2024-25 Earth Scholars and Environmental and Climate Justice Scholars
CMSI Affiliates Liyu Mekonnen and Elisabeth Sellinger are among the 10 chosen scholars
Earth Scholars are graduate students who advance progress on the Institute’s pillars and initiatives, and Environmental and Climate Justice Scholars engage in work that clearly contributes to environmental justice, including the resolution of environmental inequalities or the improvement of environmental health.
Read more on environment.ucdavis.edu
About the Scholars:
Liyu Mekonnen
Earth Scholar
Liyu, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, undertakes research to elucidate the true carbon capture potential of seagrass beds globally and promote the future conservation of these critical marine ecosystems. Seagrass increases ocean alkalinity and naturally contributes to the storage of carbon, sustaining a rich local biodiversity and flood and erosion protection all while reducing the harmful impacts of ocean acidification.
Elisabeth Sellinger
Environmental and Climate Justice Scholar
Elisabeth is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Sellinger will create a bilingual educational video about seagrass ecosystems. She’ll explore carbon sequestration in seagrass meadows before and after restoration. The video will help bridge knowledge gaps and promote conservation awareness among diverse communities.