MSL Special Projects
Nitrogen Working Group - Morven Team
Investigating the Nitrogen Footprint of UVA's Sustainability Lab
The project involves an in-depth analysis of Morven’s present nitrogen outputs, with a focus on identifying effective measures to reduce losses to the environment. This process analyzes multiple sectors of Morven’s operations including transportation, fertilizer use, energy, and food. Currently, the NWG team has assembled footprint-related data. Relevant data will be collected throughout the coming years and we will compare Morven’s nitrogen footprint after sustainability strategies are implemented. Additionally, the Morven team is conducting synoptic water sampling of the Morven watershed to track changes in nitrogen levels throughout the year. This serves as a proxy to the nitrogen footprint data.The team is also investigating Morven’s forest and soil systems and their role in carbon/nitrogen storage and water filtration.
Learn more about UVA’s Nitrogen Working Group here.
UVA's Decarbonization Academy 2024
The academy is designed to be an immersive learning experience for students who are interested in working towards UVA’s sustainability goals of being carbon-neutral by 2030 and fossil-fuel free by 2050.
Over the 8-week program, students from various disciplines will work to advance UVA's sustainability goals by focusing on projects like designing on-Grounds forest patches, influencing social norms, and greening the university fleet. Morven is hosting a group of these interns this summer!
The Morven Sustainability Lab projected is co-led by Professor Manuel Lerdau, Professor of Environmental Sciences and Biology, and Professor Beth Meyer, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Faculty Director of Morven Sustainability Lab (MSL). Since agricultural practices and forest conversation have a big impact on decarbonization, MSL is keen to record, monitor, measure and analyze the impact of our transition from a traditional non-sustainable farm of monoculture crops and large stands of clear-cut timbering to a model of conservation and regenerative agro-forestry.
Decarb Academy Morven Team Goals
Engage students in understanding the stocks and flows of carbon and other elements both within Morven and across Morven’s borders – through the water and with the air.
Establish long term plots that can be monitored for decades to look at changes in stocks and flows and associated hydrology geochemistry and ecology. We also wil begin to monitor other aspects of biodiversity that are associated with carbon fluxes.
Educational goals are two-fold – 1) to give students practical experience in the techniques and approaches used in this science 2) to give them the opportunity to develop their own longer-term projects that can become independent studies by the students
This summer the group has focused on forest sites for soil and vegetation plots; and the other systems for soil plots.. In these soil plots they are sampling carbon, minerals, and other soil properties by depth up to one meter. In the vegetation plots, sampling is being done on all tree species greater than 2.5 cm diameter at breast height (147 cm the official breast height). This is being carried out by five undergraduates who are establishing and locating the plots and collecting the first year of data. All five are continuing with this work as independent study projects during the academic year.
By the end of 2024 the Decarb Morven Fellows will have 90 soil plots sampled (200 kilos of dirt) – 90 holes, equivalent to 70 meters of depth. Identified, tagged, and measured over 3500 individual trees.
In addition 42 species of birds have been documented, including several breeding species that are extremely rare for Albemarle County such as the hooded warbler.
Meriwether Lewis Institute Summer 2024 Project
Make Morven Sustainability Lab an integral part of the UVA Student Experience
For this year’s Meriwether Lewis Institute (MLI) Summer 2024 program, fellows were tasked with proposing ideas for how Morven Sustainability Lab can provide new and meaningful experiences for UVA undergraduates. The experiences could possibly be cumulative and grow alongside students as they progress through their time at UVA. Over the past four weeks, MLI Fellows generated and researched ideas as they met with leaders from across the University, as well as MSL faculty and staff.
On Monday, June 24th the fellows presented their final ideas to all the stakeholders. Group recommendations were multifaceted but focused on how Morven could become integral to the UVA student experience. Morven as a place of improving student health and well-being through nature connection was a theme throughout the presentations.
Groups noted the importance of student self-governance at UVA, and the need for a Morven student leadership council to drive programming. Ideas like new seasonal festivals, an art park, student engagement events during UVA’s orientation, and partnerships with groups like IM-Rec and were recommended. Infrastructure improvements, such as better wayfinding, accessibility, and flexible transportation, were also proposed. Other fellows emphasized enhancing the academic enrichment at Morven by using the site for learning, research, and as a space to invite visiting experts to the university. Integrating these themes aims to create a holistic and enriching environment at Morven that aligns with UVA's 2030 plan.
UVA Decarbonization Academy Interns Project, Summer 2023.
Gina Lee, MLA 2024
Katie Larson, BA Environmental Thought and Practice 2024
Over the course of 2023 to 2024, two interns of the Decarbonization Academy, Gina Lee and Katie Larson, designed two separate phenology models which depict the natural cycles of Morven’s environment. Specifically, the models were crafted from an analysis of a 1932 Formal Gardens planting plan, drafted by landscape architect Annette Hoyt Flanders, and the 1930 edition of Morven’s annual farm journals. These two separate models will be the start of studying changes in Morven’s environments year after year, as we note the different ways Morven’s gardening and farming methodologies have affected Morven’s ecology and ecosystem.
Designing a Carbon Neutral Future
University Seminar class - December 2023
Ethan Heil’s University Seminar class, “Designing a Carbon Neutral Future”, completed a de-carbonization project focused on Morven! The group of first-years worked to identify Morven’s current carbon footprint, determine the most effective GHG reduction strategies, provide steps for implementing such strategies, and evaluated the future impact. Their findings were compiled into a final presentation linked below!