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CONSERVING THROUGH RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Happy August! 

Despite the relatively quiet campus, we have been busy on several projects. The ERC staff and Conservation Conversation Committee are working on an alternative to the event, given the necessity for social distancing. We are planning to provide on-demand monthly presentations or panel discussions on topics of sustainability that were planned for this past April. We hope to begin the conversations in September. The last two videos to support the Myanmar initiatives water quality education program have been recorded and are being edited (see below). September 9th is PFW’s second annual Day of Giving. The ERC is one of several Centers of Excellence that depend on the generosity of the community for support. This is our largest fundraising event so please Make Your Mark by contributing a gift to help fund our operations, internships and special projects.

Take Care
Bob Gillespie
Assistant Director
ERC

We're Hiring!

Waterfield Sustainability Internship and other ongoing ERC Internships

Our team is excited to announce that we have several open positions to hire student interns this fall and into coming semesters. These positions are open to any currently enrolled Purdue University Fort Wayne students independent of area of study - we are less concerned about major but more so your interest in sustainability and desire to contribute. If you know any currently enrolled PFW students who might be interested in joining our team please encourage them to apply!

The opportunities include:
  • The prestigious project-based Waterfield Sustainability Internship
  • Various ERC internships
As we switch to more of a virtual format we have a strong desire for students with website development, social media experience, and video editing skills. However, other areas for development are event planning, education/outreach, graphic design, and general support for the center.

For more detailed information on our available positions visit the ERC Website's 'Internships' Tab and note that all applications must be submitted through Handshake.

Campus Rain Garden

Pictures and an update from Mitch Davidson, Associate Vice Chancellor and CIO at Purdue University Fort Wayne

"While there have been numerous stories in the news about the decline of honeybee populations, a broad range of bees (over 3,600 species in North America) are also in decline, including the common bumblebee.  Bumblebees, which live in colonies of 50 to 500 bees, are far more efficient pollinators than traditional, non-native honeybees.  While 20,000 honeybees are required to pollinate one acre of an apple orchard, 300 bumblebees can accomplish the same task.  Solitary bees, which are bee species that do not live in colonies, are also valuable pollinators and are experiencing similar decline.  Some examples of solitary bees include mason bees, leafcutter bees, and miner bees.  This decline is of great concern, as 75% of flowering species of plants require pollinators to reproduce, and 35% of the worlds crops require pollination as well. 

A variety of factors are responsible for the decline, including habitat loss, pesticide and herbicide use, changes in farming practices, parasites, and disease.  To both assist various pollinators as well as beautify campus, Purdue University Fort Wayne has implemented a native plant, rain garden near Kettler Hall.  Covering 8,000 square feet, a variety of native plants with varying bloom times have been established, including butterfly weed, rose milkweed, ironweed, blazing star, bee balm, anise hyssop, and New England aster.  Native plants are important because they have co-evolved with native insects, birds, and other wildlife, and are well adapted to the local growing conditions. 

Some additional plantings have been made in the area behind Parking Garage 3, including several larger species of native plants, such as compass plant and cup plant, which can reach heights of 7 to 12 feet respectively.  Butterflies and other pollinators will also benefit from these plantings, and some evidence of that has already been seen, as several species of butterfly, including the Eastern Black Swallowtail, Red Admiral, and Painted Lady have been spotted."

Myanmar Video Progress

Debut soon to come!

The Myanmar initiative water quality education program is well on it's way! The last two days of video capture included a tour of the three rivers from a pontoon boat owned by the Maumee Watershed Alliance and captained by Dan Wire. Along the way, the group learned about some of the interesting history of the rivers in Fort Wayne, as well as some of the issues about water quality in the Maumee Basin.  The final day of recording took us near the St. Marys River to a drop shaft of the tunnel being dug by the massive drill, known as MamaJo.  Frank Suarez, and T.J. Short of City Utilities explained how the tunnel will significantly improve water quality by reducing the number of combined sewer outfall events among the three rivers. For more information visit the the MaMaJo Project page and stay tuned for our final product!

Looking Forward with the Green Action Club

A segment written by members of the Green Action Club!

Are you interested in bringing environmental action to Purdue Fort Wayne and our surrounding community? Join the Green Action Club for our second year back on campus! In our first year, we took on clean-ups at Eagle Marsh and on campus, helped maintain a vermi (worm) compost at the Environmental Resources Center, and shared a Mean Green Chili and Beans as part of the Chancellor's Chili Fest.

The group is currently led by officers Elizabeth Cubberley, Sophia Burkholder, Lindee Mason, and Bellarose Ferrin, and advised by Dr. Jordan Marshall. We are excited to jump back into the many exciting projects we have had on hold this summer and to continue to bring environmental change by engaging the student body and taking direct action. 

If you are interested in joining the Green Action Club, as a student or non-student member, please email an officer at greenactionclub@pfw.edu.

2020 Mastodon Market: Cancelled

Bumped back to summer 2021

Unfortunately, the Mastodon Market, PFW's campus farmers market, which was originally planned to launch this Thursday, August 20th, has now been postponed until 2021. We're using this opportunity to allow more time for planning next year's activities to make it bigger and better than ever. We can't wait to bring a variety of sources of fresh produce and local goods to the campus community in summer 2021!

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Bruce Kingsbury
Environmental Resources Center
Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW)
2101 East Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499

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PFW Envrionmental Resources Center · Purdue University Fort Wayne · 2101 East Coliseum Blvd. · Fort Wayne, IN 46805 · USA

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