This project is initiated by four Davidson College students for our class “Renewable Natural Resources.” As a group, we will be examining the various stakeholders involved with the Catawba River and produce a policy paper that will provide specific recommendations to maintain the river’s healthy and longevity. In this class, we will be applying both biological and anthropological lenses to understand the complexity behind managing a resource as important as water. Our strategies include applying resource-management strategies like ecosystem-based management and adaptive management while consulting with existing policy and plans created by various levels of governments and conservancy organizations. As the river faces more and more challenges, whether it is drought risks in the summer or having a larger population reliant on the river for their water and electricity, it is critical to create a management plan that takes into account the river’s ecological health and the quantity of water in the river while ensuring that it can provide potable water and electricity to the population that lives by the river.
Team Member
Philip Yu – Philip Yu is a senior Environmental Studies major and Anthropology minor from Los Angeles, California. His research includes food access in minority communities in northwest Charlotte, sustainability in the fashion industry, and the role that priming plays in purchasing environmentally friendly products. He is an active member in the civic engagement community through Bonner Scholar and constantly looks for opportunities to combine environmentalism with civic engagement.
Grace Li – Grace is a junior Environmental Studies major from
Hong Kong. Having lived in Shanghai for more than 10 years, where air pollution is a major problem, she is interested in issues around pollution and environmental health. Her research focuses on constructing E. coli based nitrate biosensors to quantitatively determine nitrate concentrations in water. On campus,
she is involved in Environmental Action Coalition (EAC) and EcoTeam.
Barney Beermann – Barney Beermann is a junior Biology major and environmental minor from Wilmington, N.C currently attending Davidson College. Living by the coast his whole life has fostered interests in water rights policy, aquatic ecosystem health, and fisheries sustainability which he has pursued through academics. In addition to these subjects, Barney also conducts research in an NC State sponsored nutrition lab in Kannapolis, N.C and hopes to attend graduate school in this subject following his senior graduation in 2017.
Cameron Gainey – Cameron Gainey is a senior Biology major from Wake Forest, NC. His biological studies at Davidson have centered on ecology and microbiology, and he has conducted research in avian behavioral ecology with Dr. Mark Stanback. He is also an avid musician who has participated in various groups, from the Davidson College Chorale to the Davidson African Drum Ensemble. After graduating, he intends to enter the field of scientific research, ultimately focusing on species conservation and environmental management.
