College of the Environment Newsletter - Spring 2025 | College of the Environment

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From the Dean’s Desk

For over 25 years, the College of the Environment has celebrated our graduates with a cedar seedling donated by Fourth Corner Nurseries (see photo below). Symbolizing our environmental mission and the excitement of new beginnings, these seedlings aptly capture the optimism of commencement.

This year, a record percentage of our 256 graduates walked across the stage to mark the milestone of earning a college degree! Each degree embodies countless hours of hard work to develop substantive knowledge and experience and the capacity to learn independently, think critically, and collaborate.

As the stories in this newsletter highlight, environmental work is collaborative—whether it is engaging in interdisciplinary field research, finding community-based solutions to increased risks of natural hazards, or navigating complex thickets of law, policy, data, and demand to build comprehensive community plans. Across the college, faculty are mentoring students in the practice of convening diverse strengths to reach shared goals of healthier, sustainable environments and communities.

Read on to learn about some of the incredible work of our staff, faculty, and students as they engage in applied research that positively impacts the region, the state, and the world. Acknowledging that we are in the midst of heightened uncertainty and challenge, we hope these stories spark curiosity and inspire you as they do us.

We value your connection and partnership as we focus on educating the next generation of environmental leaders. We invite you to keep in touch by following us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Together, we are stronger. Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Teena Gabrielson,
Dean of the College of the Environment

The College of the Environment class of 2025 students stand with faculty and staff on Stadium Piece sculpture in Comms Lawn

Congratulations to this year’s graduates! In this photo, class of 2025 grads hold cedar seedlings while posing with faculty and staff on Comm Lawn during the graduation celebration on Friday, June 13. Photo by Charles Barnhart.

College News

Urban Planning students at an Open House meeitng in Ferndale

Urban Planning students help Washington plan for inclusive and sustainable urban development

Several towns and cities in Whatcom and Skagit Counties are in the process of updating their comprehensive plans – often called “comp plans” – which help communities envision future development to attract and accommodate anticipated population growth.

This year, WWU’s Urban Planning students applied their planning skills to help local municipalities make this monumental task a bit easier.

[Photo: Urban Planning students Joshua Khan, Mathias King, and Terra Kyer engage with Ferndale residents at a November 2024 community open house where there was an exchange of information and ideas about Ferndale’s future. Photo by Tammi Laninga.]

Undergraduates Buck Foster, left, and Ava Weatherl measure dissolved oxygen in amphibian breeding habitat. Photo by John McLaughlin.

Environmental Sciences Field Camp opens doors for students to conduct, present and publish research

Every spring, Professor of Environmental Sciences John McLaughlin takes emerging environmental scientists up mountains and down rivers to conduct research and get a feel for what fieldwork is really like. Being away from campus, away from everything, can be life changing.

Field Camp is an immersive, 15-credit block of courses spring quarter that takes students out of the classroom and into the field. More than an adventure, students learn about research methods, wilderness training, and more, all while forming lasting bonds with each other and the natural world. After two research expeditions, the groups present their faculty/student collaborations at Scholars Week.

ESCI Field Camp is a huge commitment with equally huge rewards.

[Photo: Undergraduates Buck Foster, left, and Ava Weatherl measure dissolved oxygen in amphibian breeding habitat in the former Mills reservoir, Elwha River, in April during 2025 ESCI Field Camp. Photo by John McLaughlin.]

Emily Martin, Suzanne Cadagan, Michael Medler, Lizzie Rentz and Abby Marshall at Grahams in Glacier. courtesy of Michael Medler.

Environmental Studies Pyrogeography students help town of Glacier develop its first wildfire plan

Several students in Environmental Studies Professor Michael Medler’s Pyrogeography – the geography of fire – capstone class collaborated with Whatcom County Fire District #19 and Glacier Fire & Rescue to produce the town's first Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). For the small volunteer-based Glacier Fire & Rescue team, creating a fire plan had been a long-term goal but was out of reach due to limited resources.

Students got to apply what they'd been learning in the classroom to a real-world project and make an impact on a community. “It was a great opportunity for College of the Environment students to be embedded in the process of developing a fire plan,” said Medler.

[Photo: (From left) Emily Martin, Suzanne Cadagan, Michael Medler, Lizzie Rentz and Abby Marshall presented at the town of Glacier’s “Community Resilience Night” at Graham’s restaurant on Tuesday, March 18. Photo courtesy of Michael Medler.]

Awards & Recognition

The Planet magazine wins six awards including Best Ongoing Student Magazine

The Planet, Western Washington University’s student-produced environmental magazine, won six regional awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence competition for work in their Uncharted Issue, including Best Ongoing Student Magazine.

The Planet, for Best Ongoing Student Magazine (congrats to the editorial team: Julia Hawkins, Tori Lehman, Isaac Becker, Ewan McLauchlan, Kylie Miller, Avery Robertson, Omar Sayoud and Daria Walker)
Phoebe Clark, for Kelp Needs Your Help: Environment/Science/Climate Reporting
Soren Cooley, for No Goats, No Glory: General News Photography
Eleanor Geraghty, for Losing Steam: Campus Reporting
Josh Maritz, for Oh, Deer: Chronic Wasting Disease Comes to Washington: General News Reporting
India Rahmani, for Himalayan Blackberry: Best Podcast, Narrative

The Planet Magazine also celebrated 45 years of publication this year! For those on campus, limited copies of the Spring 2024-Winter 2025 anthology are on newsstands now, or online at theplanetmagazine.net.

[Photo: The Planet’s faculty advisor, Jeff Shaw, upper left, poses with the magazine's award-winning staff. Photo courtesy of The Planet. Follow The Planet on Instagram to meet the staff and see all the stories they published this year.]

Student Awards:

Outstanding Graduates, Master’s Degrees

Nikhil Amin, Environmental Science
Emily Bradford, Environmental Studies
Maia Heffernan, Environmental Sciences – Marine and Estuarine Science Program

Outstanding Graduates, Bachelor’s Degrees

Nina Bracht-Bedell, Environmental Studies - Geographic Information Science Emphasis
Alexis Clark, Urban Planning and Sustainable Development
William Dirren, Environmental Science, WWU on the Peninsulas
Gabrielle Emanuels, Urban Sustainability
Aeryn Garvisch, Environmental Studies
Marina Griebel, Environmental Science
Joel Rink, Environmental Science
Cassidy Wakerlin, Environmental Policy

Professor Ming Ho Yu Outstanding Student in Environmental Toxicology

Janel Charteris
Emma Fehr

Faculty and Staff Awards:

Debnath Mookherjee Excellence in Teaching Award: Rebekah Paci-Green, Environmental Studies
The Carl H. Simpson Bridging Award: Steve Hollenhorst, WWU Peninsulas Initiative
Outstanding Faculty Leadership Award: Grace Wang, Urban & Environmental Planning & Policy
Outstanding Scholarship Award: Marco Hatch, Environmental Sciences
Red-tailed Hawk Award for conservation and climate leadership: Joshua Porter, Sustainability Pathways

Marco Hatch, Grace Wang, and Steve Hollenhorst at the Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony in May.

(From left) Marco Hatch, Grace Wang, and Steve Hollenhorst were recognized at the Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony in May. Photo by Teena Gabrielson.

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Events

Environmental Speaker Series

The Environmental Speaker Series presents topics of environmental concern for the WWU and Bellingham communities and is brought to you by the College of the Environment in partnership with the Foundation for WWU & Alumni.⁠

Talks are held each Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Academic Instructional Center West, room 204, and on Zoom. They are free and open to the public.

Watch dozens of archived Environmental Speaker Series talks from recent years.

Contact The Foundation for WWU & Alumni at (360) 650-3353 or alumni@wwu.edu for more information about our speaker series or to be added to a mailing list to hear about upcoming events.

Toxicology & Societies Speaker Series

The monthly Toxicology & Societies Speaker Series, presented by the WWU Institute of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in partnership with the Foundation for WWU & Alumni, is ending after five years. These webinars aim to help you better appreciate, understand, and evaluate the many ways that manufactured chemicals (more than 300,000) interact with all humans on Earth.

Watch five years worth of archived Toxicology & Societies Speaker Series webinars.

Check The Foundation for WWU & Alumni website for more events including in-person happy hours, dinner cruises, ballpark nights, and more, happening this summer and year-round in Bellingham and beyond.

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Publications

Student & Faculty Publications

Assessing the cumulative effects of nearshore habitat restoration actions for multiple populations of juvenile salmon in Whidbey Basin, Washington: foundation and approach for synthesis and evaluation, Marine and Coastal Science (MACS) and Environmental Sciences Associate Professor Kathryn Sobocinski.

Global Status of School Safety: Results of the 2024 Comprehensive School Safety Policy Survey, Environmental Studies Department Chair and Associate Professor Rebekah Paci-Green

Some new and interesting desmids (Streptophyta, Desmidiales) from the northern USA, Professor and Director Emeritus of the Institute for Watershed Studies (IWS) Robin Matthews.

Ecosystem impacts of moon jellyfish Aurelia labiata aggregations in Puget Sound, Washington, Marine and Coastal Science (MACS) and Environmental Sciences Associate Professor Kathryn Sobocinski.

Production of dissolved organic matter from lily pads in a mesotrophic freshwater lake, WWU’s departments of Chemistry (Kyle Juetten, Zachary Landram & Catherine D. Clark), Environmental Sciences (Caleb D. R. Jansen and Environmental Sciences Professor and IWS Director Angela Strecker), and the IWS.

Abiotic variables drive different aspects of fish community trait variation and species richness across the continental United States, IWS post-doctoral fellow Alicia McGrew. Co-authored by Brigid Wills (’23, BS, Environmental Science), IWS Research Assistant Crysta Gantz, and Environmental Sciences Professor and IWS Director Angela Strecker.

Blue Carbon Stocks Along the Pacific Coast of North America Are Mainly Driven by Local Rather Than Regional Factors, Environmental Sciences Professor John Rybczyk and Research Associate Katrine Poppe.

Out of the lab and into the environment: the evolution of single particle ICP-MS over the past decade, Environmental Sciences Associate Professor Manuel Montaño and graduate student Brianna Benner.

Monitoring lead deposition around airports using bulk deposition samplers, (Environmental Sciences Professor David Shull, Environmental Sciences Associate Professor Manuel Montaño, undergraduate Stella Jarvis, Whatcom Community College student Martha (Erandi) Sandoval).

Climate Change in the Salish Sea Region: Historical and Projected Future Trends in Temperature and Precipitation. Emerging Issues in the Salish Sea, Environmental Studies Professor Aquila Flower, Institute for Energy Studies and Environmental Studies Assistant Professor Xi Wang, GIS Specialist Natalie Furness, and Environmental Studies MA candidate Emily Laura Bradford.

Characterization of the migratory distribution, connectivity, philopatry and timing of the western North American Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) population, Andrew Annanie, Environmental Sciences masters thesis.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Cannabis Production Systems in the state of Washington, Ryan Bottem, Environmental Sciences masters thesis.

A Life Cycle Analysis of District Heating Options for Western Washington University, Juniper Deitering, Environmental Studies masters thesis.

Understanding pathways towards a just energy transition: A comparative case study of distributed solar adoption in Bellingham, WA and Burlington, VT, Ellesha Gasperini, Environmental Studies masters thesis.

Integration of Climate Change Adaptation into Planning: A Study of Washington state Coastal Communities Exposed to Sea Level Rise, Yashel Kakavand, Environmental Studies masters thesis.

Kelp in the Salish Sea: Spatial Patterns of Persistence, Loss, and Data Gaps Using a Harmonized Dataset, Lamai S. Larsen, Environmental Studies masters thesis.

Analyzing the Future of the Lower Snake River Dams Under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gabrielle Lund, Environmental Studies masters thesis.

The Fine Line: A Case Study Analysis of Meaningful Public Participation, Rosa M. Nelson, Environmental Studies masters thesis.

The Effects of Nano-Enabled Copper Hydroxide Fungicide on the Fate and Transport of Neonicotinoid Insecticides in a Pacific Northwest Wetland Environment, Cristopher J. Paradis, Environmental Sciences masters thesis.

Comparing primary production and vertical export of the picophytoplankton Synechococcus in the Northern Gulf of Alaska, Kathryn Williams, Environmental Science-Marine and Estuary Science Program masters thesis.

An Ecocentric Turn: Emerging Narratives in the Growing U.S. Rights of Nature Movement, Raechel E. Youngberg, Environmental Studies masters thesis.

WWU Spatial Institute Internship, Isaac Becker, Spring 2025 internship report.