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Meet Samantha
our new Sustainability Coordinator
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 My name is Samantha and I’m the new Sustainability Coordinator for Purdue Fort Wayne’s Environmental Resources Center. I come to Purdue Fort Wayne as a University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point graduate with a Bachelor of Science focused in Natural Resources Planning and Sustainable Energy.
I’ve worn many hats in both university and local government settings working on a wide array of projects. Topics include aquatic invasive species, brownfield redevelopment, bicycle and pedestrian route planning, agrotourism, nature-based recreation, and water quality monitoring, just to name a few.
My heart is in higher education and I’m excited to be in a position that combines both my education and what I do in my free time. When I’m not in the office you can find me cooking, hiking, basking in the sun, binging reality TV shows, hammocking, or tending to my houseplants.
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ERC Building Updates
Lots going on
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 A major activity over the summer has been starting to activate our new space. While we got permission to occupy the Printing/Warehouse Building in 2018, we did not actually get to occupy until February 2019. And then it was empty. No longer. Some of you took a peek at the ERC during the Conservation Conversation. By then, we had some tables and chairs for presentations. Now we have activated offices, added desks for workstations, and have begun to move towards a final configuration for the "Green Room," our large common area. We are so grateful to our supporters who have provided funds for furniture - we still have some matching funds available, so will be seeking additional contributions to make full use of that opportunity. The setup includes a wonderful audiovisual system to enhance presentations. And plants. Both Samantha and Bruce like them, so the "forestation" has begun. We will have an open house this fall, and then you will be able to check it out yourself. Stay tuned!!
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Solar Panels Sprouting on Campus
First project of many
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The newest sustainable technology addition to Kettler Hall is officially up and running! With the initial goal to offset the power consumed by the computer lab in KT 217, 21 SolarEdge photovoltaic panels have been installed as a solar pilot program here on campus. The solar array is set up to produce around 7.7 kW maximum, but so far sunny days have yielded around 5.2 kW maximum. Before long, there will be a kiosk on the first floor of Kettler Hall displaying a summary of the energy produced on a daily, weekly, monthly, and lifetime basis as well as CO2 emissions saved and equivalent trees planted through this renewable energy source. For now, you can view the statistics HERE through our online link. So far, the pilot has been fun, successful and there are hopes to expand operations in the future.
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Q: What do you call a massive solar energy spill?
A: Just a nice day
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Rain Garden Genesis
Kettler Hall Parking Lot
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A big shoutout to our campus grounds crew on the massive, brand new rain garden snuggled up to Kettler Hall's parking lot. Instead of pollutant-laden water running off impermeable surfaces straight into the river, rain gardens collect the runoff where water will gather and filter through vegetation and percolate through the soil. This process ultimately purifies the contaminants out of our water and simultaneously recharges groundwater aquifers. Plus, pretty flowers for us and the bees!
This particular rain garden has well over 4000 plants consisting of around 75% native species. Species you can test your identification skills on include Coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans, Butterflyweed, Columbine, Milkweed, Joe-Pye Weed, and Ironweed, just to name a few.
One important road bump to note has to do with the timing of planting all the young specimens. The bulk of the planting took place over a very hot week which created quite a bit of stress on some of the plants. With the tireless help from our grounds crew, most will hopefully start to leaf out again. Others might've been stressed beyond our grounds crew's TLC capabilities and will have to be replanted. Nonetheless, this is just the beginning of the journey so be on the lookout for new growth and bloomin' flowers in no time.
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Four picture time lapse of Kettler Hall's rain garden inception. Standby! Updates to come.
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Unbe-leaf-able Student Research
Dr. Jordan Marshall, Tessa Aby, Madison Beckstedt, and Joanna Stebing
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Little Wabash River Nature Preserve (LWRNP) is a forested property owned by ACRES Land Trust in Roanoke, Indiana. ACRES recently added the Mills-Black Tract to the southwest side of LWRNP expanding the total property area. Three Purdue Fort Wayne students (Tessa Aby, Madison Beckstedt, and Joanna Stebing) began a systematic plant survey of the property in April 2019 under mentoring by PFW associate professor of biology Jordan Marshall. The goals of the project during the growing season are to conduct:
- a monthly floristic survey attempting to catalog all flowering and non-flowering plants within the property
- a bi-monthly ecological survey to identify environmental characteristics separating community types within the property
Both survey methods will provide ACRES Land Trust with essential information regarding what plant species are present at the property, where they occur at the property, and how plant communities segregate within the property - all necessary to make management decisions regarding LWRNP management and protection.
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Carl Linnaeus is probably beaming! Keep up the plant-tastic work!
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Did you love what you read?! Share your excitement! Help us continue our conservation and education efforts by sharing our QR code (left), or by directing people to sign up using the JOIN link on the ERC website. Thanks!
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To invest in the ERC is to invest in environmental conservation. Donate now to support research, education, and outreach activities!
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How Are We Doing?
We value your opinion and we want to hear from you! What did you love? What can we improve on? What do you want to see in the next issue? Drop us an email to let us know!
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