Education and Outreach

students work in garden

The Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship is committed to educating our students and community—cultivating opportunities for students and faculty to learn and engage with the world

The Center fosters the education and development of undergraduate and graduate students as scientists, training them to effectively disseminate their findings. CBEST provides a public platform for the local Villanova community and beyond to engage in educational opportunities and understand the influence of human activities on the Earth’s biodiversity and ecosystems locally, regionally and globally. Through research and community interactions, CBEST explores solutions that can enhance human stewardship of the richness of life on Earth.

Local Biodiversity

Biodiversity is not just for forests and oceans and wild places. We all need to pay attention to what is right in our backyard. We've held talks and forums focused on everything from Carbon seqestration to bats and more. All talks have been added to our video channel.

Emma Witanowski (GEV, 2024) also recently presented her senior project, under the guidance of Jen Santori, exploring options for Oakwell development. Emma's presentation beautifully explores the history, importance, and potential futures of this beautiful property. We supported the preservation of this important neighboring green space, and we continue to document, with student involvement, the benefits of having linked natural spaces.

7 species of native plants for garden

Other recent activities to highlight native biodiversity have included BioBlitz events on campus and at Oakwell, a property adjacent to Villanova. Students and community are invited to participate in future Blitzes that we'll be hosting. 

Our pollinator gardens on campus are thriving and we also promote native plants in home gardens by growing PA natives to go along with some veggie and herb offerings every spring. More Info.

And coming right up:  catch our panel discussion and reception "Local Roots: Partnerships for Success"

Community Partnerships

We are committed to working with and learning from research entities, land managers and stewards, teachers, and other members of the communities both near Villanova and local to our far-flung research sites. Some of our partnerships include:

  • Land managers in Florida
  • Local Pennsylvania elementary schools
  • Environmental education centers in Florida, Maryland, and Massachusetts
  • Radnor Conservancy
  • Chanticleer Garden
  • Natural Lands
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS