Students Abigail Matheny and Chander Payne Discuss Wildfires, Farming at Log Lunch

Pictured, from left to right: Log Lunch speakers Abigail Matheny ’22, Chander Payne ’24 stand in front of the camera for a photo.

Williams College students Abigail “Abby” Matheny ‘22 and Chander Payne ‘24 presented their summer 2021 projects to the Log Lunch audience on October 15, both of which were funded by the CES Summer Grant program. While Abby focused on her lab research in the northern Rocky Mountains, Chander discussed his work and vision as the director of a community-oriented farming non-profit.

Abby Matheny ‘22: “The Big Burn”

Pictured: Abby Matheny ’22 speaks to the audience.

Abby described her experience working on the National Science Foundation-funded Big Burns Project at the Paleoecology and Fire Ecology Lab at the University of Montana. Abby’s internship role involved collecting and analyzing charcoal data to better understand the local history of wildfires in the northern Rocky Mountain region over the past 2,500 years. The information gleaned from this research, and other data sets can help scientists draw connections between the current unprecedented fire season and 21st-century climate change. 

“Long-term data allows us to see if recent fire activity is truly exceeding the range of variability that has shaped this ecosystem for the past millennia,” Abby explained. To get this long-term data, she analyzed charcoal samples from Hoodoo Lake, one of 13 bodies of water researched by the lab. Charcoal is used as a proxy for wildfires since it is created by the incomplete combustion of organic matter such as wood. Its presence and abundance in sediment are evidence of nearby fire activity.

Abby obtained sediment from Hoodoo Lake through “coring,” or drilling a tube into the bottom of a lake to preserve the layers and sequence of the deposit. The core was split up into subsamples, soaked in a bleach solution, and passed through sieves to separate acceptable charcoal fragments for analysis. After calculating the general trend of charcoal accumulation in the samples through time and adjusting for variability, Abby interpreted the findings as indicating 21 individual fire events immediately close to Lake Hoodoo in the last 2,500 years, with a mean fire event every 106 years.

While Abby’s data alone could not determine whether today’s fire activity results from climate change, her reconstruction of local fire history adds to an essential body of knowledge and research as scientists continue to search for the link between climate change and current wildfires.

Chander Payne ‘24: “Connecting Urban Communities with their Soil, for the Healing of Both”

Pictured: Chander Payne ’24 speaks to the audience.

Following Abby’s talk, sophomore Chander Payne talked about his work for Urban Beet, a (501)c non-profit organization he founded before enrolling at Williams. Urban Beet, run by a team of college students with Chander at the head, builds regenerative farms at homeless shelters and unserved schools across the country to “empower people experiencing homelessness to grow their own food in harmony with nature.” CES funding allowed Chander the opportunity to fully dedicate his time and attention to Urban Beet during the summer.

Chander recounted the history of Urban Beet, which started when he was a sophomore in high school. Appalled by the lack of fresh food options at his school for students on free and reduced lunch, as well as the abundance of food insecurity and food deserts in his hometown of Washington, D.C., Chander began planting fruits and vegetables on school grounds to provide healthier food options for his classmates. With community and student support, the garden was eventually able to provide over 20 pounds of fresh produce a week to local food pantries and homeless shelters. 

By 2020, Urban Beet had expanded to other schools and built small urban farms on the premises, with over 200 students involved. While the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic proved a challenge given that most of the gardens were located inside barred school courtyards, Chander and the Urban Beet team switched to delivering mini-farm kits to individuals in homeless shelters during the lockdown.

“Our farm was collecting people and the planet, and healing them both,” Chander said, describing the ability of community farming to connect people, especially youth, to their food and the Earth. In the summer, Chander used his CES funding to travel across the country, build four full-sized Urban Beet farms, hire farm managers, connect with local community organizations, and work with business sponsors and grassroots donors. He hopes to expand the Urban Beet movement and continue providing farming opportunities to foster community well-being.

The lunch entree served this week was roasted acorn squash and apple soup served alongside a parmesan roasted potato and butternut squash medley with a side of rosemary sage garlic beer bread. The dessert was pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Fresh fruit and vegetable ingredients, as well as aromatics, were sourced from Peace Valley Farm, a local farmer, and a resident’s apple tree.

Each year, CES offers funding to support summer endeavors, including scholarly research, career-related internships, and creative projects. Any student can apply so long as the proposal demonstrates an environmental component. Learn more at https://ces.williams.edu/summer-opportunities/

BY SABRINE BRISMEUR ‘22.5

Log Lunch is a CES program hosted every Friday at noon. During Log Lunch, a vegetarian meal prepared by Williams students is served, followed by a talk on an environmental topic. Speakers are drawn from both the student body and faculty of Williams, as well as from local, national, and international organizations. Learn more here.