A goal of the Ecological Society of America ‘s earth stewardship initiative (ESI) is to model a process by which scientific advancement might be linked to shaping environments that are better able to sustain biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human well-being. The process, illustrated by demonstration projects during ESA annual meetings, is relevant across scales and sites. It involves understanding the series of steps involved in the creation of major infrastructure projects, collaborating across disciplines, assuming roles atypical for ecologists, and thinking creatively. As a former Earth Stewardship Initiative student fellow during the ESA conference in Sacramento, I have been able to apply the interdisciplinary approaches I learned to the landscape I now work in at Stanford University.
Results/Conclusions:
Similar to the conflicting land use demands along Sacramento’s American River Parkway, including recreation, habitat management, and flood control, Stanford University land use is complex and multi-faceted. 8180 acres must support educational institutions, recreation, transportation, housing, agriculture, and special status species management. Within its large land holding, Stanford has a legal obligation and stated commitment to the preservation of federally and state listed species including California tiger salamander, California red-legged frogs, steelhead, and western pond turtle. At Stanford, we have studied the dispersal and recruitment of California tiger salamanders within designed environments that mimic vernal pool complexes and co-occur with human recreation, civil infrastructure, and academic use. The creation of vernal pools through a process of designed experimentation within human modified landscapes has lead both to scientific advancement in the field of urban ecology as well as ecological outcomes consistent with earth stewardship.