New for AEESP 2023: Science & engineering in action!
Tuesday afternoon Outreach Activities and Friday FIELD TRIPS.
Tuesday June 20 – Afternoon Outreach Activities
Take part in a service learning activity with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and Northeastern’s Center for STEM Education in Boston’s 100-year old park system designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The Emerald Necklace extends 1,100 acres from Boston’s Back Bay through Brookline and Jamaica Plain to Franklin Park.
You will be joined in this adventure by K-12 students, teachers, and staff from both of our partner organizations. The event will include a short workshop from Conservancy staff on identifying invasive species throughout the park, then AEESP 2023 participants will perform and assist K-12 students in an invasive species survey & removal in a portion of the park.
Participants will walk from Northeastern campus to the Emerald Necklace (approximately 0.4 miles). Bring clothing appropriate for weather and vegetation! Activity will be approximately 2.5 hours, returning participants to campus in time for the Opening Reception.
Friday June 23 – Field Trips!
Deer Island Tour
Take a tour of one of the largest Water Resource Recovery Facilities in the United States! The Deer Island Facility serves the greater Boston area and includes pure oxygen activated sludge treatment and anaerobic digestion of biosolids. Participants will ride a bus from Northeastern to the facility and should plan to wear appropriate clothing for the tour (close toed shoes, long pants). An additional waiver and background check form is required to attend this tour.
Activity time: approximately 3 hours (Friday morning)
Cost: $30 [to cover cost of bus transport]
Participant cap: 40 people
Options: Add on the Brewery Networking event to make it a POO AND BREW!
Boston's Green Infrastructure Tour
Check out green infrastructure in the City of Boston in this event co-hosted by the New England Water Environment Association’s Young Professionals. This will be a guided walking tour of green infrastructure around Boston, highlighting stormwater mitigation and other measures that are being employed. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.
Activity time: approximately 2 hours (Friday morning)
Cost: No additional cost
Participant cap: 40 people
Options: Add on the Brewery Networking event to make it a SWALE AND ALE!
Wind Technology Testing Center
Visit one of the only wind technology testing centers in the western hemisphere, where some of the largest turbine blades in the world are tested and certified for use in commercial-scale turbines, in Charlestown, MA. In this hour-long visit participants will receive a presentation on the history and purpose of the facility and then take a tour of the testing center floor and watch as blades are subject to a lifetime of stresses and strains in just three months. Participants will ride a bus from Northeastern to the facility and should plan to wear appropriate clothing for the tour (close toed shoes, long pants). A waiver and background check form are required to attend the tour.
Activity time: approximately 2 hours, including transport time (Friday morning)
Cost: $30 [to cover cost of bus transport]
Participant cap: 30 people
East Boston Climate Resilience Project
Join us as we visit East Boston for a walking tour (~2 miles) to see how this ocean-front environmental justice community, threatened by ever stronger storms and sea level rise, is planning to adapt its built environment. The tour will visit one nature-based solution unique to East Boston, and participants will learn about on-going climate-adaptation research being conducted by researchers from UMass Boston. Participants can ride the subway from Northeastern to East Boston (Maverick Station on the Blue Line) and should dress for the weather.
Activity time: approximately 2 hours (Friday morning)
Cost: No additional cost
Participant cap: 20 people
Options: Stay in East Boston for an optional lunch at a local restaurant (not included in cost) or add on the Brewery Networking event!
Air Quality Monitoring and Environmental Justice Tour
Join us, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the community-based organization Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE) for a visit to one of MassDEP Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations and discussion about environmental justice in the Roxbury neighborhood. During this walking tour we will have the opportunity to learn about the MassDEP’s Air Assessment Branch operations and take a look at the equipment on site (parameters monitored are: ozone, NOx, SO2, CO, PM, Black Carbon, Toxics, and Carbonyls) as well as discuss implication of air quality on local community. Participants will walk from Northeastern (about 1.5 miles) to the site and should dress for the weather.
Activity time: approximately 2 hours (Friday morning)
Cost: No additional cost
Participant cap: 20 people
Options: Add on the Brewery Networking event!
Brewery Networking Event
This lunch/networking event is co-hosted by the New England Water Environment Association’s Young Professionals Committee. Join familiar colleagues and meet new faces at a local Boston brewery to close out the week!
Activity time: approximately 2 hours (Friday lunchtime)
Cost: $25 (includes appetizers and one drink token)
