October 02, 2024
Funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the two-year grant will help the Freshwater Research Institute expand environmental education, workforce development and tools for collaborative research in watershed restoration, conservation and community engagement:
- Environmental education: The university will formalize its environmental education program through the creation of an academic minor. This program will enhance community engagement, connect research with undergraduate learning and support “K-to-gray” education. It will also train high school teachers in watershed science and help recruit students through increased awareness of opportunities with FRI.
- Workforce development: The FRI will expand its current workforce development program by increasing internship and mentoring opportunities. This initiative will help students develop key skills for conservation while addressing the needs of the FRI’s 50-plus partnerships, with a focus on local solutions from the Susquehanna River to the Chesapeake Bay.
- Collaborative research: The FRI will create tools to improve decision-making for Chesapeake watershed partners. By integrating campus academic programs like data science and ecology, the FRI will deliver interdisciplinary solutions that address key conservation challenges.
“We each have a responsibility in addressing the environmental challenges confronting our world, and higher education plays a vital part,” said University President Jonathan Green. “By preparing the next generation of environmental leaders in an interconnected and complex world, we’re shaping the future. The support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation strengthens our ongoing efforts to protect the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, building on our legacy of success.”
Freshwater Research Institute marks decade of success
Located at Susquehanna’s Center for Environmental Education & Research, the Freshwater Research Institute was founded in 2014 through a generous gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. The institute’s mission is to provide a supportive and student-centered experience that equips undergraduates with the skills, knowledge and professional networks to achieve their personal career goals in the research, conservation and restoration of near- and in-stream habitats.
“With the foundation’s support, we are able to take meaningful steps toward improving conservation outcomes,” said Kathy Straub, dean of Susquehanna’s School of Natural and Social Sciences. “Involving students in this process allows us to pay the foundation’s investment forward by educating and training the world’s future environmental stewards.”
Since the institute’s last award from the foundation in 2022, the FRI has:
- Developed practitioner resources, expanded restoration focal watersheds and began work on a cost-benefit framework for restoration, while expanding research in habitat connectivity to include Pine and Kettle Creeks in addition to Loyalsock.
- Worked with 69 students across 143 internships and supervised 18 research theses.
- Installed Pennsylvania’s first beaver dam analogs, a low-cost high-benefit restoration technique to reduce sediment and nutrient transport while restoring groundwater tables; made its data-sharing platform accessible to Unassessed Waters Initiative partners; and published an open-source Google Play application for water quality.
- Worked with 57 partner organizations and connected to over 100 organizations through Chesapeake Conservancy partnerships for restoration.
- Awarded 13 grants to support the FRI and its students.
“The Freshwater Research Institute unites faculty, students and conservation partners to tackle the ecological challenges affecting the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay,” said Matt Wilson, director of the institute. “This collaboration is essential for driving impactful progress in our collective conservation efforts.”
Providing over half of the fresh water to the Chesapeake Bay, the Susquehanna River watershed plays a critical role in the health of the bay. Susquehanna’s research and monitoring takes students and faculty from the headwaters to the main stem of the Susquehanna River — collecting data on fish, macroinvertebrates, water chemistry and sediment.