Lab Projects

We believe the most resilient landscapes are those that communities understand, trust, and help monitor. Every project in our lab is designed to be co-created, scalable, and built to train the next generation of environmental scientists — undergraduate, graduate, and community scientists — in both the technical and human sides of forest ecosystems.

Much of our current work is anchored in the Black Belt region, where we work with historically under-resourced and understudied communities facing significant environmental and economic pressures. We partner with institutions and communities to build research infrastructure that serves the people who live there. Currently, our projects are focused on Tuskegee University's campus, but will be scaled up to city-wide, regional, and farm network scale in the near future.

Aerial drone thermal imagery of a parking lot on TU's campus, showcasing surface temperature differences. Data collected by the lab in summer 2026.

Mapping Urban Heat & Mitigation Measures with Green Infrastructure

This project started as a summer research project led by lab intern Christian McNeil to map surface temperature and canopy coverage along campus pedestrian corridors. This project will continue in Fall 2026 -2027 using thermal sensors to map ambient and surface temperatures along pedestrian pathways to identify priority areas for improving green infrastructure for community health. Contact to inquire about current availability for research technician positions on this project.

Evaluating Forest Health

This project focuses on evaluating the health of campus greenspaces and forested areas including tree health and its ability to support campus biodiversity. This project began as a summer project by lab intern Xyonna Carriea and involves surveying using acoustic recorders, binoculars, and trail cameras to monitor campus wildlife and tools to evaluate vegetation. This project will continue during fall 2026 & spring 2027. Contact me to inquire about available research technician positions.

A deer captured on a trail camera by summer intern Xyonna Carreia at the Tuskegee campus forest "Camp Atkins".

Community Based Environmental Monitoring at Local Libraires

This project will launch in Spring/Summer 2027 and partners with Naturally Wild LLC at local libraires to engage community members in environmental monitoring. Students help prepare participatory science kits and assist in leading library workshops to engage communities in monitoring birds, plants, insects, water and air quality.

Stay Tuned..

The work within our lab is rapidly evolving. Please check back periodically for future projects. We have several upcoming projects that range from understanding project engagement, extreme weather impacts, and acoustic monitoring. These projects will range from funded graduate projects to unfunded projects.