Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture – ��ý-N

Riparian Planting Guides to Address Flooding in Walker Township

Ada Inman — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:35:29 +0000

This project focuses to provide Walker Township leadership information and tools for its residents to address backyard flooding relating to maintenance and increased absorption on private land. When residential housing is adjacent to a creek, the lawns often run up to the creek bed. In Walker Township several residential lots border a creek that is dry during periods of drought but swells and cause minor flooding during severe rain events. The township would like to encourage residential landowners to establish creek buffers that will increase absorption during rain events while enhancing property landscaping. The students recommended plants that tolerate both dry and wet conditions, including trees, shrubs, and perennials and their planting guides.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info
University Faculty Contact
Heather Karsten, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Crop Production / Ecology
hdk3@psu.edu
814-863-3179

Residential Pollinator Garden Guide for State College Borough

Ada Inman — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:22:21 +0000

The town of State College is in the process of providing its residence with detailed guidance on promoting pollinators through pollinator gardening approaches and habitat. Students are asked to provide recommendations specific to the State College geography for the establishment of pollinator habitat/gardens in State College residential neighborhoods, including native plants materials, guidance on planting and maintenance of pollinator gardens and its footprint to curtain overgrown areas.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info
University Faculty Contact
Heather Karsten, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Crop Production / Ecology
hdk3@psu.edu
814-863-3179

Revitalizing the City of Reading Greenhouse as a Community Space

Ada Inman — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:28:40 +0000

The City of Reading owns a large greenhouse, 6,500sqft in City Park that has been vacant since 2018. The City is interested in using the Greenhouse to educate the public about growing plants and sustainable food systems, promote the local farmers market and local food initiatives, serve for training and workforce development purposes, and to be used to grow plant material to be used within the city in public parks and public spaces, planters, storm water infrastructure. Students are asked to design a greenhouse programming plan for diverse audiences to optimize public engagement. In addition, students also include timelines for plants growth and best management practices for greenhouse operations.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Heather Karsten, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Crop Production / Ecology
hdk3@psu.edu
814-863-3179

Regenerative Grazing Initiative in Huntingdon County

Ada Inman — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 19:43:45 +0000

The USDA office in Huntingdon County is interested in promoting regenerative farming practices. While there has been some interest among the farming community, more could be done. The USDA office would like to provide leadership by working with local farmers to explore regenerative practices and possibly establish demonstration sites. Students had the opportunity to visit farms and talk with owners to identify potential areas. Students also developed a plan to determine any applicable approaches taking into account local conditions and farmer’s preferences in a regenerative grazing operation.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Heather Karsten, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Crop Production / Ecology
hdk3@psu.edu
814-863-3179

Improving Community Park Design: A study in Walker Township

Ada Inman — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:40:14 +0000

Walker Township in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, is the owner and caretaker of Woodcock Valley Park, which serves the community of McConnellstown and surrounding residents as an outdoor recreation space. The township supervisors and Park Committee would like to see changes to the park that implement easier maintenance and more utility for local residents. The township would like to see the park used more frequently by its residents, allow for parents with children at sports practice to enjoy the park, possibly accommodate community events at the park, etc. Student work include ideation and research of applications on comparable sites, planting selections and maintenance, and suggestions for educational outreach.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Liana T Burghardt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
ltb5167@psu.edu
814-863-6168

Rain Garden Initiative in Coburn Park

Ada Inman — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 17:40:47 +0000

Coburn Park serves as the community park for Penn Township, consisting of a 15+ acres area along Penns Creek, with two picnic pavilions, a playground, baseball field and large open, mowed areas. Opposite the parking area for the park, is a swale that seems to collect stormwater runoff from the town of Coburn slightly uphill. The Park also hosts the Penns Valley Conservation Association’s (PVCA) Creek Fest annually. PVCA would like to see more sustainable management of the park including educational opportunities for pollinator gardens, rainwater gardens, and riparian buffers. A plan for the entire site had been created for a grant but ultimately was abandoned due to the cost for the township and lack of buy-in. Centre County Conservation District along with PVCA would like to identify potential design/ plant selection for a pollinator garden to serve as an educational example, as well as to get the the township on board with work on making Coburn Park an attractive location for its residents to spend time outdoors, providing research and ideation of what the park could look like and how it can serve the community.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Liana T Burghardt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
ltb5167@psu.edu
814-863-6168

The Ecology of Urban Forest Edges

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:32 +0000

As of 2014, over half (54 percent) of the worldâ€s population resides in urban areas, a number that is expected to increase to two-thirds of the global population by 2050 (UN 2014). Increased human flow into cities results in increased urbanization, a complex process consisting of people altering the landscape through settlement patterns and spatial distribution (Antrop 2000). Cities vary widely in how they reflect the impacts of urbanization and there is no universal model, but human development of rural areas tends to result in a fragmented landscape centered around an urban core, with shifting species composition, reduced vegetative productivity, and an overall loss in biodiversity (Xun et al. 2014).

Tidy or Tangled: How People Perceive Landscapes

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:32 +0000

The ways we choose to modify and manage the landscapes around us have enormous local and global consequences. Single-family houses now dominate the suburban landscapes of Washington, D.C., including Columbia, MD. These planned housing developments typically have a clean, tidy appearance with mown grass and trimmed shrubs. Unfortunately, this ordered presentation does not provide the ecosystem services that accompany an ecologically healthy, but often more disorderly landscape: cleaner water, air, soil, and happier and healthier residents. This paper investigates how people perceive a range of landscape types and how various intervention techniques might affect their acceptance or appreciation. Understanding the way people see the landscapes around them can help Columbiaâ€s managers, planners, designers, and residents pursue riparian restoration efforts in their neighborhoods. Dozens of researchers, inspired by Joan Nassauerâ€s 1995 essay, â€œMessy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames,â€ have asked how culture and aesthetics contribute to our understanding of the ecosystem. This paper is organized along those research paths: aspects of evolution, neighborhood social pressures, the role of education, design and planning impacts, and ecological-aesthetic modeling.

Deer Management Strategies

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:32 +0000

White tailed deer populations (Odocoileus virginianus) have become troublesome in the United States over the past hundred years. However, deer have not always been a problem in the United States. In the past, natural predators along with hunting by Native Americans, maintained deer populations (Audubon 2003, 3). The arrival of Europeans introduced trade of white-tailed deer products. An exploitation era from about 1850 to 1900 saw dramatic reductions in deer populations (Audubon 2003, 3). Eventually, environmental consciousness, low wildlife numbers and protection laws increased the deer population in the absence of natural predators. The abandonment of agricultural fields and the growing industry of timber harvesting also supported deer populations. Deer continued to thrive, and deer populations grew out of control in suburban and urban areas where few factors were present to limit deer population

Invasive Vine Management

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:32 +0000

Whether it is Japanese honeysuckle, Oriental bittersweet, Mile-a-minute weed, or any of the other invasive vines present in northeastern U.S. urban forest systems, vines present a continuous burden on urban forest edges. The effects of invasive vines range from mere nuisances to ecological damage, often by smothering native vegetation. In most cases, given their rapid growth and strong root systems, conventional physical removal may not suffice to resolve such issues. The Columbia Association faces issues of fragmented and vine-covered urban forests, a lack of public understanding and support for reforestation, as well as budget restrictions that rule out many physically intensive solutions, and while invasive vines are not the only issue at hand, they are an integral part of the system supporting these negative factors. Invasive vines are not only a nuisance aesthetically, but are also a key factor in the perpetuation of many forest edge issues, including damage to trees and the choking out of native competitors.

Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture – ����ý-N

Riparian Planting Guides to Address Flooding in Walker Township

Residential Pollinator Garden Guide for State College Borough

Revitalizing the City of Reading Greenhouse as a Community Space

Regenerative Grazing Initiative in Huntingdon County

Improving Community Park Design: A study in Walker Township

Rain Garden Initiative in Coburn Park

The Ecology of Urban Forest Edges

Tidy or Tangled: How People Perceive Landscapes

Deer Management Strategies

Invasive Vine Management

Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture – ��ý-N