Assessment of the Ecosystem Services of Rain Gardens

Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces contributes to degradation of urban stream ecosystems. Impacts include increased flooding, water quality impairment, and disruption of habitats. Rain gardens are a type of green infrastructure designed to mitigate the adverse effects of stormwater runoff by promoting evapotranspiration, reducing peak flows, and retaining pollutants. Rain gardens can provide additional ecosystem services, defined as benefits that ecosystems provide to people. This includes, but is not limited to, increasing biodiversity by providing habitat, creating green spaces for recreation, and storing carbon. To date, little research has been done integrating these multiple services. My research measured water quality, nutrient processing rates, soil carbon and plant diversity at three rain garden sites in Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana. Plant diversity was measured by species richness and the Shannon Weiner index. Water quality was measured by testing runoff and groundwater samples for pollutant concentrations. Soil carbon and denitrification rates were measured in surface soil. Plant composition varied by site, as did soil carbon concentration. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations were higher in groundwater than in runoff, and pollutant concentrations varied by site. My results highlight opportunities for enhancing multiple ecosystem services provided by rain gardens

Closing the Feedback Loop: Collaborative Design of a Musculoskeletal Revision Course

Clinical Teaching Fellows (CTFs) at Leicester Medical School decided to supplement the learning needs of first year students on the musculoskeletal (MSK) module. Mid-unit evaluation had demonstrated that students had remarked positively on CTF teaching and many requested further anatomy teaching and demonstrations using prosections. It is increasingly important to provide students with evidence that their feedback is being acted upon, therefore CTFs collaborated in providing additional learning resources in the form of CTF-led revision courses while the MSK module was still ongoing. A survey was designed which aimed to engage students and to further explore their learning needs when developing the course. Based on these responses, two half-day CTF-led revision courses were designed, which included educational methods and topics the students themselves had suggested. CTFs collaboratively developed eight different stations, with one CTF designing and delivering the teaching material. Attendance was high and feedback indicated this was a valuable learning experience for students, with particularly positive responses about the interactive nature and high quality of the teaching. This experience demonstrates the benefits of working in partnership with students when developing learning activities, closing the feedback loop to improve student satisfaction, and collaborative planning when designing revision resources