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Environmental Professionals Network

School of Environment and Natural Resources

CFAES

Community Engaged Learning: Blueprint Columbus and Senior Capstones

Dec 1, 2020, 10:00am - 11:30am

PROGRAM OVERVIEW: 

Communities experiencing population, climatic and other major changes are frequently seeking to build green infrastructure to both improve the functioning of basic municipal services while also improving the quality of the local environment. Blueprint Columbus is an innovative way of eliminating sanitary sewer overflows while also investing in our neighborhoods and our local economy.

Attend this event to learn more about Blueprint Columbus and its partnership with Ohio State for improved outreach and engagement in Columbus neighborhoods. And then, hear about effective strategies for conducting this work remotely from Ohio State faculty with extensive community-building experiences.

This EPN virtual event will explore:

  • Blueprint Columbus and its approach to eliminating sanitary sewer overflows while also investing in our neighborhoods and our local economy
  • The senior capstone course approach (through Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering) to integrating technical knowledge with social and institutional constraints, and with professions in environmental management and engineering
  • Professional development experiences and skills gained through the senior capstone experience
  • Lessons learned for facilitating multi-disciplinary and remote capstone teaching and learning 
  • How remote learning occurred this semester in a pivotal, professional development course

Program Partners: Blueprint Columbus; Ohio State senior capstone courses in the School of Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering


Published Article

Please click here to review a summary article about this event written by Ohio State’s Office of Outreach and Engagement.

 


AGENDA:

10:00 a.m. Jeff Sharp, PhD, director, School of Environment and Natural Resources provides welcome remarks

10:05 a.m. Leslie Westerfelt, communications coordinator, Blueprint Columbus; Ryan Winston, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering; and Matt Hamilton, PhD, assistant professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources present “Community Engaged Learning: Blueprint Columbus and Senior Capstones.”

10:35 a.m. ENR 4900 student presentations in Zoom Meeting Breakout Groups 

  • Development of guidelines for addressing equity in digital strategies for public engagement 

    ​​Mackenzie Brown, Andrew Dunn, Olympia Fisher, Caleb Hineman, and Cael Jones
  • Development of a social media strategy to improve stakeholder buy-in

         Christina Boehm, Alyx Flott, Joel Kirk, Brandon Morrow, Holly Stanley, 

         and Jada Williams

  • Development of a strategy for engaging community groups and other non-governmental organizations in online outreach activities 

         Evelyn Brown, Brendan Busse, Shelly Douglas, Martha Gillispie, Dauren Mason,

         and Sarah Way

  • Identification of best practices for online outreach

         Rachel Dickson, Connor McLaughlin, Alyssa Petitti, Janelle Watts, and Kyle Wright

  • Adaptation of Blueprint outreach materials to improve digital public engagement strategies

        Julia Binder, Leslie Brown, Eryn Henderson, Rachel Rutan, and Jordyn Shoff

These sessions will feature brief student group presentations with time allocated for audience participation and interaction, including Q & A with the capstone students.

 

10:55 a.m. Greg Hitzhusen, PhD, assistant professor of professional practice, School of Environment and Natural Resources, shares lessons learned in multi-disciplinary and remote capstone teaching and learning

11:05 a.m. Audience Q & A with Westerfelt, Winston, Hamilton and Hitzhusen

11:25 a.m. Concluding remarks by Dr. Sharp

 


SPEAKERS:

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Leslie Westerfelt, communications coordinator, BluePrint Columbus

Ms. Westerfelt is the communications coordinator for the City of Columbus, Department of Public Utilities’ Blueprint Columbus project. She has over 15 years of experience performing outreach and community education for non-profits and government initiatives; and has been providing resident outreach for Blueprint Columbus since 2013. Leslie has a Master of Public Administration degree from Ohio University.

 

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Ryan Winston, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Ryan Winston is an assistant professor in the Departments of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering and Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering at TheOhio State University. Ryan's research focuses on sustainable management of water resources, with current projects focused on stormwater, wastewater, agricultural runoff, and acid mine drainage treatment. His primary research focus is on novel methods for treatment of urban stormwater runoff. He teaches several classes that focus on water management, including the Environmental Engineering Capstone Design (ENVENG 4090) course. 

 

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Matt Hamilton, PhD, assistant professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources

Matt Hamilton is an assistant professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University, where he is also a faculty member of the Sustainability Institute. His teaching and research focus on human-environment interactions in complex institutional settings, in which interactions among individual people, organizations, and decision-making processes influence the performance of environmental institutions, which in turn shape environmental outcomes. He draws upon tools and perspectives from policy, psychological, and environmental sciences, and collaboratives extensively with colleagues from diverse social and natural science backgrounds. His research also involves partnerships with natural resource management practitioners, extensionists, and members of other environmental stakeholder groups.

 

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Greg Hitzhusen, PhD, assistant professor of professional practice, School of Environment and Natural Resources

Greg Hitzhusen is assistant professor of Professional Practice in Religion, Ecology and Sustainability at The Ohio State University School of Environment and Natural Resources; he sits on the Steering Team of the Center for Ethics and Human Values at Ohio State, and was founding director and board chair of Ohio Interfaith Power and Light.  He has previously worked for the National Religious Partnership for the Environment and as Land Stewardship Specialist for the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Programs, and his teaching and research focus on the intersection of faith and environment, building sustainable communities, and partnerships between scientific and faith communities.


NEED ACCOMMODATIONS? 

We strive to host events that are inclusive and accessible to everyone. If you have a disability and require accommodations to fully participate in this activity, please reach out to Nicole Jackson (jackson.1457@osu.edu). Requests made five business days in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access. However, we will make every effort to meet requests made after this time frame. You will be contacted by someone from our staff to discuss your specific needs.

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