A Walk Through South Bend
How can urban landscapes improve air and water quality, cool neighborhoods on a hot day, and support biodiversity? Watch as Deb Marr Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Indiana University South Bend, explore this question. Urban landscapes are more than backdrops — they reflect our history, knowledge, and affect the health of our communities in fundamental ways. The city of South Bend is working to nearly double our urban tree canopy coverage. In this talk we will explore ways that soil ecology and increasing tree canopy coverage can improve human health, as well as address the complex problems of climate change and loss of biodiversity. Deb will share some early data that we have on ways that soil ecology is affected by landscaping practices, and connections between landscape and carbon emissions.
Experience the Event
Presented by Department of Physics
How can urban landscapes improve air and water quality, cool neighborhoods on a hot day, and support biodiversity? Watch as Deb Marr Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Indiana University South Bend, explore this question. Urban landscapes are more than backdrops — they reflect our history, knowledge, and affect the health of our communities in fundamental ways. The city of South Bend is working to nearly double our urban tree canopy coverage. In this talk we will explore ways that soil ecology and increasing tree canopy coverage can improve human health, as well as address the complex problems of climate change and loss of biodiversity. Deb will share some early data that we have on ways that soil ecology is affected by landscaping practices, and connections between landscape and carbon emissions.
MoreMeet the Faculty: Deb Marr
Deb Marr Ph.D., is an associate professor of biology at Indiana University South Bend. She received her Ph.D. in evolution and plant sciences from Indiana University – Bloomington in 1997, and did her postdoctoral work at Vanderbilt University. She joined the biology faculty at IU-South Bend in 2000. Professor Marr does research in the areas of disease ecology, restoration ecology, and plant reproductive ecology and evolution. She is currently serving as a plant ecology associate editor for the American Midland Naturalist journal.
Professor Marr teaches courses in Introductory biology, ecology, field biology, environmental biology, and has taught a master of liberal science seminar on food, science, and society. She has received recognition for her teaching including a Trustees Teaching Award, and she is a member of FACET (Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching). She has been an active member of the IU-South Bend Recycling Committee since 2001, served as chair of the sustainability campus committee in 2006-07, and was a co-coordinator with Scott Sernau for the Sustainable Communities Campus Theme in 2007-08. She serves as the advisor for the Environmental Justice League Club (EJL) and is coordinating the Hoosier Riverwatch program with EJL to monitor water quality of the St. Joseph River that runs through the IU South Bend campus.