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Pollinator-themed designs are now being accepted for a new Colorado license plate honoring bees. Pollinators are necessary for many crops and sustain many of the wildflowers and flowering trees and shrubs on Colorado’s wildlands, says Louise Chawla, CEDaR fellow and professor emerita in the Program in Environmental Design. Chawla serves on the leadership committee of People and Pollinators Action Network, a statewide group that works for healthy ecosystems and biodiverse habitat for pollinators.
Louise Chawla, environmental psychologist and CEDaR fellow, recently completed a review that brings two bodies of research together: one on connecting children and adolescents with nature, and the second on supporting healthy coping when they realize they are part of a planet in peril. The review shows that when children and adolescents feel connected to nature, they are more likely to report good health and a sense of well-being, more likely to get high scores for creative thinking, and more inclined to show cooperative, helping behaviors. On the flip side, city families stuck indoors during COVID-19 reported mounting stress and deteriorating behavior in their children.
GUB Director Mara Mintzer presented to the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative, which supports schools and districts nationwide to develop outdoor spaces as cost-effective tools for keeping schools open during a pandemic.
"Her words, love of cats and endless memes, brings humor and light to the studio space."
Doctoral student Stefi Mitova successfully defended her dissertation, “Integrating Electric Vehicles and Solar Photovoltaics into Smart Cities with Smart Charging and Storage: Energy, Economic, and Environmental Impact Analysis Using Systems Engineering Methods.”
In a university-city partnership organized by CEDaR, the Longmont Downtown Development Authority plans to use designs created by CU Boulder ENVD students to help transform St. Stephen's Plaza on Main Street from a little-used space to a creative hub and gathering place.
CU Boulder's Community Engagement, Design and Research Center (CEDaR) recently unveiled a website providing essential information that supports residents of Colorado mobile/manufactured home (MH) owners, including information useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through a generous commitment from the Colorado Health Foundation, our work with the Colorado Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners (CoCoMHO) is helping renters and owners of manufactured housing in Colorado play an active role in policy discussions regarding protections of Colorado’s more than 900 mobile home parks.
In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, hear Mara Mintzer, director of Growing Up Boulder, speak about the creation of the nation's first "child-friendly city map."
More than 175 participants attended our 2019 Community Building Colorado-Style Conference, entitled, "Squeezed Out: Challenges of Diversity and Affordability in Colorado Communities," which brought together leaders from neighborhoods, towns, cities and the University of Colorado Boulder. The Oct. 25 conference focused on the challenges that Colorado communities face.