Ozone Garden to Bring Air Quality Research and Interdisciplinary Learning to Valpo

While this is only Assistant Professor of Meteorology Katelyn Barber’s, Ph.D., second semester at Valpo, she’s already making a massive impact on our campus community, how our students learn beyond the classroom, and ways we can continue taking strides toward a greener campus. Interested in hearing how? Here’s a hint: This intensive research initiative will have a lasting impact on Valpo students and our greater Northwest Indiana community for years to come.

Earlier this year, Professor Barber applied for Valpo to become a member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research’s National Ozone Garden Network – a research program under the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Center for Atmospheric Research. Now, it’s official: Professor Barber expects to break ground on Valpo’s ozone garden by mid-April.

The goal of this garden – along with those present at other institutions across the nation – is to monitor the effects of surface (or tropospheric) ozone. While we often recognize ozone as an integral part of Earth’s upper atmosphere, surface ozone is a serious pollution concern. While both types of ozone consist of the same chemical composition, the stratospheric ozone layer is at least 25 kilometers above the ground and protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays; surface ozone, however, does not serve that purpose and is harmful because it contaminates the air we breathe. When inhaled, surface ozone interacts with lung tissue and can cause respiratory issues and injury with repeated exposure that accumulates over time. A very similar reaction can be found in plant life, especially during key growing seasons.

“There are very fine signals you can see in the health of plants that indicate whether the presence of surface ozone is elevated,” Professor Barber says, explaining why these ozone gardens can be indicative of overall community health. “I’m not a biologist by any means, but – in a way that’s very similar to humans – plants feel different concentrations of ozone and react to it. Just like we can feel it. Ozone is not good for our lungs; it’s not good for our respiratory system. Plants are responding the same exact way. They’ll show signs that they’ve been damaged.”

So, what causes surface ozone? Concentrations of this trace gas are formed through chemical reactions in the atmosphere, primarily when ultraviolet radiation from the sun interacts with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that are released from human activities – such as industry, combustion, and the burning of fossil fuels. While surface ozone concentrations can potentially reach higher levels during colder months, they are most likely to reach unhealthy and even dangerous levels on hot, sunny days in urban environments. This is exactly what Professor Barber – and, soon, Valpo students – will be studying.  “One of my interests is finding out [how] concentrations of surface ozone fluctuate seasonally – like in the summer with road construction, lawn mowers, and things like that,” Professor Barber says. “As the seasons change, we humans do, too. We’re outside more in the summer; we do more things. Now we’ll be able to track Valpo’s ozone levels throughout the season to see just how much [our community is] affected.” With Valpo’s proximity to Chicago, Gary, Indiana’s industrial complex, and a bustling suburban landscape, it seems like Professor Barber’s initiative will gather a bountiful and impactful scope of data. From there, Valpo students will be able to lend their findings to community partners, encourage further investigation into Northwest Indiana’s surface ozone concentrations, and more.

In order to join the National Ozone Network, Professor Barber needed to ensure that an ozone garden would thrive on Valpo’s campus. Once accepted, Valpo was awarded with a $2,000 stipend from the National Ozone Network to remove present materials, put in new top soil, gather gardening tools, build a watering system, purchase seeds, and install a permanent sensor that delivers quantitative data about current surface ozone levels. As a member of this national community, Valpo’s ozone garden must submit weekly visual and data-driven reports detailing findings – an opportunity that will be passed on to Valpo students. “In the beginning, I’ll be pretty involved. But once we know that the sensor is working and we’re seeing plant growth, the students will be the ones who really run it, maintain it, review the data, and make sure that everything is running in the right direction. I’ll be their faculty advisor as they take the lead,” Professor Barber shares. Eventually, the garden will be a resource that all members of Valpo’s community can enjoy and, if they wish, utilize in their personal and professional projects. “What’s awesome about having a permanent sensor in the ozone garden is that the data is openly available to all Valpo students. It can be useful for a lot of classes, like meteorology, biology, chemistry, and engineering, and more,” Professor Barber explains. “It’s basically a free learning site for all of Valpo’s departments.”

Not only does this new campus asset offer vital experiential learning opportunities and academic resources to students looking to gain experience and expand their portfolios, but it also coincides with Valparaiso University’s commitment to encouraging the growth of dedicated servant-leaders. “I think when we assess Valpo overall, we’re growing students who are going to be leaders in our community and serve others in so many different ways,” Professor Barber says. “This project really showcases how a little thing like a garden can be a huge indicator of community health, and how something as simple as that can be used to help entire communities, help our students be leaders in research, and prepare our students for wherever they take their skills after graduation.”

Valpo’s ozone garden will be located in an elevated space between Christoper-Kallay Hall and Schnabel Hall, with its first growing season consisting of coneflowers, milkweed, and snap beans. It will soon be accessible to Valpo’s entire campus.

To learn more about Valpo’s commitment to a brighter, greener future for all, see how sustainability ties into our strategic plan, Uplift Valpo: A Beacon for the Journey Forward, read about this year’s contributions to the Campus Race to Zero Waste program, and discover the possibilities ahead in our Valpo Connect sustainability cohort.