College of the Environment and Life Sciences

College of the Environment and Life Sciences The College of the Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island.

The College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), through its exceptional education, research, and outreach, works to improve the quality of life for all Rhode Island residents and the global community. We serve as a catalyst for stellar interdisciplinary collaboration through the strength of eight academic departments. We lead in the areas of environmental and life sciences, environmental

economics and management, policy, and design, and we dedicate ourselves to helping community members maximize their opportunities for success. Driven by a responsibility to provide access to higher education for our students and the public we uphold our Land Grant and Sea Grant heritage while growing and innovating for the 21st century. Departments Include:
-Biological Sciences
-Cell & Molecular Biology
-Environmental & Natural Resource Economics
-Fisheries, Animal & Veterinary Science
-Geosciences
-Marine Affairs
-Natural Resources Science
-Plant Sciences & Entomology

Who gets a voice in decisions about the ocean?That’s the question URI marine affairs major Delia Fuller has been explori...
09/10/2026

Who gets a voice in decisions about the ocean?

That’s the question URI marine affairs major Delia Fuller has been exploring through the CELS Summer Fellowship Program.

Working with her mentor, Dr. Yosh*taka Ota, Delia has been researching ocean equity—the recognition, meaningful participation, and fair treatment of people in ocean governance. Her work examines how Indigenous peoples, small-scale fishers, coastal communities, and other often-overlooked groups can have their voices meaningfully included in decisions about the ocean.

She’s also laying the groundwork for an Ocean Equity Club at URI, where students can engage with research, documentaries, and conversations about the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of ocean governance.

🔗 Read more: https://web.uri.edu/cels/news/delia-fuller-qa/

Happy ! Meet another member of the Cooperative Extension team... !! 🍼The faces behind Extension programs, trainings, y...
09/10/2026

Happy ! Meet another member of the Cooperative Extension team... !! 🍼

The faces behind Extension programs, trainings, youth and professional development, outreach, research, and more were once babies too.

Dr. Cox also helps to run the Salt Pond Smart program, a new and innovative program to educate, support and recognize homeowners’ efforts to protect and improve water quality in RI Coastal Salt Ponds. Enrollment for our next group of participants is open through September 15, 2026. Learn more: uri.edu/saltpondsmart 📍


Happy

Registration is open for URI Cooperative Extension’s Invasive Plant Management Trainings!We are now offering four differ...
09/10/2026

Registration is open for URI Cooperative Extension’s Invasive Plant Management Trainings!

We are now offering four different modules for folks interested in building their knowledge of invasive plants, climate impacts, management strategies, plant identification, site assessment and Rhode Island coastal regulations through a mix of online, classroom and field-based learning. Choose the training modules that fit your interests — or complete the required modules to earn certification as a Certified Rhode Island Invasive Manager.

📍Learn more and register: uri.edu/coopext/programs/land/ipmcp

Two of our conservation efforts in CELS might seem contradictory: helping conserve the imperiled New England cottontail ...
09/10/2026

Two of our conservation efforts in CELS might seem contradictory: helping conserve the imperiled New England cottontail — the region's only native rabbit — while also helping the local bobcat population thrive. Counterproductive? Not really!

Both are about the same goal: protecting Rhode Island's biodiversity.

A healthy ecosystem needs both predators and prey. While predation on New England cottontails will happen, that's expected — and cottontails are well-adapted to avoid it. That's one reason they favor young, dense forest: it can be tough for terrestrial predators to move through and provides cover from aerial predators, too.

And knowing where bobcats are active across the state gives researchers valuable information when choosing cottontail release sites and assessing the ecological pressures cottontails may face.

This is what conservation looks like: protecting individual species while supporting a healthy, diverse ecosystem.

Seen a bobcat in Rhode Island? We want to know! Help us track them at uri.edu/bobcatsurvey.

Help shape the next generation of agriculture, energy, and environmental professionals!URI Cooperative Extension is seek...
09/09/2026

Help shape the next generation of agriculture, energy, and environmental professionals!

URI Cooperative Extension is seeking mentors, sponsors, and educational partners to work with students through our Agriculture & Food Systems, Energy, and Environmental Management Fellows programs.

From providing real-world project experience and site visits to hosting students or sponsoring professional development, there are many ways organizations can help Fellows connect their classroom knowledge to meaningful work in the field.

Interested in becoming a mentor or partner? Expressions of interest are welcome through September 18.

🌱Learn more about how you can get involved: https://web.uri.edu/coopext/news/

09/09/2026

Happy first day of classes, Rams! Looks like this bobcat was ready to get the semester started, too. 🐾📚

Devinn Grivno spotted this one in front of Wiley Hall on URI’s Kingston Campus and submitted the sighting to the Rhode Island Bobcat Project. Led by URI researchers, the project uses GPS technology and community science to better understand Rhode Island’s bobcat population.

Their presence on the landscape is a positive sign for Rhode Island’s biodiversity, and the community’s involvement in reporting bobcat sightings provides valuable data for researchers.

So far, folks have submitted more than 1,800 bobcat sightings! Have you spotted one? Report your sighting at uri.edu/bobcatsurvey.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Bobcat Project: connectivityandconservation.com/bobcat-project

Most people spend the summer trying to avoid ticks. URI students Leith Harrison and Kaley Sussmann spent theirs looking ...
09/09/2026

Most people spend the summer trying to avoid ticks. URI students Leith Harrison and Kaley Sussmann spent theirs looking for them.

As part of the CELS Summer Research Fellowship, they surveyed 30 sites across Rhode Island to learn where species like American dog ticks and Lone Star ticks occur. Their data will help researchers map tick hotspots and habitat preferences—and better understand how tick populations may be shifting over time.

Why does that matter? Knowing where ticks are found can help researchers and public health professionals better understand the risk of tick-borne diseases and give people the information they need to enjoy Rhode Island’s outdoors safely.

“The goal isn't to scare people away from nature,” Sussmann says, “but rather to give them the information to enjoy nature safely.”

🕷️🌿🔗 Read more: https://web.uri.edu/cels/news/uri-students-help-build-statewide-atlas-of-tick-species/

URI's Dr. Soni Pradhanang grew up near the region hit by the recent glacier collapse and flooding in Nepal.As a hydrolog...
09/08/2026

URI's Dr. Soni Pradhanang grew up near the region hit by the recent glacier collapse and flooding in Nepal.

As a hydrologist, she develops models to study how water moves and predict impacts of climate and land use changes. Alongside Ph.D. student Pratik Singh Thakuri, also from Nepal, she offers insight into the August 26 event.

In a new Q&A, they explore what may have contributed to the tragedy, why early-warning systems can be a race against minutes, and what could help reduce risk in the Himalayas and beyond.

🔗 Read more: https://www.uri.edu/news/2026/09/uri-water-expert-from-nepal-shares-insight-into-recent-flood-in-south-asian-nation/

Images: Copernicus Sentinel-2, European Union/ESA, USGS/NASA

Every stream, lawn and parking lot can be part of the story of how nutrients reach Narragansett Bay. This summer, URI st...
09/04/2026

Every stream, lawn and parking lot can be part of the story of how nutrients reach Narragansett Bay. This summer, URI student Carissa Sherman used maps and environmental data to help trace that story.

As a CELS Summer Research Fellow, Sherman used GIS and the EPA's Pollution Load Estimation Tool to estimate nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution across six major subbasins spanning Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts — identifying which areas contribute the greatest loads.

The work could help pinpoint where pollution-reduction efforts, from riparian buffers to stormwater controls, could have the greatest impact.

🔗 Read more: https://web.uri.edu/cels/news/carissa-sherman-qa/

On August 25th, Dr. Jean Vandergheynst, Dean of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, joined the URI Extensi...
09/04/2026

On August 25th, Dr. Jean Vandergheynst, Dean of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, joined the URI Extension Environmental Management Fellows for their last Summer Industry Training (SIT) of the year! SITs are a series of field visits and micro-lectures designed to expose fellows to a variety of topics within Rhode Island's environmental sector. At this particular event, fellows participated in a discussion on advocacy in policy with Kate Sayles, Executive Director of the RI Land Trust Council, and Angela Tuoni, Director of Climate and Government Relations, and also participated in a conversation about cornerstone environmental literature with Chelsea Blanchette, an Extension graduate assistant. Later in the afternoon, fellows were given a tour of the Port of Galilee led by URI Energy Fellows Program alum David DeCost ‘16, an engineer at !
📷Photos by Rose Cavallaro

We are now accepting expressions of interest from mentors until September 18, 2026, and applications from URI students in Handshake (job #11294023) until October 16, 2026. Learn more and apply by visiting: web.uri.edu/coopext/get-involved

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120 Flagg Road
Kingston, RI
02881

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+14018742957

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