Cultivating Biodiversity at the Albert Dorman Honors College
For the fourth year in a row, a fresh crop of scholars at the Albert Dorman Honors College are nudging the campus towards a more biodiverse environment. Dozens of first-year scholars, armed with shovels, hoes, and mulch, uprooted a swath of landscaped invasive plant species on the sloped lawn outside Eberhardt Hall and replaced them with a diverse array of native plants.
"Biodiversity is important because it increases the longevity of all species. A lot of species are going extinct due to human expansion." - Ahmad Mokhemar
The students got their hands dirty for the laborious two-day project, part of a service requirement for first-year scholars at the honors college.
“Biodiversity is important because it increases the longevity of all species. A lot of species are going extinct due to human expansion,” said Ahmad Mokhemar, a first-year biology major. “This diversifies chemical interactions. It builds virus resistance, not to mention it’s aesthetically pleasing.”
As part of the Honors College Strategic Plan 2025 commitment to sustainability, every year’s service requirement project is selected from biodiversity planting proposals submitted by the previous class of first-year scholars and developed in the honors first-year seminar classes. Students research, plan, and budget the project to propose to the school administration. Next year’s project will involve planting containers on the campus center roof.
“As a public university, we have a responsibility to use our space and resources for education and the public good,” said Maria Stanko, senior university lecturer of biology sciences, and Honors Faculty Fellow. “These projects showcase the benefits of native plants while educating people about where our food comes from. It shows us a future for what our cities could look like.”
Stanko is hoping for a more biodiverse campus. Students in her “Food for a Hot Planet” course are working on a proposal to create an urban forest outside Laurel Hall that would plant various edible native species such as nut trees, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, elderberries, service berries, paupau, and persimmons.
This ethos extends beyond biology. Danielle Grunwald, a first-year data science major, is interested in researching urban sustainability through a data and statistics lens.
“You can utilize data and statistics to find out what is sustainable by surveying residents, surveying the land to find out what kind of plants are needed and where,” said Grunwald. “It’s simple projects like this that help Newark be greener and healthier.”
