WATERS 2015 Spring Semester Meeting

February 12, 2015, Darwin 101

Attendees: Keenan Foster (SCWA), Nathan Rank, Martha Shott, Susan Haydon (SCWA), Jay Pederson, Christine Kuehn (Sonoma RCD), Dan Soto, Jackie Guilford, Michael Cohen, Fran Keller, Ben Ford, Christopher Dinno

  1. Introductions and Announcements
  2. SSU Science Symposium will be May 7, 2015 at the SSU Student Center
  3. Students from Martha Shott’s class will be presenting their work on the rainfall project at our department's math colloquium on Wed, March 25th from 4-4:50 pm (with coffee and cookies served beginning at 3:50 pm). The talks are in Darwin 103.
  4. WATERS Projects:
  5. Fall Projects and Outcomes – see attached spreadsheet. Attendees provided input and clarification.
  6. Funded Spring Projects – see attached spreadsheet. Attendees provided input and clarification.
  7. Project Opportunities
  8. Sonoma Resource Conservation District – Christine Kuehn discussed watershed projects that SRCD is involved in. SRCD has a local restoration project at Crane Creek that would be convenient for students and faculty to get involved with since it is so close to campus. They could especially use help with site monitoring.
  9. SSU Facilities – Craig Dawson is interested in working with faculty and students to develop a detailed restoration plan for the campus section of Copeland Creek
  10. SCWA – Keenan Foster mentioned a number of opportunities for engaging SCWA staff with on-going or new projects at SSU:
  11. A NOAA researcher is currently working at SCWA to assist in climate projections that predict water availability. They may be interested in the Osborn Preserve weather station project. SCWA Contact: Jay Jaspers
  12. Data from a 1990 pond turtle survey on Santa Rosa Creek are available. A new survey would be ideal to determine how populations have changed over time.
  13. Creating a sediment budget on Copeland Creek would be helpful for long-term management of the watershed.
  14. A vegetation restoration project on Copeland Creek might be of interest to SCWA. They might be able to fund a project through their Stream Maintenance Program.
  15. SSU Sustainability in the Classroom Grants – WATERS Coordinator is pursuing a second round of funding in collaboration with Sustainable SSU. We hope to put out an RFP next month.
  16. Programs and Activities of CSU’s Water Resources and Policy Initiative (WRPI):
  17. Student-Faculty Water Research Poster Reception @ BOT Meeting - CSU Chancellor’s Office, March 24, 2015 4:00-6:00. The co-hosts for this event are CSUWater Resources and Policy Initiatives (WRPI) andCouncil on Ocean Affairs, Science and Technology (COAST). The reception highlights water-related research conducted by CSU students and their faculty mentors from the 23 CSU campuses. Maya Hoholick and Jackie Guilford will be attending from SSU and will present a poster on their work: “Rohnert Park Nutrient Loading Project. ”The project demonstrates research on water management and provides actionable data to community partner SCWA.
  18. The WRPI Annual Meeting isApril 9-10 atFresno State, Alice Peters Auditorium (registration deadline Feb 26). WRPI reimbursestravel costs for 3 persons per CSU campus(including students). Mike Cohen will be presenting at the conference: “Application of Microbial Fuel Cells for Recycling Distillery and Winery Wastewaters.”
  19. WRPI Faculty Research Incentive Award Program (usu. due August) provides buy-out for CSU faculty to develop and submit full proposals to external funding agencies and organizations for water-related research and educational projects. SSU faculty receiving 2014 funding were: Mike Cohen (Biology) and Michelle Goman (Geography)
  20. CSU / EPA Internship Programcreates volunteer internships on specified EPA projects. Applications are accepted each semester and on an on-going basis.The following projects can be conducted from SSU campus:
  • Analysis of California Refinery Reports to Several Environmental Programs
  • Analysis of California Refinery Toxic Releases and Production Data
  • Current Environmental Issues Impacting Clear Lake
  • EPA Region 9 State Waste Profiles
  • LEED Green Education
  • Sustainability Indicators