The walkway between the Gray Design Building (GDB) and the School of Art and Visual Studies (SAVS) is currently characterized by a mown lawn with small, spotty perennial patches on the eastern side of the walk and a mown lawn and a wooded ravine on the west side. The project partners propose using in-kind services and a Sustainability Challenge Grant to redesign the current walk experience into a native prairie grassland landscape with artwork, picnic areas, shade trees, and signage. The process for the design and construction of the landscape will involve the work of multiple participants:
The primary purpose of the grassland intervention for this project is to provide an educational opportunity to broaden the public’s understanding of the importance of grassland habits to wildlife and humans. Plants for the walkway grassland will be selected to evoke the prairies, barrens (primarily grasses), and glades (with exposed bedrock) of the Northern Interior Low Plateau physiographic regions of Central Kentucky (including the Bluegrass and Knobs regions).
Team: Tracey Miller, Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture; Jordan Phemister, Senior Lecturer, Department of Landscape Architecture; S.K. O’Brien, Assistant Professor, Department of Product Design; Garry Bibbs, Professor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Chad Eby, Assistant Professor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Jerry Hart, Grounds Superintendent, Facilities Management
This project seeks to establish operational processes and capacity to produce material for students and research use through the campus woods program. This requires two goals supporting each other:
Team: Sophia Thomas, Fabrication Lab Manager, College of Design; Bruce Swetnam, Associate Professor, School of Architecture; Chad Niman, Agriculture Research Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; Jill Leckner, Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture; Paul Masterson, Facilities Supervisor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Pooya Mohaghegh, Lecturer, Department of Product Design
While reforestation is increasingly of interest in urban settings as part of broader urban greening programs and also has potential as a nature-based climate solution, the ecological services provided by planted urban forests are largely unknown. The literature on carbon cycling in urban forests in general is inconclusive—different types of urban forest (e.g., street trees, landscape trees, and remnant forest patches) vary in their growth and mortality rates, which makes carbon accounting complicated. The literature is further complicated by a paucity of studies engaging soil carbon specifically in these sites. Thus, the potential for urban reforestation to contribute to nature-based climate mitigation is unknown and presents a critical research need.
The proposed project seeks to characterize soil carbon sequestration and associated soil microbiome functions in planted urban forests, contrasted with adjacent mowed grassland ecosystems. Urban reforestation efforts such as Reforest the Bluegrass are promising avenues of promoting soil carbon sequestration since forests generally contain larger soil carbon stocks than highly disturbed ecosystems such as mowed urban lands. Further, the climate benefits of reforestation could be long-lasting since developing forests continually accumulate soil carbon over long time scales (decades to centuries). The increase in soil carbon with forest establishment is due partly to increased inputs of chemically complex plant matter to the soil (e.g., leaf litter, woody debris).
Changes to the soil microbiota also plays a role in the increased carbon sequestration – alterations to the soil environment due to forest development (e.g., reductions in soil pH) increases the abundances of slow-growing microorganisms with high metabolic efficiency e.g., fungi and some groups of bacteria (e.g., Acidobacteria). As these more efficient organisms grow, they lose less carbon to the atmosphere as respiration (CO2) and retain more carbon into their biomass. Upon the deaths of these microbes, carbon compounds from their biomass chemically associate with soil minerals, forming mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM), which is protected from further decomposition. Thus, the changes in soil microbiota with forest development are linked to increased quantity and stability of belowground carbon stocks. In all, the general expectation is that reforestation will alter microbe-driven soil carbon cycling, ultimately resulting in increased potential for long-term climate change remediation.
Team: Kenton Sena, Senior Lecturer, Lewis Honors College; Ernie Osburn, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences; Zachary Hackworth, Research Forester, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; Jan Frouz, Director, Czech Academy of Sciences, Charles University; Lucie Hublova, Ph.D. Student, Charles University; Heather Wilson, Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager Sr., LFUCG
Polymer modeling clay is a versatile and popular art material used by creatives and makers across age groups. Generally, polymer modeling clay is made from poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), colorants, and plasticizers. The plasticizer in PVC is commonly phthalate based, and numerous studies have found that at even low concentrations, there may negative health outcomes tied to exposure. These include neurodevelopment risk of childhood asthma and potential ties to diabetes and breast/uterine cancer. Considering many artists may use the medium for years their lifetime exposure may be high. Due to all these factors, the long-term goal of our proposed research is to address the sustainability and health issues related to polymer modeling clay.
The overarching goal of this project is to redesign polymer clay to match the needs of the artistic community and sustainability. This goal aligns with the responsible production and consumption in SDG as well as supporting curricula.
Team: Malgorzata Chwatko, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering; Jaleesa Wells, Assistant Professor, Department of Arts Administration
Historically, natural dyes played a vital role in textile production, offering a vibrant and diverse color palette. However, synthetic dyes have largely replaced these traditional methods. While synthetic dyes offer a wider range of colors and greater consistency, their production and use often come at a significant environmental cost. Some 20% of global industrial water pollution is attributed to the dye industry. As the damage attributable to synthetic dyes gains appreciation, there is renewed interest in natural dyes. However, there is a large gap between demand and resources, and knowledge and training as needed for these sustainable practices' deployment. To position Kentuckians to engage and profit from growing demand for sustainable textiles and pigments, we propose:
The project directly benefits sustainability of a modern essential: clothing. The course teaches students how sustainable practices can be implemented to replace toxic synthetic dyes pollutants. The demonstration dye garden as well as a commercial production at the Horticulture Research farm will not only provide the needed raw materials but will be a demonstration to the public of the attractive plants that can replace synthetic dyes and are naturally compatible with Kentucky's climate. The internships will provide hands-on training for students, preparing them to maintain their own dye gardens. This program not only teaches about sustainable replacement for textile dyes but lays a foundation for a sustainable source of income and employment for Kentuckians, based on crops that can be grown sustainably in Kentucky. By fostering long-lasting benefits for the commonwealth, we intend to boost economic sustainability, while also addressing an environmental woe.
Team: Crystal Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Shari Dutton, Horticulturalist, Department of Horticulture; A-F. Miller, Professor, Department of Chemistry