriculture: The Relationship Between Amish Values and Farming Practices

The Population Dynamics and Genetics of the Winter Annual Plant, Draba Verna L.

Kids, Cans, and Community: A New Direction in Environmental Education

Costa Rica's Banana Boom: Assessing the Sustainability of the World's 'Most Perfect' Fruit

Community-Land Interactions and Place-Attachment in Three Mayan Towns

1994-1995 Projects

Karla Ann Aghajanian - Advisor Abram Kaplan
Sustainability and the American City: A New Synthesis

Amanda Beth Fuller - Advisor Tod Frolking
The Vegetation of Licking County, Ohio at the Time of European Settlement