[主图片:黑岩森林的Maenza-Gmelch教授]
环境科学高级讲师 Terryanne Maenza-Gmelch has guided Barnard students through the process of forest ecology since joining the faculty in 2006. 在 黑岩森林联盟, 她在哪里开发并教授暑期实地项目, Maenza-Gmelch offers students from middle through graduate school hands-on research opportunities to reflect on past environments, 生态系统, 和更多的.
2021年学院的获奖者 卓越教学奖, Maenza-Gmelch has a passion for educating students on the environment that's evident in the courses she curates (in 2016, she took her Intro to 环境科学 students aboard the research vessel Seawolf to 对哈德逊河进行研究)和她制作的网络资源，比如 古生态学模块 for the Virtual Forest Initiative — established in collaboration with 哥伦比亚大学新媒体教学与学习中心 to offer students a simulated experience when learning about a forest’s ecosystem.
与 城市中的STEAM十大电竞游戏综合排名的新倡议 斯塔夫罗斯·尼亚乔斯基金会 (SNF), Maenza-Gmelch mentored K-8 educators in the Harlem and Morningside Heights neighborhoods on building a science, 技术, 工程, 艺术, and mathematics (STEAM) curriculum that uses the City’s parks and public spaces as learning sites. To learn more about the City’s treescapes during Climate Week NYC (September 20-26), 我们和Maenza-Gmelch谈了关于……的5个问题，采访了树木保护环境的多种方式.
纽约的原生树木有哪些?它们是如何保护这座城市的?
我想指出纽约的区别 街上的树木 它们与公园里的树木是分开监控的. 公园里种了树，还有被称为“永远的荒野”的地区.” Some of the most common 街上的树木 in NYC are London planetree, Norway maple, and ginkgo. 这三个都不是本地的. 另一方面， 纽约市82%的冠层树木 原产于. 这些城市森林中最常见的原生树木是甜桉树, 红橡木, 红色的枫叶, 还有黑樱桃, 等.
无论这棵树是在街上还是在公园里, 每个都为人类提供相同的生态系统服务. Trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and help mitigate climate change. Trees also cool the local environment through shading; heat is absorbed during evaporation of water from the surface of leaves and from within the leaf’s interior. Trees also provide a pleasant aesthetic that contributes to our well-being. Trees clean the air by trapping particulate matter and absorbing pollutants like ozone. One more important service that trees provide is stormwater reduction. 的 roots capture water and therefore reduce the volume that would flow to wastewater treatment plants during storms. In this way, more trees in the watershed keep the Hudson River cleaner. So you can see that trees are beneficial and protect the City and its residents.
一个不幸的事实是，一个必须迅速纠正的问题是 差距 in the number of trees found in low-income and high-income neighborhoods — there are fewer trees in low-income neighborhoods. 树木丰度差异导致温度差异, 使树木较少的社区更热. 这些地区需要种更多的树.
随着纽约的气候变化, have you observed any differences in its trees or the organisms that live on them that should concern us?
的 temperature and humidity changes that come with climate change can certainly stress trees. 例如，干旱会使树木变弱. People can help the trees in their neighborhood by watering them during dry periods. 当树木因干旱和炎热而衰弱时, they become more susceptible to disease and attacks from invasive pests. 举个例子，目前 发现lanternfly 构成威胁. 的y attack trees by piercing the soft tissues and extracting the sugar-rich fluids, 使树变干.
一个不幸的事实是，一个必须迅速纠正的问题是 差距 in the number of trees found in low-income and high-income neighborhoods — there are fewer trees in low-income neighborhoods.
How do students use the 黑岩森林联盟 and urban parks in research?
世界十大电子游戏平台大学环境科学系, 我们让学生们到田地里用几种方法与树打交道. We start with tree identification in Riverside Park and observe how trees support biodiversity. 最终, students measure the tree diameters on campus so we can calculate how much carbon dioxide our campus trees have sequestered to date. Trees are an excellent subject to use to get acquainted with ecology. 例如, 在城市的STEAM中, 这是十大电竞游戏综合排名与哈莱姆当地学校合作的一个项目, 我培训教师绘制地图, 识别, and measuring trees so that they can use the parks — such as Morningside Park or even the 街上的树木 in front of their school buildings — as a place for their class lessons.
就研究树木而言, Barnard also has a membership to an outstanding field station called Black Rock Forest. 它位于纽约北部康沃尔，一小时车程.Y. 这个4,占地000英亩, 生物种类繁多, eastern deciduous forest offers many opportunities for students to explore the ecology in an undisturbed setting, 与纽约的城市森林形成对比. 除了教师，学生也在那里做研究. Many students over the decades have done their senior thesis research at Black Rock. 他们研究了广泛的课题, 从海龟生态学到鸟类多样性, in relation to habitats and carbon storage in the long-term tree plots.
树木在拯救我们自己方面能起什么作用呢?
的 气候报告 that came out in August 2021 gives us the most recent consensus on the science behind climate change. 全球气候正在变暖. 是1.1 degrees Celsius warmer than the preindustrial global mean surface temperature baseline. 人类正在通过温室气体排放导致气候变化. 应对气候变化必须有多种方法，而且已经有多种方法. 健康的森林是一种工具. 森林在光合作用中吸收碳. 因此，森林必须受到保护，被破坏的森林必须重新种植. 我们需要尽可能多的树. 的 environmental science lab students at Barnard measure the campus trees each November and quantify how much carbon dioxide they remove from the atmosphere. 每个人都可以通过种植和照顾一棵树来做出贡献.
Whether we are scholars or out for a stroll, what should we know about city parks?
If each person learned to recognize at least one tree species in their park, 知道了它的名字, 并且提高了对树木的认识, 他们会发现自己更频繁地调谐到大自然中. Observations that people can make in parks — like tree damage or tree health, 鸟多或鸟少, 鲜花和传粉者——将是一个了解纽约环境的窗口. 下一步可能是环境管理. NYC parks are a great place to find some peace and quiet and reflect on the nature in them. 研究 being done at Barnard and Columbia shows that people benefit from NYC green spaces, 特别是在大流行期间.
十大电竞游戏综合排名的数据和事实:
- 10%的课程 可持续发展是相关的还是重点的
- 校园碳排放强度降低了 2005年至今35%
- 21个部门 在校园内从事可持续发展或气候研究
- 学院里有有机物收集箱 30个办公室，5栋教学楼，3栋宿舍
- 7个学术部门或项目 offer majors, tracks, or concentrations in climate, sustainability, and environmental justice
