Anna is the graphic designer for the Sustainability Office and constantly volunteers at different events. Here she is going through cardboard at BYU Physical Facilities, looking for trash and bottles that don't belong with the cardboard, which will then be shipped to a recycling facility. Everyday stewards are willing to get their hands dirty and to tackle hard things like this cardboard mountain. They are always willing to help out even if it means fighting off wasps while standing on top of a mountain of cardboard.
By Ashley Pun Eveson. A Senior studying Journalism.
Tags: Cardboard, recycling, mountain
Because of the fires surrounding Yosemite, the valley is flooded with smoke. A geology student stands at the tunnel view outlook at sunrise as El Capitan, one of the only visible features of the entire valley, looms in the East. Protecting people and places from wildfires remains a high priority in places like California.
By Joseph Larsen. A Sophomore studying Advertising.
Tags: Yosemite, El Capitan, wildfire, smoke
The wheat field has a variable rate irrigation pivot that waters different parts of the field at different rates. This allows the farmer to save thousands of gallons of valuable water. We were out removing soil moisture sensors on this day, these are used as a gauge to how much water to irrigate the field with.
By Keegan Hammond. A Graduate studying Environmental Science and Sustainability.
Tags: farming, water management, stewards, wheat
This frog sits under my porch lights at night, eating all of the bugs that attracted to the dim glow. Amphibians have permeable skin that makes them very sensitive. Around the world, many amphibians are endangered or threatened due to habitat loss, disease, and pollution. By protecting natural areas, we can help ensure the survival of these precious species.
By Dallin Johnson. A Senior studying Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation.
Tags: frog, amphibian, wildlife, nature, conservation
This little desert tortoise was found on our Herpetology class field trip this year. It was very young and hopefully has a long life ahead of it. But these tortoises are endangered and this little guy and others like him may only have that long life if we do our part as stewards of the environment we are blessed to live in.
By Jonah Smith. A Senior studying Biology.
Tags: tortoise, Utah, wildlife, conservation
The first step in becoming an everyday steward is to reflect about your surroundings. If we don't pay attention to what's around us, we won't appreciate nature or feel any desire to preserve it. Being an everyday steward means that we are aware of the needs of people and the environment around us. This photo shows a reflection and a close study of Salt Lake.
By Eloise Christensen. A Senior studying Environmental science.
Tags: Reflection, water, study
Photo was taken from a drone 400 feet in the air. This is at our research site in Rexburg, Idaho. We are using the drone to help delineate the alfalfa field into variable rate irrigation management zones. Different parts of the field require different needs of water. This is a way to save thousands of gallons of water each year by watering more responsibly.
By Keegan Hammond. A Graduate studying Environmental Science and Sustainability.
Tags: Drones, Agriculture, Variable Rate Irrigation, Pivot
On a Saturday morning, the BYU Sustainability Office and over 30 other students helped with the Thousand Tree Initiative and dug holes to plant trees in Provo. Many students could have chosen to sleep in or to hang out with friends, but students across different majors came together to make a difference in their local community. They demonstrate what it means to be an everyday steward, giving up some of their time and talents to help out their local community when they could choose to do something else with their time.
By Ashley Pun Eveson. A Senior studying Journalism.
Tags: Tree, Planting, Green Week, Thousand Trees
This is Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall) in Iceland. This beautiful landmark was destined for destruction by some businessman who made plans to build a dam to make use of the water’s enormous potential to generate power. A woman named Sigriður Tómasdóttir protested this course of action because of her great love for the area. She went so far as to put her life on the line, claiming that if the construction of the dam went forward, she would lose her life in the waters. Plans for the dam were eventually canceled and the waterfall was saved. This woman is known as one of the first environmentalists in Iceland. From the correct angle, you can see a formation that looks like a woman wearing a hat. This picture if taken from that angle, and I see this as nature remembering those that save it.
By Levi Ward. A Senior studying Psychology.
Tags: Environmentalist, Gullfoss, preservation, remember, gratitude.
To be "stewards of the land" is to know and understand what is happening around us. The word "sustainability" is significant in the realm of glaciers. With current melting rates and current climate trends, you and I may outlive many of these magnificent ecosystems. The loss of each glacier in a community is comparable to the loss of a friend or a guardian.
In the Andes mountains of Southern Peru thanks is given to the "Nevado Coropuna" and reverence to the "Pacha Mama" (Mother Earth) as they are the source of life and bounty. As the "Nevado Coropuna" glacier shrinks, the sense of loss grows in the communities of guides, villagers, and farmers who live in the shadow of "El Nevado Coropuna".
By Alexis Smith. A Graduate studying Geology .
Tags: Glacier, Southern Peru, Research, Water Sustainability
The more we learn about the environment, the better equipped we are to exercise a righteous stewardship. Here students visit the Great Salt Lake to study its unique and threatened habitat.
By Shannon Lambson. A Junior studying Environmental Science .
Tags: Research, science, environment, Great Salt Lake
Taken after a rainstorm, this picture derives its name from a line in the children's song “When I Am Baptized” that reads “And ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again/ I want my life to be as clean as Earth right after rain”.
Not only is this a beautiful depiction of how beautiful God’s Earth is after rain, it is a tribute to the Fine Arts Center that is currently underway to be demolished and reconstructed, or being made clean again.
This picture also signifies many organizations who are stewards to the environmental mission on keeping campus beautiful and clean, such as the grounds people who maintain the bountiful flowers and the professionals that have help run the Fine Arts Center. Much like the HFAC is being made more whole with renovations, so too is BYU devoted to creating a community dedicated to being made more whole.
It is a beautiful process that we are able to witness as we see the Earth be made clean again through rain and renovations.
By Alex Sorensen. A Freshman studying Graphic design.
Tags: Clean, Earth, Beauty
I believe that the first scientists were the observers, the ones who stopped to understand what was happening in the world around them. We can all be everyday scientists as we observe the world around us.
By: Kalai Ellis, a Graduate studying Biology.
Referencing a line from H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, the title of this work invites viewers to engage with discomfort in nature. The dramatic lighting and macro focus of the photo reveal the alien-like features of a discarded tree seed pod.
By: Morgan Meik, a Junior studying Communications: Advertising Emphasis.
A classmate beckoned to me from up on a hill on our Herpetology field trip. He had stumbled across a unique resident of the desert: Gopherus agassizii, the only native chelonian of Utah. The desert tortoise is endangered and protected due to habitat encroachment. A significant encounter, indeed!
By: Jacob Spencer, a Senior studying Biodiversity & Conservation.
The world is big. Sometimes it's hard to do anything but skim with our eyes, trying to take in as much as we can. Science makes us slow down, take a closer look and ask questions. What is under this rock and what can it tell me about myself?
By: Sadie Miller, a Sophomore studying Geology.
As you hike, look around and see if you can explain how certain things came to be. This rocky area is completely devoid of trees because of the underlying process that makes it unsuitable for plant growth.
By: Kalai Ellis, a Graduate studying Biology.
While out spending time in nature, I came upon this glorious plant. It has some amazing adaptations to allow it to live in a high salinity soil. It’s truly gorgeous. But to the regular world, it’s just a noxious weed.
By: Joshua Isaksen, a Junior studying Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation.
I am the teacher's assistant for the herpetology class at BYU. My primary mission as a TA is to promote a desire for wildlife conservation by helping the students develop a love for the animals around them. This red-spotted toad was caught on a class field trip, and embodies that ideal.
By: Spencer Livermore, a Senior studying Biodiversity and Conservation.
It has been amazing to watch the way social media has shifted how we enjoy nature. Everyday occasions turn into daily photoshoots. Hikes turn into posts and views turn into feeds. For better or for worse, social media has shifted how we interact with not just others, but nature as well.
By: John Thatcher, a Freshman studying Undecided.
At an elevation of 12000 feet, this area of the Tushar mountain range, which was formed by volcanic activity, provides unparalleled views of ecological phenomenon and the geology of the area.
By: Kalai Ellis, a Graduate studying Biology.
In order to invent new ideas scientists must be bold enough to create them. Combining two elements may be simple, but finding a curious mind willing to initiate the process is the true scientist.
By: Reina Jones, a Freshman studying Pre Communication .
Holding 200 years of frozen time in my hands. Think of all the historical events this chunk of glacier has lived through? Sadly it is all about to melt.
As a kid, I imagined science was fast and sleek. Scientists were confident and unfazed heroes that solved world problems in a matter of hours. I've had a lot of experience since then. Good scientists are like this snail; unhurried, focused, and able to move around or through obstacles.
I rely on food science when I preserve food through canning. Food science helps me know how to preserve safely.