Molly Embree

Director, STEM Mentored Research Director, STEM Scholars Program, Science Center for Women

Project Description:

What’s the dirt on ASC? Baseline Bio-geochemical findings

This 8-week project is a pilot study for a larger, longer-term project. In coordination with the Office of Sustainability, I am developing a Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) Program proposal for a 2-year project aligned to ASC’s goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2037, and engaging and educating the campus community on sustainability best practices. The larger project will take a systems approach to analyzing ASC’s ecosystem inputs, outputs, and cycles through biological, economic, social, political, and geochemical systems, focusing on carbon and nutrient cycling.  We will examine waste diversion as a starting point for creating more regenerative loops in our local foodshed and watershed. The goals of the long-term project will be to 1) improve sustainability at ASC and at local organic farms by finding complementary inputs and outputs of “waste” for regenerative agriculture, and 2) improve food equity within our local (Dekalb County area) foodshed by connecting our ecosystems, and 3) reduce the destructive impact of stormwater runoff by improving soil health and water retention capacity.

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