Embedded Files
Funded by grants from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and The Steinman Foundation, the interdisciplinary Chesapeake Watershed Initiative (CWI) studies the legacy of human impacts on floodplains within the Chesapeake Watershed and applies its findings through targeted action focused in Lancaster County, PA. The CWI, housed at local Franklin & Marshall College, aims to understand the effects of colonial settlement, dam construction, dam removal, and restoration. The Initiative interacts with a wide variety of disciplines including history, hydrology, earth science, communications, politics, and economics to understand the complex relationship between our society and the Chesapeake Watershed. The CWI carries out its mission through a three-fold approach of research, education, and action.
Spring Conference Round Up
Spring Conference Round Up
NE/NC GSA Regional Meeting 2025
NE/NC GSA Regional Meeting 2025
We were so thrilled to have the opportunity to take 17 students to the Northeast/Northcentral Geological Society of America Regional Meeting this year in Erie. Students presented 9 posters on a variety of topics ranging from deep underground springs to air quality. Ting Feng (‘25) presented a talk detailing her phenomenal work investigating the groundwater that feeds the Huntsdale State Fish Hatchery.
PA Soils Conference: Building Resilient PA Soil Systems 2025
PA Soils Conference: Building Resilient PA Soil Systems 2025
Justin Spangler and Professors Dorothy Merritts and Robert Walter presented new information on legacy sediments in addition to debuting the most recent full size, color accurate soil monoliths developed by LandStudies Inc. and annotated with the help of CWI research and expertise.
2025 Upper Midwest Stream Restoration Symposium
2025 Upper Midwest Stream Restoration Symposium
Professor Merritts presented an invited talk titled "Unearthing Earth's past, envisioning its future: Rewilding landscapes to improve waterways and aquatic ecosystems" and Hannah Connuck presented a poster titled "Encouraging Landowner Cooperation in Stream Rewilding: Indian Run Catchment Council"
CWI work at AGU Fall Meeting 2024
CWI work at AGU Fall Meeting 2024
From our team
Professor Robert Walter
Dr. Adam Benfield
Douglas Rosa '25
From our collaborators
GC41K Anthropocene Science: What Next? II Poster
"Each year, AGU’s annual meeting, the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists, convenes 25,000+ attendees from 100+ countries to share research and connect with friends and colleagues. Scientists, educators, policymakers, journalists and communicators attend AGU24 to better understand our planet and environment, opening pathways to discovery, opening greater awareness to address climate change, opening greater collaborations to lead to solutions and opening the fields and professions of science to a whole new age of justice equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging." - AGU.org
In the News: F&M Alumni at the CWI
In the News: F&M Alumni at the CWI
F&M Alumni Alice Fodor and Hannah Connuck put environmental science degrees to work at the Chesapeake Watershed Initiative. Full story by Caroline Miller available on the F&M website!
New publication: Peck et al.
New publication: Peck et al.
Back from the past? Assessment of nitrogen removal ability of buried historic wetland soils before and after a 1-year incubation on a restored floodplain
"Ultimately, our results suggest that while inclusion of historic, hydric soils and their legacy micro-biomes is valuable for N-removal in floodplain restoration, the recovery of historic, hydric soils is predictably slow, and attainment of restoration goals, such as increased denitrification, may require multiple years."
Our team in the field, investigating The Trench...
Special thanks to our sponsors
Special thanks to our sponsors
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