UGA Natural Infrastructure Graduate Fellowship students shine at Ducks Unlimited National Convention

Originally published here by the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems.

This week, Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) Natural Infrastructure Fellows Stevens Charles and Madlyn Carpenter attended the 87th Ducks Unlimited National Convention, where they each stepped onto the main stage to participate in a Q&A session during the Business Session on Saturday, as well as giving research presentations to the Conservation Programs Committee on Thursday.

Their participation in the convention represented the culmination of their efforts as graduate students in the Natural Infrastructure Graduate Fellowship, a program through a collaboration between the University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems and Ducks Unlimited (DU). The program is intended to give students experience conducting both practice-oriented and basic research on NI methods and engineering guidance, tool development, cost and economic analysis, monitoring and adaptive management, and social dimensions of climate resilient infrastructure with an emphasis on integration of natural and conventional systems.

While at the convention, students had the opportunity to make connections with Ducks Unlimited staff, volunteers, and their many conservation partners.

Fellowship organizer, Will Mattison, spoke to the success of the convention. “Overall, I believe that the National Convention was a highlight moment and opportunity for the Fellowship to display the innovative research that our Fellows are engaged in to DU staff, volunteers, and members. The Fellowship is an example of the shared goals and objectives between Ducks Unlimited, IRIS, and UGA. The students’ presentations and main stage session fit the common theme of the conference centered around how DU has been, and will continue to be, on the forefront of natural infrastructure and nature-based solutions in order to conserve North America’s wetlands by ‘working with nature.’”

We’d like to extend thanks to our wonderful graduate students, organizers and Ducks Unlimited staff who all made the University of Georgia’s participation in the convention such a success!