ESS capstone teams partner with community-based organizations and public agencies across California
The ESS department hosted its annual Senior Capstone Poster Session on March 12, 2024 in Benson. Eight capstone teams showcased their projects to community partners and six ESS faculty members. Here are highlights from each of the three capstone sections:
Natural Resources and Water and Climate Justice - Five teams working with Professor Iris Stewart-Frey worked on projects that focused on integrating environmental science and spatial analysis with questions of sustainability and justice. One group, working with Catholic Charities Stockton, investigated impacts of a proposed carbon storage facility on environmental justice communities in Stockton using a GIS-based feasibility analysis, a field visit, and background research. Another group worked with the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory to explore the behavior of different species of sparrows in flocks through field data collection and analysis. A third group collaborated with the Center for Sustainability to make campus move-out less wasteful - this team surveyed hundreds of students, followed up with interviews, and identified programs at other universities. Another team working with California Rural Legal Assistance explored the potential of CV-SALTS solutions to combat nitrate contamination in drinking water and environmental injustice in the Central Valley. A final group worked with the Markkula Center, Stewart-Frey, and a team of engineering faculty and students to investigate the ethical dimensions of the 2023 Pajaro Valley levee failure and suggest a new environmental justice framework. The group used spatial analysis to assess the extent that marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by levee failures, and conducted interviews to understand local experiences during the flood and recovery. Learn more details and view photos.
Food and Climate Justice - A larger capstone team, working with Associate Professor Chris Bacon, focused on assessing the challenges and opportunities for leveraging government purchasing power to support nutritious, low carbon, sustainable, ethical and local food systems. The team partnered with Santa Clara County Public Health Department, the Center for Good Food Purchasing in Oakland, and the county’s three public hospitals conducting patient surveys and interviews, and analyzing purchasing data to find strategies to accelerate the transition to more inclusive and sustainable food systems.
Sustainable Urban Planning
Three capstone teams, working with Associate Professor C.J. Gabbe, tackled diverse projects on sustainable affordable housing, urban heat mitigation, and public transportation in the South Bay. One team partnered with Charities Housing to evaluate a statewide program aimed at reducing the climate impacts of affordable housing. Another collaborated with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department to boost the use of cooling centers during heat waves. The third team worked with the Valley Transportation Authority to recommend ways to enhance climate resilience around two transit stations in East San Jose.