Geology & Environmental Science

Taught in 2019 and 2021, “Urban Ecology & Sustainable Food Systems” is a week-long course for incoming first-year students invited to the Pitt Provost Academy Focusing the curriculum on the native pawpaw (a fruit important to Native Americans, European colonists, and African Americans), Dr. Patrick Shirey starts the week by serving the students homemade pawpaw dessert to generate excitement. At the end of their experience, students effectively recall and present what they learned from immersion in active service.

As part of the curriculum, students are introduced to the Pittsburgh community, including:

• Working with nonprofit Grow Pittsburgh to help set up a farm stand near food desert neighborhoods (2019),

• Installing deer fence around native plants in Frick Park with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (2019),

• Removing invasive vines with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy in Schenley Park (2021) and Emerald View Park (2022), and

• Working with Pitt Grounds to plant pawpaw tree seedlings on the Pittsburgh Campus on the School of Public Health Fifth Avenue lawn (2019) and Vera Street (2021 & 2022)

To connect students to the Pitt campus and their futures, this learning experience asks the students to envision harvesting the fruit of these trees at their 5-year Homecoming post-graduation. The first trees planted in 2019 flowered this year, meaning fruit will be produced soon.

In 2023 and beyond, the course will help recruit undeclared first-year students to Sustainability programs and student clubs.

First offered in Fall 2022, the new “Environmental Justice” course was the result of a Sustainability class project by 4 undergraduate students (Dahlia Edwards, Xavier Johnson, Hope Matyas, and Debra Scott) Dr. Patrick Shirey teaches this course, which will become a core, required course for the B.A. in Environmental Studies once the program has been rebranded. In addition to classroom discussions, students visit the community to learn about ongoing efforts to address environmental injustices, including Tree Pittsburgh’s efforts to improve tree canopy to cool and beautify neighborhoods, Braddock Farms’ work to provide its community with over 28,000 pounds of fresh produce from less than an acre of land, and Zinna Scott’s efforts to improve stormwater management near the Wilkinsburg bus station.

In addition to field trips and class discussions, students wrote a proposal for the University of Pittsburgh to re-envision the Centre Avenue hillside below the Sports Dome to create a more visually pleasing space adjacent to the Sugar Hill section of the Hill District. At present, the hillside has tons of invasive Tree of Heaven and Giant Knotweed, which both outcompete native plants. Students proposed a terraced hillside with native species, including fruit-producing plants like paw paw and black raspberry for the campus and neighboring community.