The Natural Resources Planning program at UWSP has a final course called a capstone. This course provides students with an opportunity to develop a planning project that addresses the needs of a “real-world” client. The client and professor work to identify a community, environmental, or natural resource planning problem that they would like students to analyze. Through these partnerships, students develop their skills and professional portfolios by exploring a planning problem in a controlled classroom setting. In addition, students provide a valuable service to the community by assisting the client organization.
Amherst Business Park Development Ideas
The Spring 2022 capstone experience focused on developing ideas for the Amherst Business Park. Students were divided into five teams and tasked with conducting a First Impressions survey of the community, a visioning session to gather community input, and a final open house to share potential developmemt ideas. Each team performed a site analysis, developed goals for the business park, gathered precedent research from peer communities, and developed a conceptual master plan.
CLimate Change Impacts on County Forest Planning in Wisconsin
Michael Mills, Naomi Albert and Casey Olson worked with Dr. Anna Haines to better understand how climate change is influencing planning for county forests. The research included surveying county forest managers to investigate whether climate change adaptation is being incorporated into planning and if so, to what extent. The students presented their research poster at the UW-Stevens Point Jim & Katie Krause College of Natural Resources Student Research Symposium on April 5, 2019 where they received an Honorable Mention for their work.
Utility-Scale Solar Suitability Modeling
Geospatial analysis was conducted to model the capacity of Wisconsin’s landscape to meet the COWS projection. Suitability analysis was conducted to identify areas suitable for UPV development and estimate the implied land conversion.
Pittsville Wisconsin Future Development Ideas
The Spring 2023 senior capstone project involved helping the City of Pittsville answer important questions about the community. To begin answering these questions, we formed two groups and gathered our first impressions of the community. The Downtown and Retail group focused on the diversity of businesses and shopping experiences. Known for being the “Geographic Center of Wisconsin” and its location on the Yellow River, Pittsville has the opportunity to implement new retail amenities to attract visitors downtown. The Recreation, Tourism, Government & Infrastructure group focused on parks, mobility, and visitor experiences.