The 2024 BES Annual Science Meeting has been scheduled for:

Thursday, October 17th

8:30AM to 5PM.

Location:  Stillmeadow Community Fellowship
Attend remotely: CLICK HERE
Webex info:
ID: 28676471446, password: Ph2pHgUuE87
Phone : +1 202-860-2110
Access Code: 28676471446

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AGENDA or scroll below 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ABSTRACTS

Important  Info:

The BES Annual meeting brings together researchers, practitioners, and students from the Baltimore community and beyond who are interested in Baltimore as a social-ecological system and its sustainability, equity, resilience. The meeting will occur on Thursday October 17 from 8:30 to 5:00.

There is no charge to attend. There is ample parking on site.

The meeting consists of a keynote address; presentations and a poster session on current research findings, science applications, and science-based practitioner projects from Baltimore; and opportunities for questions and answers. Presentations will be 15 minutes and organized into sessions with breaks. Posters can be up to 36” x 48” in size.

Important Dates:

Registration is open through the day of the meeting
September 19th Presentation or poster proposals submissions due
October 17 Meeting from 8:30 am – 5pm

 

Agenda

8:30              Coffee and Conversation

9:00              Welcome, Introductions, and Announcements

9:10              Opening remarks and context: Pastor Michael

 

Theme 1: Science Education and Outreach

9:30              Terris King II, The Baltimore Forest School Framework

                     InDiGO: Inward Discovery Grows Outdoors

 

9:45              Alan Berkowitz, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Co-Authors: Garner, K., Hood, A., Covitt, B., Grooms, J., Draney, K., Mitzel, E., Browning, L., Fischer, D., Caires, A., Mehta, S., Bean, J.

Our Evolving Partnership to Advance Earth, Science Across Baltimore City Public Schools’ Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Courses

 

10:00            Michele Romonlini, Loyola Marymount University Center for Urban Resilience. Co-Authors: McPherson, J.

Art-Based Engagement as a Tool for Community-Based Urban Forestry Research

 

10:15            Questions/General Discussion

10:30            Break

 

Theme 2: Water Quantity and Quality

10:45            Peter Groffman, City University of New York. Co-authors: Welty, C.

Dissolved gasses in streams provide insight into urban watershed function

 

11:00            Jaleel Shujath, University of the District of Columbia. Co-Authors: Behera, P.

Analysis of Extreme Storm Events in Baltimore

 

11:15            Zach Clifton, US Geological Survey. Co-Authors: Foss, E., Majcher, E., Psoras, A., Mejia, S., Chase, J.

Contaminated stormwater sediment source tracking for polychlorinated biphenyls within the Back River Watershed, 2022-2023

 

11:30            Ally Kido, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology. Co-Authors: Mansfield, N., Schott, E.

Using a Native Mussel to Sequester Nutrients in Baltimore Harbor

 

11:45            Questions / General discussion on water quantity and quality

 

12:00            Lunch

**We will provide grilled cheese sandwiches and apples. Donations welcome but not necessary**

 **We encourage a walk on the trails through Stillmeadow Peace Park.**

 

Theme 3: Grab bag topics: Urban Ecology in General and in Baltimore

1:15              Morgan Grove, US Forest Service. Co-authors: Pickett, S., Buckley, G., Boone, C.

Forging just ecologies: 25 years of urban long-term ecological research collaboration

 

1:30              Kim Grove, Baltimore City  DPW

Update on research focuses

 

1:45              Selena Livas, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Co-Authors: Locke, D., Sonti, N.F.

An Analysis of Baltimore’s STEW-MAP Networks

 

2:00              Questions / General discussion

2:15              Break

 

Theme 4: Organisms in the City

2:30              Meghan Avolio, Johns Hopkins University. Co-Authors: Hoffman, A., Cocciardi, J.

Cosmopolitan plants do not show consistent parallel urban evolution across five US cities

 

2:45              Anna Mothersole, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Co-Authors:  Swan, C.

Freshwater Invertebrate Response to Urbanization: A Large Scale Analysis of Functional Diversity

 

3:00              Dexter Locke, US Forest Service. Co-Authors: Ossola, A., Schmit, J.-P., Grove, J.M.

Social, spatial and temporal  analyses of urban tree canopy: The need for Sub-parcel Analysis. 

 

3:15              Beatriz Shobe, Johns Hopkins University. Co-Authors: Avolio, M.L., Sonti, N.F.

Selection in the City: How artificial selection of trees impacts the genetic diversity of urban forests.

 

3:30              Marus Tuah and Kajall Hylton, Baltimore Tree Trust.

Tree Care and Technology in Baltimore City

 

3:45              Questions / General discussion

 

4:00              Posters  

4:50              Closing Remarks

5:00              Adjourn and keep the discussion going at the Difference Makers Center of

West Baltimore, starting at 5:30

 

Poster presenters 

Max Carroll, Johns Hopkins University. Co-Authors: Avolio, M.L.

Examining Patterns of Urban Weeds Adaptation to Elevated Salt Levels

 

Aiden Kirchgraber, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Co-Authors: Nowakowski, A.J., Bennett, S.K., Wernoch, R., Cawood, A.

The resilience of bird vocalization behavior to extreme heat events in urban forest settings

 

Mary McWilliams, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Co-Authors: Welty, C., Duncan, J., Lagrosa IV, J.

Use of long-term, high-frequency sensor data to evaluate interannual trends in stream metabolism in an urban watershed

 

Mary McWilliams, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Co-Authors: Welty, C., Miller, A.J., Duncan, J., Groffman, P.

Initial lessons learned from a year of high-frequency data at BES stream chemistry stations

 

Hannah Obenaus, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Co-Authors: Cawood, A., Wernoch, R., Bennett, S., Nowakowski, J.

Effects of forest restoration on insect communities in urban and exurban forests

 

Gabrielle Pezich, Pennsylvania State University. Co-Authors: Duncan, J.M., McPhillips, L., Groffman, P.

Quantifying spatial and temporal variability of biogenic greenhouse gas emissions in Baltimore

 

Gabriel Pickus, The Baltimore Forest School Flower. Co-Authors: Terris King II.

InDiGO: Inward Discovery Grows Outdoors 

 

Margaret Schaefer, University of Maryland College Park. Co-Authors: McGurrin, K., McCloskey S., Pierre, A-L., Burghardt, K.

Does a history of redlining or higher urban temperatures across Baltimore neighborhoods affect young street tree health?

 

Rashmi Sharma.

Study of plants to reduce environmental temperatures.

 

P.J. Terhune, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Co-Authors: McWilliams, M., Welty, C., Moore, J., Bain, D., Gomes, M.

Analysis of sulfate concentrations in riparian soils of headwater streams in Dead Run watershed

 

Samantha Votzke, Johns Hopkins University. Co-Authors: Szlavecz, K., Avolio, M.L., Johnson-Bond, O.

An assessment of photosynthetic activity in tree species across Baltimore City

 

Darryn Waugh, Johns Hopkins University. Co-Authors: BSEC

BSEC Weather Station Network: Spatial and Temporal Variations of Heat within Baltimore

 

Dick Williams, St. James Development Corporation.

Streetscape Green Infrastructure as Environmental Justice in 21217

 

Dick Williams, St. James Development Corporation.

The Rev. Donald O. Wilson Park as Environmental Justice at an Inner Block in 21217

 

Ian Yesilonis, US Forest Service. Co-Authors: Szlavecz, K., Schwartz, S.,  Sonderberg, P., Driftwood, L.

Understanding water flow dynamics in urban soils: Implications for stormwater management