As apart of their yearly goals, the Program on Climate Change (PCC) Undergraduate Cohort (UCo) strived to connect more with members of the PCC community and their research. Acting on this, UCo hosted their first Faculty Chat on Thursday April 24th. For this undergrad-centric talk, the group welcomed Dr. Kendall Valentine, a coastal geomorphologist and an Assistant Professor in the School of Oceanography at UW. 

Before the event, Dr. Valentine shared the following background with UCo. “Blue Carbon ecosystems – traditionally mangroves, marshes, and seagrass – are coastal systems that trap and store disproportionately large amount of carbon in sediments and below-ground biomass. The rapid deposition and burial of organic carbon prevalent in these systems remove atmospheric CO2.  There has been growing interest in harnessing the natural process to maximize carbon storage in coastal environments to mitigate climate change. While there is great interest and potential, there are a lot of questions related to the science, the related policy, and feasibility.” This provided a gauge for the topics of the talk and background leading into the event and discussion.

The event began with welcoming students from across the university with snacks and light discussion. Just after 4:30pm, Dr. Valentine’s began her presentation on Blue Carbon, titled “Blue Carbon: The Role of Nature-Based Solutions in Coastal Carbon Capture”. Following the conclusion of the talk, attendees launched into discussion with Dr. Valentine on Blue Carbon and its feasibility as a climate mitigation strategy. Some of the notable discussion topics included the legitimacy of carbon credits, other sources of blue carbon, coastal work in Louisiana after Deep Water Horizon, public feedback and engagement with wetlands/mangroves, and stories of poor usage and failed transplants of mangroves. Discussion flowed through many student questions, offering space to engage in open scientific conversation in an approachable environment.

It is often intimidating to join seminars or talks as an undergrad, despite the valuable information and learning these environments provide. UCo’s goal was to facilitate accessible connections to science and faculty for students interested in climate change and research. This event provided space to learn about Blue Carbon, a topic often not covered in depth in undergraduate coursework, and to drive deeper into discussion. A special thanks to Dr. Valentine for her engaging and welcoming involvement in this event. We greatly appreciate her support for undergraduate activities.

Written by Elise Herzfeld, PCC Undergraduate Assistant and undergraduate in Oceanography. Elise is an acting member of UCo leadership alongside Luciana Calle, Carmen Jimenez, Lorenzo McCleese, and Chris Wang.