May 3, 2024 | Digital Showcase | Humboldt Library
All Presenters & Abstracts
Look Both Ways: Reflections from a Future Teacher
Presentation Year: 2025
Kaelyn
Trapsi
College Corp
Over the past two years I have had the privilege of working in high school environments with students from all walks of life. to sweeten the deal, they were high schools in two different countries. Through college corps I have been able to work with students at Six Rivers Charter High School for the past two academic years. While helping in classes across many different subjects and electives, I have found ways to connect to students in a way that I appreciated teachers connecting to me when I was in high school. Through an international service learning program to the Philippines, I spent my spring breaks in my ancestral land, not only learning about local history, but also teaching.
Making Sense of Dyspraxic Senses using Exercise, the Effects of Bodyweight Exercises on Proprioception in Individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder
Presentation Year: 2025
Evan
Jackson
School of Applied Health
People with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have poor motor coordination which interferes with daily activities of living. One potential reason for the impairment of motor skills that people with DCD have a decreased sense of proprioception. Proprioception is the sense of where your body is in space and where body parts are in relation to one another. Exercise can increase proprioception. The purpose of this project is to investigate the effects of bodyweight exercise (BWE) in proprioception in people with DCD. BWE have been found to increase proprioception, static and dynamic balance, and motor function.
Male Grouping Behavior in Giant Chacoan peccary
Presentation Year: 2025
Finley
Gralian
Wildlife
A behavioral observation of captive male Chacoan peccaries at Sequoia Park Zoo to identify whether the males group by age, genetic relatedness, or personality.
Map of Low and No-Cost Outdoor Recreation Near Cal Poly Humboldt
Presentation Year: 2025
Teddy
Goyette
School of Applied Health
This project was part of a senior seminar course credit in pursuit of a Recreation Administration degree, and stemmed from a deep devotion and love of outdoor recreation. With a core focus around financial accessiblity and engagement with local outdoor recreation, I wanted to create a visually appealing and readily available map displaying these locations in relativity to the Cal Poly Humboldt campus. All locations allow students, visitors, and community members to engage with nature-based activities without the burden of high costs or extensive travel. This project not only reflects my passion for equitable outdoor access but also represents a personal and professional growth experience.
Measuring Success of Adaptive Management of European Soaring Birds
Presentation Year: 2025
Nick
Salgado-Stanley
Wildlife
While there has been an expansion of investment into renewable energy sources, less research has emerged concerning how to balance the economic benefit and conservation costs of new developments. One of the most economically productive wind developments in Europe rests to the north of the Strait of Gibraltar, in Tarifa, Spain. This is also one of the largest annual migration points for migratory birds traveling between Africa and Europe. Using historical data of bird collisions and employee reports of turbine stops, this study investigates the success of human observers protocol in preventing avian fatalities across a decade of migration seasons.
Modeling Peak Photosynthesis in The Great Smoky Mountains
Presentation Year: 2025
Crystal
Diaz
Environmental Science & Management
This study examines how climate change is affecting plant phenology—the timing of seasonal growth—in the Great Smoky Mountains (GSM), a deciduous forest located between North Carolina and Tennessee. The research focuses on how variations in spring temperature and winter precipitation influence the timing of peak vegetation growth, measured using the Green Chromatic Coordinate (GCC). GCC is a spectral index that tracks the greenness of vegetation from RGB images, indicating leaf development and peak photosynthesis. Using data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the project aims to predict when peak GCC occurs each year.
Moonlights Effect on Mesopredators Use of Trails in the Arcata Community Forest
Presentation Year: 2025
Miranda
Jones
Wildlife
A camera trap study of mesopredator trail use in relation to moonlight in the Arcata Community Forest.
Morning Fuel: How Breakfast Timing and Composition Influence Cognitive Performance and Critical Thinking in College Students
Presentation Year: 2025
Tyler
Ruys
School of Applied Health
This project explores how the timing and nutritional content of breakfast impacts cognitive performance in college students, with a focus on critical thinking and memory. Findings suggest that eating a balanced, protein-rich breakfast within 1–2 hours of waking significantly enhances mental clarity and task performance.
Native Bee Diversity and Floral Host Preferences
Presentation Year: 2025
Annette
Moulay
Environmental Studies
Native bees provide crucial and efficient pollination services (Kremin, 2002). However, habitat fragmentation due to urban sprawl can contribute to native bee biodiversity loss (Hung, 2017). The College of the Canyons Buzz team used native bee diversity as a proxy for biodiversity and conducted research on native bee diversity on both of our college facilities and at nearby locations from April 2022 through July 2024. 213 bees across 5 families and 18 genera were collected from the Valencia campus, and floral hosts were documented. The goal was to attain an initial Shannon’s H diversity Index for the Valencia campus with a plan to enrich the campus habitat to attract more diversity.
Nectar Sweetness Preference in Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte Anna)
Presentation Year: 2025
Jeff
Gartner
Wildlife
An investigation into the foraging preferences in Anna's Hummingbird
Newer version came in - do not print or publish - Curating an Art Gallery “For The Sake of Leisure”
Presentation Year: 2025
Mila
Turner-Morgan
Other
Curating an art gallery to explore the connection between art and leisure. The project was to invite people in the Cal Poly Humboldt community to submit artwork for the exhibition. I designed and organized the artwork that was submitted to the show. The gallery was hosted in the Student Access Gallery located on the Humboldt campus.
Nourishing Communities, One Meal at a Time
Presentation Year: 2025
Petrita
Rodriguez
College Corp
Food banks around the country are working to alleviate hunger and improve food security for low-income families, seniors, and children through distribution programs and nutrition education. This poster explores the vital role that food banks play in our community and examines how federal budget cuts - especially to SNAP and TEFAP - threaten its ability to serve those in need. By highlighting both research and community data, this project underscores the urgent need to support local food systems and advocate for sustainable food assistance programs.
Nourishing Community Health
Presentation Year: 2025
Levit
Cantu
Biological Sciences
Open Door Health Centers is a nonprofit community clinic that provides affordable, accessible healthcare to underserved populations. As a College Corps Fellow, I work with the Member Services department, specifically supporting gardens and food resources. My role focuses on increasing access to fresh, healthy food through community garden initiatives and resource navigation. This experience has allowed me to support food security efforts while gaining insight into the intersection of health, nutrition, and community service.
Novel Tests of Gravity Under 50 Microns
Presentation Year: 2025
Abby
Keltz
Physics & Astronomy
Attempts to unify the Standard Model and General Relativity often include features that violate the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) and/or the gravitational Inverse-Square Law (ISL). A violation would question our understanding of gravity. To further understand this, undergraduate researchers and faculty at Humboldt are experimenting to measure gravitational interactions below 50 microns. The experiment uses a composition dipole torsion pendulum next to an oscillating mass. This creates torque on the pendulum, the magnitude of which may provide evidence for deviations in the WEP or ISL.
Nowhere 2 Go Humboldt
Presentation Year: 2025
Jasmine
Guerra
Social Work
Nowhere 2 Go Humboldt is a multi-media storytelling project which interviews and photographs people who are criminalized and displaced in Humboldt County.
Outdoor Assistantship: Recreation in Practice
Presentation Year: 2025
Hayden
Busby
School of Applied Health
Presentation of time in the Outdoor Assistantship
Plant Traits Vary Across Microhabitats Under Solar Microgrids on Coastal Grasslands
Presentation Year: 2025
Logan
Holey
Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management
The development of photovoltaic systems is increasing with growing demand for clean energy. Plant functional traits can be used to understand what plants are establishing in different microhabitats because traits respond to environmental constraints and fluctuations. We sampled three solar microgrids in coastal grasslands in Humboldt County for plant community composition and leaf traits. We found that plant traits varied by microhabitat indicating that microgrids apply an environmental filter in plant community assembly. Results from this study can be used to inform plant selection for habitat enhancement or restoration.
Plethodontid Salamander Microhabitat Selection
Presentation Year: 2025
Freya
Prissberg
Wildlife
My research is done on Ensatina and California slender salamander microhabitat selection in the Arcata Community Forest. Soil moisture, canopy cover, soil temperature, cover object length/width, foliage cover and salamander length and weight were all recorded. This data was used to determine if Ensatina and California slender salamanders show microhabitat selection for certain soil temperature, soil moisture, canopy cover or foliage cover.
Potawot Community Garden Combating Malnutrition
Presentation Year: 2025
Mariyah
Weldy
Biological Sciences
Research: The provision of organic produce to local community members via the Potawot garden
Potawot Community Garden: Moving Beyond Land Acknowledgements
Presentation Year: 2025
Chrys
Furrer
Other
Potawot Community Garden serves as an exemplary model of the environmental and social health impacts of returning Indigenous land to Indigenous hands. The College Corps program, with Potawot as a community partner, gives student fellows the opportunities to serve in support of Potawot's mission of enhancing Indigenous food sovereignty while mitigating food insecurity, restoring the land, and supporting the cultural healing of Indigenous community members as well as the broader community. This project invites readers to take action through volunteer involvement with organizations such as Potawot, making monetary donations to the Wiyot tribe, and advocating for Indigenous land rematriation.