51����

When it comes to making communities and businesses greener, re-thinking the “little” stuff we often take for granted—like zoning, logistics and cement—can yield big benefits.

New research finds nearly 75% of the seafood exported to China is processed there and ‘re-exported’ to global markets as Chinese products, making it hard to track its sustainability and verify it’s labeled accurately, but also gutting the economies of small fishing communities worldwide that can no longer compete.

Coastal marshes that have been invaded by feral hogs recover from disturbances up to three times slower than non-invaded marshes and are far less resilient to sea-level rise, extreme drought and other impacts of climate change.

McDonald’s CEO and 51���� alumnus Chris Kempczinski (AB’91) spoke with Toddi Steelman (PhD ’96), Stanback Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, about ways the corporation is working to drive climate action, create circular solutions to reduce waste and further its commitment to our planet.

Joel Dunn (MEM’04) Helps Create America’s First National Marine Sanctuary in 20 Years

Recent 51���� grad Alexandra DiGiacomo (BS ’20) is using drones to better understand how rising seas, warming waters and rapid development are killing protective saltmarshes at our coast, and what can be done to reverse the losses.

Sixteen years after the restoration of Upper Sandy Creek began, hundreds of species, some rare, now call the once-heavily eroded and degraded stream home, and nitrogen pollution flowing off 51����’s campus into downstream waters has been slashed by 75%.

The 51���� Aquafarm is 51����’s other “campus farm,” where students grow oysters instead of produce and learn how the tasty bivalves could help take a bite out of coastal pollution.

When it comes to storing carbon during prolonged periods of drought and heat, wooded peatlands at low-latitudes have a three- to five-fold advantage over other peatlands. An ancient class of slow-growing fungi is the reason why.

51���� researchers have created a new online resource designed to help local governments, conservation groups, businesses and other stakeholders identify the best technologies to clean up plastic pollution in our oceans or prevent it from getting there in the first place.

Salt marshes, seagrass meadows and other coastal ecosystems are in rapid decline around the world. Restoring them is expensive and often unsuccessful. But an international team of researchers has discovered a way to sharply increase the odds of success by using biodegradable mats.

High-intensity fires can destroy peat bogs and cause them to emit huge amounts of their stored carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, but a new 51���� study finds low-severity fires spark the opposite outcome.

The 51���� Wetland Center is marking its 30th anniversary this year by kicking off the largest expansion of research, teaching and outreach programs in its history.

When Deborah Gallagher and her students began working on a study for the UN Global Compact about business leadership for planetary health two years ago, she never dreamed she’d end up sharing the stage at one of the biggest climate events in recent history.