Join the Master of Environmental Studies program at Evergreen for Spring 2024 MES Thesis Presentations to celebrate the wonderful projects our graduating MES students have completed this past year and learn about new research in environmental studies. Students in the Master of Environmental Studies program present their thesis research each quarter of the academic year. Many students complete their thesis course work in the spring of their final year in a public presentation just a few weeks before they submit their final written document and participate in graduation. 

We will have three full afternoons of presentations on May 21, 23, and 28 this month. All presentations will occur in the afternoon in the Pacific Time Zone, in-person and virtually, and can be watched at the Olympia Campus, Purce Hall, Lecture Hall 3, or via zoom, for all presentation days and times. Please continue reading to learn about the list of Spring presenters, their presentation titles, and times. 

We hope you can make it! 

MES Thesis Presentations, Spring 2024

Where: Purce Hall, Lecture Hall 3 at The Evergreen State College, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia, WA 98505

Zoom Option: https://evergreen.zoom.us/j/81223353470

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

3:00-3:20 p.m.          Dominic Moreschi – Effect of Ocean Acidification on Early Life Stages of Forage Fish(In-person) Thesis Reader: Carri LeRoy

3:20-3:40 p.m.          Maddie Thompson – Assessing the Toxicological Influence of Motor Oil and Tire Particles (Synthetic Stormwater) on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) (In-person) Thesis Reader: Carri LeRoy

3:50-4:10 p.m.          Stephanie Pierce – Cryoconite Holes on Root Glacier, Alaska: An Exploration of Dissolved Organic Carbon and Bacterial Abundance (Virtual over Zoom) Thesis Reader: Erin Martin

4:10-4:30 p.m.          Shaina Thompson – Near, Far, Wherever You Are…Species I.D. is Hard: Comparing Drone- and Field-based Assessment of Two Invasive Plant Species (In-person) Thesis Reader: Kevin Francis

4:40-5:00 p.m.           Kate Hall – Recreation Trail Analysis Comparing the Impact of Social and Formal Trails on Trees in Forest Habitat (In-person) Thesis Reader: Kevin Francis

5:00-5:20 p.m.           Ashe Sands – Bell or Barrier? How Road Noise Impacts Two Mesocarnivores in Washington State (In-person) Thesis Reader: Kevin Francis

Thursday, May 23, 2024   

3:00-3:20 p.m.          Sylvia Prehmus – Biodegradation of Polyhyroxybutyrate Plastic:  A Comparison of American and International Standard Test Methods Using  Soils from Western Washington (Virtual over Zoom) Thesis Reader: John Kirkpatrick

3:20-3:40 p.m.          Vanessa LaValle – What Can We Know About the Potential for Capitol State Forest to Serve as a Wildlife Corridor between the Willapa Hills, Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges? If there is Potential, How Could it be Strengthened? (In-person) Thesis Reader: John Withey

3:50-4:10 p.m.          Robin Vance – Soundscapes and Sanctuaries: Mapping Wolf Sanctuary Environments Using Soundscape Analysis (In-person) Thesis Reader: John Withey

4:10-4:30 p.m.          Peter Hanson – Case Study: Analyzing Adoption Readiness of  Porous Concrete in Olympia, Washington (In-person) Thesis Reader: Shangrila Joshi

4:40-5:00 p.m.          Keira Jensen – Diverting Organic Waste from Landfills at the City Level: A Comparative Case Study of Boulder and San Francisco (In-person) Thesis Reader: Shangrila Joshi

5:00-5:20 p.m.          Ander Pierce – Nutrient Loading Effects of an Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture System (Virtual over Zoom) Thesis Reader: Pauline Yu

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 

2:40-3:00 p.m.           Kody Ludwig – Bioaccumulation And Public Health Implications In The Tissue Of Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister) Caught Within The Washington Coastline And Hood Canal (In-person) Thesis Reader: Erin Martin

3:00-3:20 p.m.           Emma Wright – Renewable Heating on United States College Campuses: Mapping Viability Using Place-Based Factors (In-person) Thesis Reader: Kathleen Saul

3:20-3:40 p.m.           Van Maxwell-Miller – Reparations for Washington’s Indigenous People: An Economic Analysis of the Losses Accrued Due to Imperialistic Actions of the United States (In-person) Thesis Reader: Kathleen Saul

3:50-4:10 p.m.           Erin Dixon – Rooting in Place: Cultivating a Relationship with Nature Through Connecting to Earth-Based Ancestral Practices (In-person) Thesis Reader: Kathleen Saul

4:10-4:30 p.m.           Garrett Brummel – Habitat Connectivity and Interstate-5: Site Evaluation of Wildlife Presence within the I-5 Northern Linkage Zone (Virtual over Zoom) Thesis Reader: Ralph Murphy

4:40-5:00 p.m.           Rachelle Clausen – Soil Characteristics of Cedars Wetland Compensatory Mitigation Site in Battle Ground, Washington (Virtual over Zoom) Thesis Reader: John Withey

5:00-5:20 p.m.           Matthew Einhorn – Deschutes River Preserve Wildlife Camera Trapping (In-person) Thesis Reader: John Withey

5:20-5:40 p.m.           Melinda Wood – Phenological Asynchrony Between Onset of Green-Up And Spring Arrival For Migratory Songbirds Of Conservation Concern In Alaska (In-person) Thesis Reader: John Withey