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Last Tuesday, we introduced you to Danielle Williams, a member of National Geographic’s Green Initiatives Subcommittee and fellow with HSBC and Earthwatch Institute’s Climate Change program. She’s been out in the field (well, forest) in Edgewater, Maryland, as part of the “Sustainable Forest Management in a Changing Climate” project. When we last heard from Danielle, she was planning to embark on her trip. See what she’s been up to since then!

Below are excerpts from Danielle’s Earthwatch blog on Monday, November 3, and Wednesday, November 5. To read the full text, as well as additional entries from Danielle’s team members, visit the Earthwatch blog.

First, we got to know the scientists that we'll be working with this week, including Dr. Geoffrey ('Jess') Parker, head scientist in the Forest Ecology lab at SERC, and other field staff.

Then, we learned about the local environment. Specifically, we learned about the history of logging and forest management in the immediate area, as well as the ways in which carbon is stored and released as part of the natural cycle of forest ecosystems.

Next, we familiarized ourselves with the tree species common to this area, including tulip poplar, white oak and hickory, and we learned how to individually measure the "DBH" (diameter breast height) of a tree. We also analyzed the difference between what is thought to be the only small patch of old growth temperate forest in the area, as compared to the more recently logged areas that are in recovery mode.

Our evening session was further proof that the initial excitement and synergy amongst our team members was real! We did some brainstorming and came up with a provisional list of recommendations.

    

Some of the initial themes addressing climate change in our communities and organizations included the more typical: getting corporations to act more responsibly, analyzing the impact of tourism on our region and how to approach tourism differently, social marketing of "greener" actions, awareness and restructuring of mass transportation and/or smart growth, and reducing our energy consumption.

Here are a few additional ideas we came up with:

--Create more formal, federally supported life-cycle assessments of major appliances and energy-consuming products. Create cradle-to-cradle relationships with major corporations as part of a national strategy to recycle and/or repurpose old appliances.

--Use the GHG (greenhouse gas) World Emissions map to create an online interactive tool that will adjust the changes in habit and energy and land usage to show the output in CO2 in comparison.

--Reduce the impact of urban heat islands. Work with local cities and their builders and existing smart/urban growth groups to push for green roofs, LEED buildings, more bike lanes, walkable communities, etc. to reduce the heat island effect, as well as our output of CO2 emissions and over consumption of goods.

--How do we get kids involved in reducing CO2 output? The public first needs to understand where those CO2 and other GHG emissions come from.

--Create a few specific social marketing tools to implement in conjunction with any of the above projects as a way of inspiring members of the public to become Climate Change Stakeholders in their own right.

We’ll be featuring Danielle’s final list of recommendations  for addressing climate change, reflections on her experience with the “Sustainable Forest Management in a Changing Climate” project, and much more from other guest bloggers during Geography Awareness Week. So make sure to come back and visit!

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