There is a sense of urgency to understand the complex interactions of human organization and activity with the environment, and to educate people to make wiser choices about the natural environment. The student will learn skills in the areas of data collection, the construction of social and biological indicators, statistical data analysis, and will have the experience of doing research at the intersection of several disciplines. We will work in partnership with neighborhood associations to conduct fieldwork in the South Central Phoenix and report our results to them. Among the specific skills the student will acquire or sharpen are survey design, focus group administration, interviewing, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and presentation of research results. Perhaps more importantly, the student will learn something about collaborative, interdisciplinary research and about conducting research in collaboration with community groups.
Cave Creek is the only unimpounded, perennial stream in the central Arizona-Phoenix study area.
With its headwaters in low desert mountains in National Forest, it runs through the towns of Cave Creek and Carefree, communities with relatively low-density, large lot housing, before its waters infiltrate the coarse alluvium of the stream bed north of Phoenix. Residents have organized a land trust and purchased riparian property for the purpose of protecting the stream and riparian zone from further development. Two pieces of these preserve lands are separated by a private golf course and wastewater discharge from one of the towns, creating an excellent opportunity for upstream-downstream comparison. The project will give the REU student an opportunity to learn standard methods of water, algae, and sediment sampling, water analysis, and basic standing crop measurements.