Projects

Forest Carbon Inventories

Last year, we joined forces with Resilient Forestry LLC to take on large forest inventory projects, helping private land owners enroll their properties in forest carbon offset programs. As a result of our collaborative work, we delivered precision data to the clients, and ultimately, opened up a new revenue source for land owners with conservation and stewardship as their primary management goals. Together, we’re helping Washington meet the demand for authentic carbon offset credits, reflecting verifiable carbon sequestration in the here and now.

Stakeholder Survey Data Analysis

For over 20 years, community scientists have monitored bird diversity through Seattle Audubon‘s Neighborhood Bird Project (NBP), a long-term ecological monitoring program based in Seattle. Together with Restoration Analytics and Design LLC, we designed and implemented a stakeholder survey to better understand the identities, experiences and insights of the volunteers who power NBP.

Through a collaborative process with Seattle Audubon staff, we designed survey questions to address program needs and research goals, while also prioritizing inclusion, transparency and privacy for the survey participants. During implementation of the stakeholder survey, we followed best practices for informed consent and data management, resulting in a high response rate and thoughtful engagement by the NBP volunteers. We are currently in the process of analyzing the survey data and synthesizing the responses.

Our next step will be to dive deeper into the ecological monitoring data, guided by the knowledge and insights of hundreds of community scientists.

Sword Fern Research

At dozens of locations throughout Western Washington, sword ferns (Polystichum munitum) are rapidly declining in sudden mortality events that can be easily mistaken for drought stress. Although recent studies suggest that a pathogen may be involved, the phenomenon remains unexplained.

Sword fern mortality events vary in their spatial scale and survival rates

In collaboration with Friends of Seward Park and MPG Ranch, we are exploring multiple hypotheses that could explain the phenomenon, including potential interactions between soils, plant communities, and endophytic microorganisms. Our preliminary analysis focuses on the potential influence of soil physical properties and seasonal drought conditions. In the next phase of our project, we will use high-throughput DNA sequencing to screen for potential pathogens.

map of Seward Park showing areas where sword ferns are declining
Projected decline in the sword fern cover-abundance (%) of each management zone in Seward Park. Values are based on a linear model of sword fern mortality in areas affected by the phenomenon.

Resources

To access raw data, photos and other miscellaneous files related to the project, please see our GitHub repository. Our preliminary report is available here: