Food Justice Through Decolonization

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Food Justice offers a reactionary approach to empower a person and communities’ rights to fresh and healthy affordable food. The Potawot Community Garden not only embraces this approach, but goes further through decolonial practices. In addition, the process of growing an cultivating one’s own food is shown to help heal certain varieties of trauma. Potawot offers its community a unique opportunity by providing fresh, local, and organic produce to local tribes in the greater Humboldt area. Furthermore, Potawot displays a primary example of promoting food justice by promoting justice for indigenous and native peoples by providing access to education and growing one's own food.

Food preference of backyard birds in Siskiyou County, CA

Cheyanne Nelson, Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This project examined the food preferences of backyard birds in Siskiyou County, California in Spring 2024. We used Nature’s Way CWF3 Cedar Platform Tray Bird Feeders at eight different locations. For each trial, feeders presented two food types: nut n' berry mix and sunflower seeds. Feeders were left out for 72 hours. We recorded the weather conditions (i.e. cloudy, windy, rainy, sunny), as well as the minimum and maximum temperature, and feeder height. A combination of direct observation and game cameras was used to determine bird species present. We predicted that birds, on average, will prefer the nut and berry mix due to the higher fat content relative to sunflower seeds.

Foraging and Vigilance in American Coot

April Barillas , Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

I observed American Coots at the Arcata Marsh and Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge for 10 minutes based on foraging and vigilance in a group or individual.

Foraging Success of American Robins (Turdus migrators) in Pasture Conditions

Sara Dabovich, Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

My research project investigated success American Robins (Turdus migratorius) as predators in livestock pastures. Using random focal sampling and critical behavior incidence recording I obtained percent of successful attempts in moderately and over grazed pastures made by male and female birds.

Forest Attributes of Reproductive Habitat for Harpy Eagles in Darien Province, Panama

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

A Harpy Eagle's, (Harpia harpyja), reproductive cycle is distinctive amongst all raptors. Therefore, obtaining detailed knowledge of their reproductive habitat would assist in creating new management policies and conservation guidelines. We measured variables describing forest characteristics within 0.5-ha plots around each of ten nesting and control trees in the Pacific region of Darien Province, Panama. Variables measured were: tree family richness; tree density, height and diameter; shrub density; and coverage of understory and canopy foliage. We then used Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) to compare a series of models specified a priori to assess the importance of forest attributes.

Forest Edge Effects on Insects in Coastal Redwoods

Sebastian Mendoza, Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

When it comes to coastal redwood forests, there aren’t many studies that focus on insect abundance being affected by edge effects. The focus of this study is to see what species of insects are being affected by the forest edge. I will assess this question using pitfalls and sticky traps to trap ground insects and flying insects, respectively. I hypothesize that the closer distance from the edge habitat will positively influence insect diversity. This study will allow future researchers to see if there’s a correlation between insect abundance and other species that use insects as a food source.

Forest Education and Upkeep

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

I have been helping Redwood State Parks with trail maintenance, removal of invasive species, and interpretive hikes through Patrick's Point's native plant garden. The goal of this work is to help maintain forests and trails, and educate the public about the botanical features of the region. I have also helped a biologist map plant diversity in various parts of Little River State Beach. The goal was to detect differences in areas that were both disturbed and undisturbed. I hope to contribute to the upkeep of Redwood State Parks in a meaningful way, as well as inspire others to see the importance and beauty of the natural world.

Forest Response to Severe Drought: Do restoration thinning treatments in coast redwood-Douglas fir forests increase resiliency to drought?

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Coast redwood-Douglas-fir forest hold important economic, ecological, and cultural values which will likely be threatened by changing climate and increased drought stress. Restoration thinning has been used by forest managers with the goals of decreasing stand competition and accelerating maturation to old-growth conditions. However, uncertainty still remains on whether restoration treatments provide forests with increased resiliency to disturbances such as severe drought. The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of different restoration treatments in improving second-growth forest resiliency to drought stress in coast redwood-Douglas-fir forests of Redwood NP.

Fort Humboldt: The Development of Redwood Logging in Humboldt, 1878-1950

Qasim Naqvi, Anthropology Undergraduate Student

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

In this poster, I describe the process by which we inventoried items and analyze how technology evolved in concert with broader shifts in the Redwood timber industry. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of how archival research and data collection processes are conducted within the realm of historical archaeology and also reflects Humboldt County's independence. The material analysis presented in this project will showcase logging technology’s environmental, cultural and economic impacts on the landscape and lifestyles of the region’s inhabitants.

Fortuna Firefighting

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

For my research project, I engaged in volunteer work for the Fortuna Firefighting Department. To fully engage myself into the lens of a firefighter, I signed up for the full academy and will earn fire fighter I status. This entails firefighter ethics and expectations, safety, communications, tools and equipment, water supply and hose lays, fire behavior, building construction, ventilation, loss control, rescue and extrication, and wildland fires. The firefighter code is to save lives, protect the environment, and protect property. With doing so, firefighters continuously adjust to diversity, personal characteristics, personal responsibility, and resistance to change.