School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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- All Subjects: Behavior Change
- All Subjects: Biomass
Description
Human behavior is driving many sustainability problems, which means that resolving these issues will require far more people to participate in solutions and act in sustainable ways. However, there is a recognized gap between knowledge and action that remains a significant barrier in achieving transformative sustainability solutions. One way to overcome the knowledge-action gap is to engage more people in place-based experiential learning centered around sustainability. In partnership with Hawai‘i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden (HTBG), we set out to learn about utilizing place-based experiential learning to engage a wider audience to actively participate in sustainability solutions. We researched place-based learning, experiential learning, sustainability education, and behavior change theory. We also conducted several informational interviews with experts in environmental education, STEM, and sustainability science to better understand what is needed for designing meaningful educational experiences that inspire action. We used this research to develop an easily understandable and scalable place-based experiential learning framework that can teach learners about any sustainability challenge or solution. Overall, we found that when grounded in behavior change theory and sustainability principles, place-based experiential learning has the potential to mobilize large groups of people to actively participate in sustainability solutions.
Created2021-04-28
Description
In northern Arizona, the removal of woody biomass from forested land has garnered a high level of interest as threats of catastrophic wildfires have increased in recent years. Although there has been a great deal of vocal support for forest restoration, efforts on the ground are often stalled by complex federal contracting systems, a weak logging and sawmill industry, low-quality timber, and inabilities to guarantee long-term biomass supplies to processers. These barriers are exceedingly apparent in in the Flagstaff area, where the vast majority of forested land falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government and little infrastructure exists for wood product industries. In order to address these obstacles, forest stakeholders in Coconino County are actively searching for enterprises to utilize material that urgently needs to be removed from the surrounding forests. This project aimed to assist stakeholders in this endeavor by identifying and researching a number of practical and innovative woody biomass utilization enterprises that are suited to the existing regional infrastructure. While there are a variety of ways to process biomass, this project focuses on the following four end products because of their ability to use residual materials from harvest and sawmill operations, their low-tech nature, and the end product’s proximity to potential markets: biochar, compost, wood-plastic composites, and mushroom cultivation. Each of these products, and the processes used to create them, were analyzed and evaluated using a sustainable enterprise framework, and the final results were summarized in a portfolio for stakeholders in the region to review. Although this project offered just a glimpse of what is possible, the ultimate aim was to foster collaborative conversations regarding how forest restoration residues can be used in sustainable and innovative ways.
ContributorsPaulus, Caitlin (Contributor)
Created2019-05-15
Description
Domestic energy is an important component of our day to day lives and is something we cannot live without. Imagine how life would be without a means to cook our food, to warm our house, life would be unbearable. As we enjoy these comforts rarely do we stop to think what the opportunity cost is. For those using renewable sources, it is not a big issue, but for those who rely on wood fuel, they have to strike a delicate balance between need for fuel and the need to conserve the greatest support systems of their livelihoods, the forests. The main source of energy for households in many developing countries is biomass, mainly from forests and woodlands. The continued use of firewood and charcoal fuel puts a strain on forests, resulting in adverse effects on the environment such as prolonged droughts, loss of biodiversity, dwindling water resources, changing weather patterns among other sustainability challenges. An alternative to firewood to charcoal lies in biochar briquettes. This paper discusses the role of biochar briquettes in mitigating climate change and serves as a step by step guide on how biochar briquettes may be produced.
ContributorsNganga, Patrick M. (Author)
Created2018
Description
The purpose of this project was to drive and enhance the sustainability behavior of office workers at Arizona State University. Sustainability behavior is understood to mean behavior that is not solely pro-environmental in nature, but also that which provides clear economic and human benefits to ASU and its employees. Pro-environmental interventions and outcomes, while critical, are just one third of the holistic sustainability sought by ASU. This project focuses on pro-environmental behavior (PEB), as a driver of overall sustainability. As defined by Kollmuss and Agyeman, PEB is “behavior that consciously seeks to minimize the negative impact of one’s actions on the natural and built world” (2002).
The problem for this project is that participation with the ASU Sustainability Certification for Offices is low, and to date, the certification has not enhanced the sustainability of offices at ASU.
University Sustainability Practices, who administer the office certification and much of ASU sustainability efforts, is looking for ways to drive greater participation and engagement in the certification process. Three actions have been taken in the projecti n an attempt to improve participation and engagement. Surveys, focus groups, and interviews have collected data from ASU's office worker to ascertain the attitudes of workers surrounding office culture and sustainability, and to identify barriers to their greater participation in PEB.
The conclusions drawn from this phase of the project inform a robust set of recommendations that will help overcome key barriers revealed by the research, such as a knowledge gap among ASU office staff about the existence of the office certification. Conclusions and solution sets were provided to USP in a set of documents that will allow them to easily implement the recommendations, and provide a path for next steps.
The problem for this project is that participation with the ASU Sustainability Certification for Offices is low, and to date, the certification has not enhanced the sustainability of offices at ASU.
University Sustainability Practices, who administer the office certification and much of ASU sustainability efforts, is looking for ways to drive greater participation and engagement in the certification process. Three actions have been taken in the projecti n an attempt to improve participation and engagement. Surveys, focus groups, and interviews have collected data from ASU's office worker to ascertain the attitudes of workers surrounding office culture and sustainability, and to identify barriers to their greater participation in PEB.
The conclusions drawn from this phase of the project inform a robust set of recommendations that will help overcome key barriers revealed by the research, such as a knowledge gap among ASU office staff about the existence of the office certification. Conclusions and solution sets were provided to USP in a set of documents that will allow them to easily implement the recommendations, and provide a path for next steps.
ContributorsFaught, David (Author)
Created2019-07-22
Description
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cause climate change, and if the world does not lower its GHG emissions soon, it will cause irreversible damage that will have overwhelmingly negative cascading effects on the entire planet (Mann & Kump, 2008). Up to 47% of the United States GHG emissions are the result of energy used to produce, process, transport, and dispose of the food we eat and the goods that we consume (US EPA, 2009). The linear-economy status quo does nothing to slow down climate change because it puts resources into landfills. This project promotes a circular economy which combats climate change by reusing resources that are at the end of their life cycle, e.g., food waste soil. The project was a month-long compost competition at an apartment building in Phoenix, AZ that houses 194 residents. The apartment building, Urban Living 2 (UL2), is subsidized housing owned by Native American Connections (NAC), a non-profit organization. The project’s main objective was to increase waste diversion. This was done through composting and improving zero-waste capacity. The compost competition included activities to change community behavior such as private and public commitments, a community barbecue, a movie night (which replaced a planned field trip), and a visioning meeting. By the end of the project, 22% of the tenants were composting. Over a year-long period, this equates to a diversion of, 6000 pounds from the landfill and 1.59 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E). The waste diversion increased from 28% to 38%. Tenant participation trended upwards during the project and as the social norm develops over time, more tenant participation is expected even after the competition is over. The six indicators that were used to determine the zero-waste capacity, collectively went up by 1.24 points on a five-point scale. This project will be used as a model for NAC for its other 16 properties in the Valley.
ContributorsVelez, Daniel (Author)
Created2017-04-10