Lab Student Kristen Orth-Gordinier wins Cal Poly Humboldt Outstanding Graduate Student Award

Our very own Kristen Orth-Gordinier won the Patricia O. McConkey Outstanding Graduate Student Award for her thesis research titled: Social Science Research to Help Advance Regional Coordination and Collaboration of Sea Level Rise Planning and Adaptation on Humboldt Bay.

This is an exciting recognition for all of the great research and service she has put in — specifically related to the topic of SLR — during her time at Cal Poly Humboldt. You can see more about the award and her nomination here.

Kristen conducting field work – interviewing a Humboldt county rancher about sea level rise encroachment

Research Lab a Part of Large NSF Study Related to Restoring Kelp in the Face of Climate Change

We are excited to announce that our lab, along with the research lab of Sean Craig from the Biology department, are going to be part of a large NSF project led by Marissa Baskett of UC Davis to explore the social-ecological system connect to kelp ecosystems in Northern California. The HD lab will contribute to gathering information related to the socioeconomic systems connected to kelp. New graduate student Jocelyn Enevoldsen will be working as a part of that project. Press release is here.

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Purple sea urchins actively grazing on kelp off the coast of Mendocino County, California. (Photo by Chris Teague)

HD Research Lab Involved in Cascadia Research Hub for Coastal Resiliency

It was announced last fall that Dr. Richmond will be joining ESM Faculty Member Jennifer Marlow from HSU to participate in five year NSF funded project led by Oregon State University and University of Washington to conduct research related to coastal resilience. The grant will include funding for four graduate students, four undergraduate researchers, and for community partners. LINK

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HSU graduate student Kristina Kunkel measures floodwaters in King Salmon on the North Coast during a king tide, a tide that’s higher than normal. HSU professors and other universities will collaborate on research dedicated to coastal resilience in the Cascadia region.

Lab Members Meet With Congressman Jared Huffman to Discuss Fishing Communities and Wind Energy

On Friday May 4th we had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Huffman and his staff to give him an update on the status of the Fishing Community Sustainability Project. We provided him a summary preliminary findings related to the strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations for improvement in each port. Graduate students Wyatt Smith, Laura Casali, and Robert Dumouchel gave him updates about the status of the Humboldt Bay mariculture industry, the port of Shelter Cove, and port of Eureka respectively. Ciara Emery had the chance to discuss early proposals to develop off-shore wind energy resources of the coast of Humboldt County. He listened attentively and asked a lot of great questions