Sustainable Landscaping at Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence College is an institution that inspires innovation within its students and teaches them how to understand and act upon the challenges that our ever-changing society raises. Currently, society is presented with some of the largest ecological crises that humans have ever faced, the consequences of which are widespread, affecting everyone on the planet. In order to address environmental devastation, all institutions must re-evaluate their current practices and implement significant changes. No college is better equipped for creating such change than Sarah Lawrence; founded on innovative educational techniques, we possess the knowledge and creativity that can be harnessed to create environmentally sustainable and economically viable policies on campus. One of the most simple and cost-effective ways to reduce the college’s ecological footprint lies within our landscaping practices. The college currently uses an unnecessary amount of water and fossil fuels on maintaining plant species and grassy areas. In order to cut back on water and fossil fuel use, the college can implement basic changes including planting native species, establishing a rain garden, and incorporating Xeriscaping techniques. Replacing the excess of non-native species on campus with native plantings will provide ecological and economic benefits by dramatically reducing the need for watering, fertilizer use, and maintenance. Establishing a rain garden is an aesthetically pleasing solution to improving water quality and mitigating flooding. Xeriscaping is a landscaping alternative that will conserve resources, save money, beautify our campus and provide a central source for community. All of these changes will increase the aesthetic value of campus and improve the quality of student life.https://digitalcommons.slc.edu/undergrad_sustainproject/1007/thumbnail.jp

Energy Efficiency at SLC

Energy consumption accounts for thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and trillions of dollars spent annually. Due to economically inefficient and environmentally unsustainable practices, much of the energy consumed that is contributing to these statistics is wasted. Sarah Lawrence College has the potential to drastically reduce its energy consumption through simple and effective measures including implementing energy saving lighting practices, installing energy efficient electronic appliances, and installing power saving software on computers. These changes hold the potential to significantly reduce the institution’s carbon emissions while saving costs by lowering energy bills.https://digitalcommons.slc.edu/undergrad_sustainproject/1001/thumbnail.jp

Hormone-regulated expression and distribution of versican in mouse uterine tissues

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Remodeling of the extracellular matrix is one of the most striking features observed in the uterus during the estrous cycle and after hormone replacement. Versican (VER) is a hyaluronan-binding proteoglycan that undergoes RNA alternative splicing, generating four distinct isoforms. This study analyzed the synthesis and distribution of VER in mouse uterine tissues during the estrous cycle, in ovariectomized (OVX) animals and after 17beta-estradiol (E2) and medroxyprogesterone (MPA) treatments, either alone or in combination.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Uteri from mice in all phases of the estrous cycle, and animals subjected to ovariectomy and hormone replacement were collected for immunoperoxidase staining for versican, as well as PCR and quantitative Real Time PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In diestrus and proestrus, VER was exclusively expressed in the endometrial stroma. In estrus and metaestrus, VER was present in both endometrial stroma and myometrium. In OVX mice, VER immunoreaction was abolished in all uterine tissues. VER expression was restored by E2, MPA and E2+MPA treatments. Real Time PCR analysis showed that VER expression increases considerably in the MPA-treated group. Analysis of mRNA identified isoforms V0, V1 and V3 in the mouse uterus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results show that the expression of versican in uterine tissues is modulated by ovarian steroid hormones, in a tissue-specific manner. VER is induced in the myometrium exclusively by E2, whereas MPA induces VER deposition only in the endometrial stroma.</p

A Sustainable Campus for the Future: Proposals for Sarah Lawrence College

The combined version of A Sustainable Campus for the Future: Proposals for Sarah Lawrence College comes from a joint project between the students in Economics of the Ecological Crisis and Global Change Biology in Spring 2016, taught by Nicholas Reksten and Michelle Hersh, respectively.https://digitalcommons.slc.edu/undergrad_sustainproject/1009/thumbnail.jp

Mass-flowering monoculture attracts bees, amplifying parasite prevalence.

As the global agricultural footprint expands, it is increasingly important to address the link between the resource pulses characteristic of monoculture farming and wildlife epidemiology. To understand how mass-flowering crops impact host communities and subsequently amplify or dilute parasitism, we surveyed wild and managed bees in a monoculture landscape with varying degrees of floral diversification. We screened 1509 bees from 16 genera in sunflower fields and in non-crop flowering habitat across 200 km2 of the California Central Valley. We found that mass-flowering crops increase bee abundance. Wild bee abundance was subsequently associated with higher parasite presence, but only in sites with a low abundance of non-crop flowers. Bee traits related to higher dispersal ability (body size) and diet breadth (pollen lecty) were also positively related to parasite presence. Our results highlight the importance of non-crop flowering habitat for supporting bee communities. We suggest monoculture alone cannot support healthy bees