Congratulations to PhD student, Alison Bressler! Alison was recently awarded a NCR-SARE Graduate Student Grant for her project titled “Cover crop mixtures for nitrogen use efficiency on grain farms in Southern Michigan.” The project will integrate on-farm experimentation, including assessment of biological nitrogen fixation and nitrogen mineralization rates, with applied, outreach activities focused on management of legume-grass cover crop mixtures.

Anne Elise passed her pre-candidacy exams (prelims) just in time for the holiday weekend, and is now a PhD candidate. Congratulations on passing this important milestone, Anne Elise!

Congratulations to Etienne Herrick, one of a select group of 19 undergraduates to win an award for her Honors Thesis. Etienne received the Virginia Voss Memorial Scholarship for excellence in writing for her thesis titled “Summer Cover Crops: Functional Traits and Ecosystem Services.”

Sydney (L) and Ami take a break from fieldwork and enjoy fresh garlic scapes at Dyer Family Organic Farm

This summer we are joined by Aminata Fofana and Sydney Fuller, two undergraduates in the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UM-SEAS. Ami and Sydney are already enjoying some of the perks of doing research on local vegetable farms!

Two new PhD students, Alison Bressler and Anne Elise Stratton, have joined the lab this fall. You can read more about their backgrounds and research interests here.

Wittman, H., Chappell, M.J., Abson, D., Bezner-Kerr, R., Blesh, J., Hanspach, J., Perfecto, I., and J. Fischer. 2016. A social-ecological perspective on harmonizing food security and biodiversity conservation. Regional Environmental Change. doi:10.1007/s10113-016-1045-9.

Schipanski, M.E., MacDonald, G.K., Rosenzweig, S., Chappell, M.J., Bennett, E.M., Bezner-Kerr, R., Blesh, J., Crews, T., Drinkwater, L.E., Lundgren, J., and C. Schnarr. 2016. Realizing resilient food systems. BioScience. doi:10.1093/biosci/biw052.

Ryan explains the benefits of legume cover crops

Ryan Nelson, our very own Doris Duke Conservation Scholar, presented a poster today entitled “Out of Thin Air: Assessing Legume Nitrogen Fixation Inputs on Organic Farms” at the Diversity in Environmental Programs Symposium (Ann Arbor). This symposium capped off the 8 week DDCS Program, which brought undergraduates from around the country to the University of Michigan. Best wishes, Ryan, as you head back to Wesleyan University for another semester!

Elliot collecting soil cores from a study site

This summer two new undergraduates received scholarships to conduct research in the Blesh Lab.  Elliot Nichols, a UM undergraduate in LSA, received a Michigan Research Community Cromer Fellowship, and Ryan Nelson from Wesleyan University is joining us through the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program.

Alison King recently passed her preliminary exam and is now a doctoral candidate.