Students who ride newer, cleaner-air buses to school have improved academic performance, according to a U-M study that linked school bus funding information with standardized test scores and found improvements in reading/language arts and math scores when the oldest buses were replaced with newer vehicles.

Prairie fens, which take thousands of years to develop, exist predominantly in southern lower Michigan and occur where cold, alkaline groundwater bubbles to the surface. The springs feed rivers and lakes with clean water. At the LaCroix Legacy Land Conservancy, alumna Susan Morley is dedicated to the voluntary conservation of locally important land.

Increasingly common rain-on-snow weather events are reducing snowpack and washing away nutrients from soils to our streams and lakes. This winter, snow science researchers at U-M’s Biological Station are tracking the snowpack at an hourly rate to get a deeper understanding of the complexities of global environmental change.

A new U-M-led international study finds that fruits and vegetables grown in urban farms and gardens have a carbon footprint that is, on average, six times greater than conventionally grown produce. However, a few city-grown crops equaled or outperformed conventional agriculture under certain conditions.

‘Migration Stage,’ an outdoor installation along Seattle’s Elliot Bay, serves a once-and-future purpose, says artist Buster Simpson, MFA ’69. Its movable ‘kit of parts’ provides a unique place to gather, while it functions as ‘sea armor’ to protect shoreline infrastructure against extreme storms. (Image credit: Joe Freeman Jr.)

A thriving environment depends on engaging people in its stewardship, says Kris Sarri, MPH ’97. She has spent two decades in Washington, D.C., where her commitment to public health weaves together environmental protection and community development.

Birds and other animals rely on Earth’s magnetic field for long-distance navigation during seasonal migrations. U-M researchers are now learning how periodic disruptions of the planet’s magnetic field, caused by solar flares and other energetic outbursts, affect the reliability of those biological navigation systems.

School of Information students are looking through the ‘lens of an information professional’ and using data to tackle urgent water-related issues in Michigan and around the globe. Partners in the school’s inaugural ‘theme year’ include representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation will establish the Global Center for Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters. Partners include Cornell University, the College of Menominee Nation, the Red Lake Nation, and more.