Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships Projects: 2006-07

The following eight projects were awarded for 2006-2007.

BioSand Water Filter Project in Rural Uganda
Students: Kelli Trulzynski, Blair Lindsey Means, Kristie Lucas, Robyn Nusser & Christina Parpart; Faculty Mentor: John Ferrick, Associate Director, International Programs, College of Agricultural & life Sciences; Community Partner: Makerere University Institute of Public Health, Uganda; Fall 2006-Spring 2007
This project is designed to improve the quality of drinking water and, therefore, the overall health of rural Ugandans residing in the Lyantonde and Nyakasashara subcounties through the construction of 70 BioSand Water Filters. The students will be responsible for facilitating the purchase and delivery of construction materials, the assembly of each water filter and developing educational materials for the local population on how to use and maintain the filters.

The Community Wellness Project: Addressing Determinants of Health in the Allied Drive Neighborhood
Students: Kirsten Austad, Saurabh Saluja & Sean Spencer; Faculty Mentors: Sharon Younkin, Director, Community Service Programs, School of Medicine and Public Health & Byron Crouse, Associate Dean for Rural and Community Health, School of Medicine and Public Health; Community Partner: Allied, Belmar, Dunn’s Marsh Wellness Center; Fall 2006-Spring 2007
Students will address three specific determinants of wellbeing for residents of the Allied Drive Neighborhood, an under-resourced area on Madison’s far west side: dental health, physical fitness and conflict resolution skills. They will then undertake a comprehensive evaluation of their efforts and recommend future initiatives. Additionally, they will promote awareness of the newly created Allied Wellness Center to neighborhood residents.

The Effect of Cooperative Regulatory Programs on the Environmental Performance of Participating Firms: an Empirical and Statistical Study of Wisconsin’s Environmental Cooperation Pilot Program and Green Tier Law
Student: Claus Moberg; Faculty Mentor: John Witte, Department of Political Science; Community Partner: Department of Natural Resources: Bureau of Cooperative Environmental Assistance (DNR-CEA); Summer 2006
This study will examine the efficacy of two of Wisconsin’s recent environmental policy initiatives: The Environmental Cooperation Pilot Program and the Green Tier Law. Both laws attempt to provide incentives for members of the state’s industrial community to improve their environmental performance beyond levels required by traditional environmental regulations. The project is comprised of two parts: a statistical analysis of the environmental performance of firms participating in both programs and an empirical survey of both programs’ stakeholder participants. The results will provide the DNR-CEA with much needed information to better enhance the efficiency and success of both initiatives.

From Memory to Hope: a Film on One Guatemalan Community’s Struggle for Justice and Fair Trade
Student: Elizabeth Geglia; Faculty Mentor: Florencia Mallon, Department of History; Community Partner: Just Coffee; Summer-Fall 2006
This project revolves around the creation of 1) a community mural documenting the community of Santa Anita’s often traumatic history and 2) an ethnographic documentary, telling the story of that community’s efforts to form and operate a worker-run coffee cooperative that sells only to fair trade roasters. The film will provide important documentation of the cooperative’s development, history and purpose and will be used to help solicit business with fair trade partners in the U.S.

Muir Woods Outdoor Mentors: Involving Children and the Community in the Outdoor World
Students: Amy Crawford Blitzer, Mary Blitzer, Jacob Cychosz & David Francis; Faculty Mentor: Margaret Nellis, Lecturer; Department of Counseling Psychology; Community Partner: Midvale-Lincoln Elementary School; Fall 2006-Spring 2007
This UW-Madison student initiated after school program will 1) provide elementary school aged children of culturally diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds with an opportunity to learn about the natural world and foster an increased awareness of higher education and 2) provide them with opportunities to give back to their community by involving them in pragmatic conservationism and empowering them to realize they have the power to make a difference.

Promoting Preparedness for At-Risk Children in the Madison Area
Student: Kathryn Lease: Faculty Mentor: Eric Carter, Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education; Community Partner: Dane County Parent Council; Fall 2006-Spring 2007
This research project is designed to enhance the educational services for at-risk children in Madison area Head Start programs for the transition to kindergarten. The research will focus on identifying and targeting essential and expected competencies of children by kindergarten programs in the Madison Metropolitan School District and will incorporate a pre-evaluation and an analysis of data based on location (rural vs urban), behavioral challenges, varying instructors and ethnic variables. Based on the data produced, an enhancement of curriculum will be proposed to the Head Start programs. Finally, a post-evaluation will be administered and analyzed to assess the effectiveness of the proposed curriculum enhancements.

Wisconsin Atlas of Health Care Providers
Student: Evangeline McGlynn; Faculty Mentor: Mark Harrower, Department of Geography: Community Partner: State Division of Public Health: Bureau of Health Information and Policy; Summer-Fall 2006
In order to develop tools to better evaluate the efficacy of Wisconsin’s health care system, an atlas of the State’s medical care providers (hospitals, clinics and physicians in demographic context) will be created along with datasets to encourage and support further analysis. The atlas, composed using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology, will graphically juxtapose the demographic differences and provider inventories between regional populations within Wisconsin for better informed examination, understanding and decision-making. Publication of the atlas will provide an efficient and easily understood reference for university and government personnel, healthcare professionals and the general public.

Women of the Scarred Earth Project
Students: Katrina Flores, Nicole Soulier & Hannah Buck; Faculty Mentors: Peggy Choy, Dance Program, School of Education and Jane Collins, Department of Women’s Studies;  Community Partner: Bayview Neighborhood Center; Fall 2006-Spring 2007
This project will tell the stories of our women ancestors through dance and the spoken word and will be performed throughout Wisconsin. The focus of the performances is women’s survival strategies in a world disrupted by war, disasters and environmental damage. The students will use the performing arts to teach about environmental and social justice and empowerment. The project provides a two-tiered structure for mentoring: professional artists to university student performers and university student performers to high school students and their wider communities, allowing all participants to find their own voices and grow artistically, intellectually and culturally.