Airing November 10, 2022, at 8:00 pm, WEDU PBS broadcast a new Public Square episode on climate change. The program explores how society can fight the impacts of climate change in West Central Florida.
5th Year Physics and Environmental Studies student Antonia Ginsberg-Klemmt is the Founder and President of Solar on Wheels: GismoPower, a mobile solar charging carport. The invention began as an Independent Study Project (ISP) at New College, and has since won impressive awards in the US Department of Energy’s American-Made Solar Prize Contest.
Since graduating in 2017, Orion Morton founded Florida Rewilding Collective, LLC, an environmental consulting organization focused on connecting fragmented landscapes to the greater ecosystem. While at New College, Morton was instrumental in the creation of the campus Food Forest.
Watch the full program Public Square: Climate Change
The series began with a kickoff brunch on Tuesday morning under the bayfront tent, during which New College President Okker, Ph.D. introduced the crowd to the unifying, year-long initiative that is The New College Challenge.
The Challenge, she explained, was designed to bring together students, experts and leaders from top universities and industries who will work to address the challenges facing our region and world today. The initiative was modeled after two endeavors in the Northeast: “Envision Resilience: Nantucket Challenge” and “Envision Resilience: Narragansett Bay.”
“New College can play a key role in retaining top talent for our state. The New College Challenge is our vehicle to get us there,” Okker said. “The design teams we’ve invited will help us find new and fresh ways to improve our infrastructure, to ensure that our campus supports our students. The relationships with employers, community members and other academic institutions we are developing through The Challenge will ensure the very resilience of New College.”
And the launch of The New College Challenge—with its series of discussions about protecting coastal campuses and communities—could not have arrived at a more critical time. Less than a month ago, Southwest Florida experienced the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian, prompting locals to reimagine how to better safeguard against future environmental impacts.
Throughout The Challenge, New College will become a community incubator for brainstorming new ideas and solutions about the future. New College has already enlisted experts from Harvard, Yale, the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, Kean University, Syracuse University and the University of Miami to lend their unique perspectives.
Tuesday Kickoff
The Tuesday kickoff event welcomed three expert panelists to discuss the topic of resilience, moderated by DreamLarge Founder Anand Pallegar.
The panelists were: Taryn Sabia, an associate professor of research at the University of South Florida and the co-founder of the urban design collaborative, Urban Charrette, Inc.; Teri Hansen, the president and CEO of Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation; and Kevin O’Farrell, Ph.D., the chancellor for the Florida Department of Education’s Division of Career and Adult Education.
“[The New College Challenge] is an opportunity for knowledge exchange,” Sabia said, to which Hanson added, “New College has the opportunity to be the academic and intellectual epicenter of our community.”
Special guest William Dudley, a New College alumnus and the former president/CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, also discussed the topic of “resilience” from an economic/financial perspective.
Wednesday Lecture
On Wednesday evening in Mildred Sainer Pavilion, resilience was addressed in a “New Topics” lecture entitled “Climate Crisis Now! Learning and Landscapes in a Changing Environment.” Speaker Chris Reed, a professor at Harvard University and the founding director of STOSS Landscape Urbanism, shared his ambitious vision to be climate-ready in order to protect coastlines.
“Campus must be designed both for the ever-changing nature of landscapes and the environment, and for its own inherent social development,” Reed began, “weaving…programming needs, institutional alignments, environmental sustainability and maintenance considerations with equity and social justice imperatives.”
Friday Symposium
And all day on Friday in the bayfront tent, crowds converged for the “Designing for Resilience” Symposium on coastal resilience and adaptive strategies. Big questions were posed, such as “How can we design more resilient communities in the face of coastal threats like storm surge?” National experts presented case studies and research relevant to the Gulf Coast, and input from the community offered direction for their ongoing work.
David Brain, Ph.D.—a professor of sociology and the director of the Urban Studies Program at New College—moderated two panel discussions.
“It’s not just about getting the solutions right; it’s about figuring out what the real questions are,” Brain said of The Challenge. “That’s what we’re learning through this process.”
To this end, Amber Whittle, Ph.D., the executive director of Southface Sarasota, spoke about Southwest Gulf Coast resilience.
Heritage Conservation Specialist Marty Hylton moderated a panel about the “Envision Resilience Challenge: Nantucket and Narragansett” with ReMain Nantucket Executive Director Cecil Barron Jensen and Project Manager Claire Martin; as well as Carolyn Cox, executive director of the Florida Climate Institute; and Bob Miklos, founder of designLAB architects.
Several higher education leaders gave a series of “Designing for Resilience” presentations, including Sabia; Alan Plattus, professor and founding director of the Urban Design Workshop at Yale University; David Mohney, dean of the Michael Graves College, Architecture and Design, at Kean University; Jeff Carney, associate professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Florida; Ted Brown, professor in the School of Architecture at Syracuse University; and Sonia Chao, research assistant professor and director of the Center for Urban & Community Design at the University of Miami.
Chao discussed her experience with Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and how it impacted her perspective on rebuilding along the coast after natural disasters.
“That moment really changed the rest of my trajectory,” Chao said about shifting her career toward addressing resilience. “How can we build more resiliently? That takes an envisioning process, and that process entails community conversations.”
There will be many more of these conversations over the course of the year.
For more information on The New College Challenge, visit ncf.edu/challenge.
While the country was steeped in the controversies of the ’60s, New College was creating a program that reflected the ideals of an individualized academic program that focused on mastery rather than competition.
That spirit of trailblazing continues at New College, taking the form of a new grand experiment that is being launched this fall.
Called The New College Challenge, this first-of-its kind yearlong initiative will transform the campus into a community incubator for exploring the future of higher education, as well as social and coastal resilience.
“From its beginnings, New College has been an innovator. The Challenge takes that further,” said New College of Florida President Patricia Okker, Ph.D. “Now we’re working with higher education, business and community partners to reinvigorate our campus. This is a way to help us jump headfirst into a more resilient, sustainable and eco-friendly future.”
And New College is the ideal setting for this collaborative undertaking. Students at New College embody the values of creativity, curiosity and individual thinking above convention and conformity. The College is also a launching pad for entrepreneurs who go on to solve the world’s biggest problems and positively impact the global landscape.
Modeled after two endeavors in the Northeast (“Envision Resilience: Nantucket Challenge” and “Envision Resilience: Narragansett Bay”), The New College Challenge will build partnerships with students, leaders from major statewide and national universities, and experts across key industries. These visionaries will address the social, economic and environmental challenges that face the region and the world today.
New College has the potential to serve as a sustainable model for a new era in higher education—one that will have the socioeconomic fortitude to nurture the leaders of tomorrow.
“The New College Challenge is designed to ensure that our institution is recognized for its tremendous value, is relevant to future generations, and is resilient to the pressures from our ever-changing world,” Okker said. “We know we can become the model for an honors liberal arts education in the 21st century.”
Challenge Launch Week Events
Tues. 10/25 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Kickoff Brunch
Join us as we launch the New College Challenge. Brunch includes regional leaders, design experts and special guest speaker William C. Dudley ’71, former President & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who helped to successfully navigate the 2008 financial crisis.
Event on the New College bayfront.
Wed. 10/26 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. New Topics Public Lecture, Chris Reed, Harvard University
A leading national voice in transforming landscapes and cities, Reed will share his ambitious vision to be climate ready in order to protect our coastlines. Topic: “Climate Crisis Now! Learning and Landscapes in a Changing Environment.”
Event in the Sainer Auditorium.
Fr. 10/28 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. “Designing for Resilience”
A one-day symposium on coastal resilience and adaptive strategies. How can we design more resilient communities in the face of coastal threats like storm surge? Engage with national experts as they present case studies and research relevant to the Gulf Coast.
Event on the New College bayfront.
RSVP HERE for any or all of the FREE events.
For more information, contact [email protected] and visit ncf.edu/challenge.
Co-hosted by New College and the Interior Design Society Sarasota Chapter, the public Conference will bring together local and national green building experts, and attendees can participate in three panel discussions.
Sarah Boren will be the featured speaker, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Boren has more than 25 years of professional experience in the environmental sustainability field, having served in numerous roles at the Smithsonian Institution and on Capitol Hill; in the green business consulting industry in California; as an executive director of two nonprofits; and in various positions with the USGBC Florida and the USGBC headquarters in Washington, D.C.
New College of Florida will also host a session on the environmentally conscious process of home building and design.
“Green Building, Healthy Lives! promises to be the most significant consumer-facing environmental gathering of 2022,” said Jesse White, the conference organizer, a New College alum and the owner/founder of Sarasota Architectural Salvage. “This conference will inspire participants to build better structures, empower attendees to implement change, and give influencers tools to help their customers achieve healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.”
Tickets are available at greenbuildconference.com (the fee includes breakfast, coffee, lunch and an evening vendor/trade show reception).
Key conference sponsors include the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Florida Design Works and Sarasota Architectural Salvage. Community sponsors include the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, the Sarasota County Green Business Partnership, the American Society of Interior Designers, the Interior Design Society Sarasota Chapter and New College of Florida.
Gulf Coast Community Foundation: gulfcoastcf.org
Florida Design Works: floridadesignworks.com
Sarasota Architectural Salvage: sarasotasalvage.com
Sarasota Chamber of Commerce: sarasotachamber.com
Interior Design Society Sarasota Chapter: idssarasota.com
American Society of Interior Designers: asid.org
New College of Florida: ncf.edu
Sarasota County Green Business Partnership: scgov.net/government/sustainability/green-business-partnership
Eco-$mart, Inc.: ecosmartinc.com
For more information, visit greenbuildconference.com or contact Jesse White, president of the Interior Design Society Sarasota Chapter and owner/founder of Sarasota Architectural Salvage, at 941-358-7730 or visit greenbuildconference.com.
Southface and New College just announced a powerful new partnership anchored at the school’s bayfront campus that will blend community engagement with cutting-edge learning opportunities.
Southface Sarasota is staffed by Sarasota locals, but the nonprofit is a relative newcomer to Florida’s Gulf Coast communities. Southface Institute has been building healthier, more efficient homes, workplaces and communities across the nation since 1978 (the Atlanta-based organization was joined by the Florida House Institute to launch Southface Sarasota at the Florida House just last year).
Southface Sarasota quickly earned its keep at the demonstration home. By the end of 2021, they had hosted about 2,500 hours of job training with Suncoast Technical College students, thousands of hours of volunteer projects, hundreds of educational tours, a lecture series, a new podcast, and multiple partner showcase events.
In partnership with Transition Sarasota, Southface Sarasota also donated more than 500 pounds of organic produce from the Florida House garden to the Church of the Palms food pantry.
While Southface Sarasota was leading tours of the Florida House highlighting sustainable building technologies, hosting energy advocacy workshops, and providing many other hands-on educational experiences, New College of Florida was preparing to kick off an ambitious sustainability challenge. The New College Challenge was announced March 29.
Through the charrette process of intense collaboration and inclusive problem solving, the school and broader community are working toward a long-term revitalization of the campus that addresses New College’s buildings and relationship to the surrounding environment.
Though the loss of the Florida House lease was a blow for Sarasota’s sustainability community, the silver lining that emerged was significant. Recognizing the mutual value that partnering with a leading sustainable building nonprofit could bring to students and the community, New College invited Southface Sarasota to work together toward their common goals.
Southface Sarasota has now taken up residency in New College’s Caples Carriage House and the Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center for at least one year. Southface Sarasota Executive Director Amber Whittle, Ph.D., is adding to her role. She will serve part-time as the director of the Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center, liaison, and student mentor as well as a Research Scholar in Environmental Studies and Natural Sciences.
The new partnership is designed to seamlessly connect the next generation of building industry professionals and environmental scientists to job training and a robust, active network of community-serving organizations and businesses. Southface Sarasota’s technical expertise will also catalyze climate-forward progress through the New College Challenge. While the Florida House will be missed, community partnerships are proof that sustainability still has a home in Sarasota.
For more information on Southface Sarasota, visit southface.org/sarasota.
The NSF is a leading United States government agency that supports science and engineering research and education. Program directors facilitate merit review panels, recommend funding decisions for the agency, and support a diverse science community—spending time onsite at the NSF building in Alexandria, Virginia. The Biological Oceanography Program, specifically, focuses on aquatic organisms and their relationship to their environments.
“I’m honored to serve in this position and to represent New College in such a prestigious organization as the NSF,” said Gardiner, who has been a professor at Florida’s designated public honors college since 2014. “I am excited to contribute my expertise towards supporting cutting-edge marine research at the national level, while enhancing the reputation of New College, and bringing visibility to our outstanding science programs.”
Gardiner was appointed to her role at the NSF on June 6 and will serve for one year, with opportunities to extend the position up to four years. The NSF provides time for rotating directors to continue conducting their own research, as well as mentoring students, at their home institutions. This allotted research time is critical for Gardiner, who is actively involved in numerous marine biology projects at New College.
For example, she was recently awarded a $49,800 grant from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) for her research on great hammerhead sharks in lower Tampa Bay. She is currently using long-term acoustic transmitters to study habitat use by juvenile great hammerhead sharks, which are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Gardiner concentrates much of her research on the sensory ecology and behavior of fishes (primarily elasmobranchs such as sharks, skates and rays)—working to understand how animals use sensory cues to perform complex behaviors such as feeding, navigation and homing.
She holds a Ph.D. from the University of South Florida, a master’s degree from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University. Her research has multiple implications for management and conservation, especially for threatened and endangered species.
Abby Weingarten is the senior editor in the Office of Communications & Marketing.
Prescott sent me an email listing six different schools in the EcoLeague consortium’s exchange program that I could attend, and New College caught my eye. I never thought I would go far away for college. I was content to be what we Arizonans call a “desert rat” indefinitely.
But New College—with its writing and environmental studies classes, plus the location of the campus on Sarasota Bay—was too good of an opportunity to pass up for a landlocked girl like me.
EcoLeague lined up everything. And, as if I needed another reason to seal the deal, my sister (an aspiring marine biologist) wanted to go on exchange to New College, too!
I’m currently double majoring in writing and literature, and environmental studies. I want my writing to be fun but relevant, like C.S. Lewis or Octavia E. Butler.
After college, I hope to work in the publishing field and eventually be a novelist or content strategist. My classes this semester connect directly to my goals of producing creative, engaging writing in genres from business to fictional fantasy.
My “Writing with Communities and Nonprofits” class with Director of Writing Jennifer Wells, Ph.D. teaches me about networking, as well as how to write resumes, grant proposals and blogs. I’m in my fourth year of college and have never been in such a practical class; it even connected me to an internship with New College’s very own news team.
My “Poetry Recess” class with Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Emily Carr, Ph.D. meets in the grass at The Ringling Museum of Art every week. I got to sit under a banyan tree last week with a fellow classmate as we did a workshop for our poetry. I am getting college credit for writing poetry in a magical circus reality (10/10 recommend).
My “Pedagogy in Practice” class with Assistant Director of Writing Alexandra Maass teaches me how to share my writing and English skills. Class time is full of discussions and learning how to be a writing tutor. Soon, I’ll get to be a Student Writing Assistant (SWA) in training for the Writing Resource Center. I’ve heard the SWAs are super swa[ggy], so I’m pretty excited.
In my “Analysis of Manatee Mortality Events” class with Assistant Professor of Biology and Marine Science Athena Rycyk, Ph.D., we are learning about the extent of the impact that 1,000-plus manatee deaths will have on the manatee population. We get to have Zoom lectures with leading researchers in the field who are working with manatees. After being trained on what to look for in a starving, freezing manatee, we examine drone footage to identify possible problem cases in the wild. I’ve never taken such a relevant course.
I came to Florida to experience the East Coast. All of my previous studies have taken place in the Sonoran Desert region and the Gulf of California at Prescott’s Kino Bay Center.
The Florida palm trees and moss dangling from the leaves are foreign to me. The Sailing Club along New College’s waterfront has helped me get my feet wet. On day one, I was in the water, taking my role as skipper very seriously. I truly couldn’t believe they let me navigate the boat on the first day, but they did. Now I have a new hobby that makes me sound infinitely cool and lets me see marine life up close.
Participating in EcoLeague has allowed me to experience the beautiful culture of Florida and greatly expand my knowledge in my field. The program is open to all students at New College.
There are six U.S. liberal arts colleges currently participating in the EcoLeague consortium: New College, Alaska Pacific University, College of the Atlantic, Dickinson College, Northland College and Prescott College.
“New College students have exchanged at almost all the [EcoLeague] campuses,” said Florence Zamsky, Ph.D., the assistant director of off-campus study/study abroad programs (as well as the EcoLeague coordinator) for New College.
In the 2021-2022 academic year, two New College students went away on exchange and five have already been accepted for the 2022 Fall program, Zamsky said. New College joined the program in Spring 2019.
This spring, New College has its first set of visiting EcoLeague exchange students: my sister and I from Prescott College; and a student from Dickinson College.
Zamsky highly recommends the program to students. Not only do students get to live in a different state, but they also gain access to new courses and hands-on learning opportunities, all while paying New College tuition.
I hope one day you—my new friends and those of you reading this—will choose Prescott College for a semester. Maybe I’ll see you there.
For more information on exchange programs at New College, visit ncf.edu/academics/study-abroad-exchange-programs.
Abigail Juchs is an intern in the Office of Communications & Marketing.
From Deeper Blue.com, February 27, 2022
The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation has announced the awards for its 2021 scholarships for Florida students and researchers.
The awards went to eight undergraduate students at colleges and universities in Florida. Each recipient received $5,000 and a certificate designed and signed by Dr. Guy Harvey.
The 2021 winners are:
- Florida Atlantic University: Brianna Cahill and Steven Lombardo
- Florida Institute of Technology: Eloise Cave
- Florida International University: Laura García Barcia
- Florida State University: Ashley Dawdy and Blake Hamilton
- New College of Florida: Cecilia Hampton
- University of South Florida: Jonathan Albert Peake
Commenting on the awards, Harvey said:
“This next generation of bright minds is bringing us one step closer to understanding what it will take to protect Florida’s fragile marine environment and ensure its sustainability. Through our ongoing support of marine research and by drawing attention to the important work of these students, the GHOF is helping to safeguard a healthy ocean ecosystem for generations to come.”
Applications for the 2022 scholarships will open on April 1st and close on June 1st, 2022. To apply, go to the Florida Sea Grant website at flseagrant.org.
Just beneath our feet—from downtown Sarasota’s urban backyards to the Myakka River’s tannin-rich floodwaters—a complex network of species, invisible to the human eye, is working around the clock. This network helps plants grow the food we eat, filter nutrient pollution and even fight climate change.
Since 2019, the Florida Microbiome Project—led by New College Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Erika Díaz-Almeyda, Ph.D., and a cadre of dedicated students—has explored how these unseen microbial communities support livelihoods and habitat health throughout Sarasota and the state of Florida.
“We want to answer the questions: How are microbes changing with different land uses? And how are microbes indicators of overall environmental health?,” Díaz-Almeyda said. “There are few sites in Florida where researchers are doing long-term ecological sampling of the microbiome, and none are coastal.”
By keeping the exact same methods and sampling sizes to generate baseline data over a long time period, and making this data open-access, the team will be able to observe how different management practices have changed local ecosystems. This work will help maintain soil and water health, as well as inform decisions in the coming decades.
Little is known about Florida’s plant and soil microbiome, which is made up of thousands of tiny species called microorganisms that help plants photosynthesize and uptake nutrients (such as phosphorus and nitrogen) in the soil.
Much like a study from Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium’s Randall Wells, Ph.D., which traced the health of local dolphin populations over more than 50 years in Sarasota Bay, the findings from Díaz-Almeyda’s long-term study will shed light on an understudied but thriving ecological community. This community is the foundation for the health of Sarasota’s environment, which, in turn, is the foundation for the region’s communities and economy.
For example, nutrient pollution in one area can affect ecosystems miles away as it leaks into surrounding water bodies and slowly makes its way into the bay. It fuels the red tide algal blooms that wreak havoc on Sarasota’s beach-tourism-dependent economy.
“Microbes provide many different ecosystem services, but among those is nutrient cycling,” said John Lambie, the founder of Southface Sarasota, an eco-conscious nonprofit organization. “For instance, there is a variety of common bacteria that converts water-soluble nitrogen fertilizer to nitrogen gas and sends it back to the atmosphere instead of the bay, while other microbes transform food waste to compost, prey on pathogens that may make us sick, and perform untold vital ecosystem services. Yet, we know so little about the interactions between microbes, fungi and plants that are actually making that happen.”
In 2019, Díaz-Almeyda’s Florida Microbiome Project studied the effects of urban food gardens on the city of Sarasota’s soils at Southface and found more than 100 different species of microorganisms diligently working to process nutrients and sequester carbon in the soil.
Now, in a new phase of the project, Díaz-Almeyda’s team of New College undergraduates and recent alumni is analyzing how similar microbial processes affect environmental health—and how human activity alters those processes—at the Triangle Ranch conservation easement in Myakka.
In 2016, Sarasota philanthropist Elizabeth Moore purchased Triangle Ranch’s 1,143 acres of sprawling fields and forests (which buffer the Myakka River State Park), with the support of the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The goal was to protect the biodiversity-rich land from expanding development in the region.
Moore—who is also the president of the TREE Foundation and a member of Southface Sarasota’s board of directors—has been instrumental in the success of the Florida Microbiome Project and the broader ecological conservation efforts in the region.
“We are a part of nature, not separate from it. The data this project generates will inform local policymakers and the public about how we move forward with the decisions we make as a community, and as a region, for our environment,” Moore said. “We are all connected through biology on a macro and micro scale.”
The connection between the microbial world and social/environmental wellbeing in the Sarasota community is a lived reality for Triangle Ranch Manager Jason McKendree. His livelihood raising cattle is directly affected by the health of the ranch’s soil and water, and he has collaborated with Díaz-Almeyda to survey the ranchland.
“Phosphate mining in the Myakka head area is only about 20 miles away from here at the Mosaic-owned Wingate Creek Mine,” McKendree said. “This ranch is the last piece of property before [the Myakka River] flows into the state park. This makes it really essential for the water quality and wildlife habitat in this area.”
More than three miles of the Myakka River wind through the ranch’s rolling fields, and 120-plus species of plants and animals (including the endangered Florida panther) call Triangle Ranch home. Just as important are the microbial communities that the land, which is now permanently protected thanks to Moore, supports.
Applying the long-term data that the Florida Microbiome Project generates, Triangle Ranch may ultimately be able to become a species reservoir—one that could help restore the microbial communities in other areas of Sarasota and Florida as widespread development destroys habitats once rich with microbial diversity.
Because Triangle Ranch hosts many of the most common habitats of Central Florida’s ecosystems (such as oak hammocks, pastures and marshes), findings from the project will not only have an impact on ecosystems in the immediate area but also on the way scientists manage diverse ecosystems throughout Florida.
Beyond the statewide implications of Díaz-Almeyda’s study—from the professor’s early work with urban microbes at Southface Sarasota to her recent endeavors at Triangle Ranch—one thing has remained a constant at the community level: New College has been a nexus for community engagement and hands-on student research opportunities.
Marcela Prado Zapata, a 2021 New College marine biology graduate, now works as a research assistant to Díaz-Almeyda. Prado Zapata described her exposure to a diverse range of perspectives that reach beyond academia (working closely with local community members, for example) as one of the most enlightening elements of the project.
“The stakeholders at [Triangle Ranch] have been here for years; they are firsthand witnesses to seasonality changes. They know what the vegetation has looked like over the years, what major changes have been made to the environment, what organisms are common or uncommon to the area on a regular basis, and how the community itself interacts with the ranch,” Prado Zapata said. “As a student, research assistant and academic, I consistently work with people in my field who have similar access to information. But, by working with the community, you get to see the way your work applies to others and, more importantly, you get information that is not accessible in any journal or manual.”
Prado Zapata, along with 2021 New College graduate Elliott Schenker and thesis student Cara Ruhnke, have also had the opportunity to gain experience with rigorous procedures—both in the lab and the field. These include soil and water sample collection, DNA extraction and analysis techniques for both types of samples, and analysis of nutrient and sequencing data.
As a research assistant, Schenker performs microbial DNA extractions to explore the makeup of the microbes living in Triangle Ranch’s fertile soils. This will provide critical insight into how the ranch’s microbial communities are affected by flooding and excess nutrients in waterways.
“The whole idea is that we are bringing students into a legacy project, where everybody brings their own perspective and contributes a small part each year, as we train the next generation of scientists to recognize that environmental health equals human health and that we all have the right to healthy microbial communities,” Díaz-Almeyda said. “We are making an investment in the future of our students and our communities.”
With each passing year that Díaz-Almeyda and her team of young scientists collect data, the project gains momentum to advance local knowledge about the effects of human activity on the microbiome at a breakneck pace.
As the Sarasota region faces threats from nutrient pollution, climate change and development to meet the needs of Florida’s growing population, Díaz-Almeyda’s Florida Microbiome Project will inform land management and environmental planning in Sarasota County for decades to come.
For more information on Díaz-Almeyda and the Florida Microbiome Project, visit erikadiaz.org.
Ky Miller, a 2021 New College graduate, is a contributing writer for the Office of Communications & Marketing.
Jayne Gardiner, Ph.D., director of the Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center and associate professor of biology at New College of Florida, has been awarded a $49,800 grant from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) for her research on great hammerhead sharks in lower Tampa Bay.
The DCF is proud to continue providing critical support to community-led projects creating a healthier home for people and wildlife. The fund has been supporting efforts in diverse communities around the world aimed at saving wildlife, inspiring action and protecting the planet with more than $120 million distributed to nonprofit organizations since 1995.
“New College is honored to receive this grant from the Disney Conservation Fund,” said New College President Patricia Okker. “Professor Gardiner and her students can continue to conduct the important research that is essential to protecting our local marine ecosystem.”
Gardiner will use long-term acoustic transmitters to study habitat use by juvenile great hammerhead sharks, which are listed as critically endangered globally by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“One of the major conservation challenges is a lack of information about habitat use, especially nursery areas, which are virtually unknown across the global range of this species. Newborn and very young great hammerheads are regularly found in Tampa Bay, so we have a unique opportunity to study a potential nursery area,” Gardiner said. “We are excited to partner with Disney to conduct research that addresses critical data gaps for great hammerheads, while providing hands-on training opportunities for the next generation of research and conservation leaders.”
The results of this research will improve management and conservation efforts for great hammerheads.
“Determining the characteristics of important habitats, like nursery areas, can help inform the selection of future marine reserves and protected areas for this species,” Gardiner said.
For more information on the DCF, visit disney.com/conservation.