The University of West Florida Campus Master Plan 2021-2031 designates over one thousand acres of undeveloped natural landscape for long-term conservation and sets forth a policy to “establish an environmental stewardship program for the University to follow.” This land is part of the UWF Main Campus in Pensacola, Florida, and home to valuable longleaf pine habitat, a Great Florida Birding Trail, and the largest vascular plant flora of any southeastern university campus. Ongoing activities in these natural areas include academic research, course-related field learning, interdisciplinary events, and recreation.
To effectively implement conservation on the UWF Main Campus, it is vital to devise a conservation plan that specifies program goals, management, values, strategies, and projects. This research project addressed the above need by developing a proposed UWF Conservation Program Plan. Diverse research methods were followed to inform the Plan and included reviewing literature, investigating other successful conservation programs, assessing the UWF community’s current relationship with its natural spaces, and consulting experts across multiple relevant disciplines. Major program goals, values, strategies, and projects drew from a synthesis of the Campus Master Plan, best practice found in research, and assessed community needs. The culminating proposal will be a written document that considered possibilities such as establishing a formal entity tasked with Program management, development of specific conservation projects, strategies for maintaining community investment, and collaboration with other entities and agencies.
This project serves as my Kugelman Honors Thesis, and I am presenting it at the 2024 National Conference on Undergraduate Research and the 2024 UWF Student Scholars Symposium. Check out my oral presentation here!
If you want to learn more about this project, read my thesis proposal here.
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