Projects

Image: 286 Property, at the Culture Log - Spring 2024.

Project – Natural Resources Measurements – Spring 2025

Each year, students in this course complete a service-learning project with a community partner. Project information is provided on this page. Past projects are documented below.

For 2025, Wake County Parks have agreed to work with us to inventory a recently-acquired, 96-acre that will expand Crowder County Park to the north. We'll talk early in the semester about inventory elements, but they include history, human use, plants, soil, water, wildlife, and others.

Key elements of a successful project include defining clearly the objective; area to be measured; whether it’s a sampling or mapping approach (or a bit of both); selecting needed sampling plans and measurement techniques; collecting, organizing, storing, analyzing data; displaying results in graphic and tabular form; providing a written report; providing an oral report; and teaching the rest of the class about what you’re doing.

During the course of your efforts, you will help decide …

how to tackle this project technically and organizationally;
what the report and presentation should include;
what data must be collected;
how to collect the data;
how to analyze the data; and
lots of other things!

Learning Objectives

Many professional skills are required to complete a successful project of this magnitude. During this course you will have the opportunity to …

identify a problem, explain its importance, and explain how you will address it;
identify things you need to learn about to solve the problem, and learn them;
gain library and research skills;
develop study design expertise;
develop statistical expertise needed to solve the problem;
gather and analyze data;
figure out the right combination of tables, graphs, and maps to communicate your results;

communicate clearly the results of your efforts in written and oral presentations;
plan a large project with a team of people;
develop organizational skills;
work effectively as part of a collaborative team;
develop effective meeting skills;
document your efforts;
use evidence-based approaches to problem solving in environmental practices and city government; and
lots of other things!

Past Projects - Natural Resources Measurements

2025 :: Crowder County Park Expasion

In 2025, we again worked with Wake County Parks, this time on a 96-acre expansion of Crowder Coutny Park.

Products:

Executive Summary (Final Report, 2025 May 1)
Full Report (Final Report, 2025 May 1)
Presentations (Introduction, Forest Communities & Wetlans, Water Quality, Wildlife)

2024 :: 286 Property

For 2024, Wake County Parks agreed to work with us to inventory a tract called the 286 Property that abuts Umstead State Park, and the RDU Airport.

Products:

Executive Summary (Final, 2024 May 6)
Full Report (Final, 2024 May 6)
Presentations (Introduction, Human Use, Plants, Soils, Streams, Trails, Wildlife)

2023 :: Swift Creek Preserve

In 2023, we partnered with Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources and Wake County Parks, Recreation, & Open Space to inventory a portion of the proposed Swift Creek Preserve just east of Lake Wheeler.

Products:

Executive Summary (Final, 2023 May 13)
Full Report (Final, 2023 May 13)
Presentations (Animals, People, Plants, Water)
Swift Creek Leaf Scavenger Hunt, by Rebecca Burkhart

2022 :: Varied

In 2022, we partnered with Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources and continued to use the 2021 flexible model in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 7 teams each working at their own sites.

List of projects
- Bigleaf Magnolia at Lake Johnson
- Ecological Scorecard for Management Priorities
- Emerald Ash Borer in Raleigh Parks
- Horseshoe Farm Wetland Restoration
- Invasive Plant Inventory and Distribution
- Long Leaf Pine Management at Lake Johnson
- Wildlife Monitoring & Diversity
All final reports are in this folder
All final presentations are in this folder

2021 :: Varied

In 2021, we used a different model to allow more flexibility in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 7 teams each working at their own site for their own client.

List of project and partners
- Crabtree Creek Flooding – Case Study of the Effects of Impervious Surfaces – No formal partner
- Inventorying Invasive Plants – Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources
- Long Leaf Pine at Lake Johnson – Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources
- Wetland Soils at Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve – Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources
- Unauthorized Use at the Pearl Creek Property – Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources
- Water Quality in Lake Raleigh – No formal partner
- Wildlife at the I-540 Underpass of White Oak Trail – Cary Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources
All final reports are in this folder (opens in new window)
All final presentations are in this folder

2020 :: Raleigh’s Lake Johnson Park

Partner: Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources

Products:

Report: Lake Johnson Park Inventory (2020 May 5) | Executive Summary
Presentations: Erosion | Trails | Vegetation | Water Quality | Wildlife

2019 :: Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Wetland Park

Partners:

Products:

Report: Walnut Creek Wetland Park Inventory (2019 April 30)
Presentations: Garden+Play | Invasive Plants | Southside Connector | Little Rock Creek Water Quality | Wildlife