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Research Activities: Patrick Lawrence
Current Research
During his career, Dr. Lawrence has developed extensive experience in regards to numerous
Great Lakes environmental and related planning issues in both the United States and
Canada, including water quality, watershed management, Great Lakes Areas of Concern,
land use change, wetland conservation, coastal planning, Great Lakes water levels,
parks and protected areas and related public policy. His research focuses on community
decision-making to address environmental planning issues through the use of policy
development, planning and management approaches, and the application of remote sensing
and GIS. Since 1999, he has been active member of the Maumee Remedial Action Plan
Advisory Committee in NW Ohio, serving as Chair starting in 2006. Dr. Lawrence was
also a founding board member, and current board President, for Partners for Clean
Streams Inc., which was established as a non-profit NGO in 2007 as the local partner
and legal entity for public outreach, community engagement, projects, and related
research within the Maumee Area of Concern in NW Ohio. He has served on numerous
local, regional and national organizations including the International Association
for Great Lakes Research, The Coastal Society, Coastal Zone Canada Association, and
the East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers, and has participated
in many Great Lakes conferences, public meetings, and professional workshops. Dr.
Lawrence’s current research involves various projects associated with Great Lakes
and Area of Concern issues with funding support from Ohio EPA, US EPA, USDA NRCS,
and USFWS focusing on water quality issues, policy and planning within the Maumee
AOC, habitat restoration, assessment of land use practices and the use of GIS and
remote sensing. Examples of projects are the habitat river restoration of the Ottawa
River at the University of Toledo, watershed management in the Maumee Area of Concern,
climate change education for high schools, and planning for Great Lakes coastal parks
and protected areas.
1. Restoration of the Ottawa River at the University of Toledo
Dr. Lawrence is currently leading a multi-year project involving habitat restoration for the 3,700 feet of the Tenmile Creek/Ottawa River
the runs through the main campus of the University of Toledo. The project consists
of environmental planning concepts, identifying and assessing habitat restoration
potential with the placement of river bank and in-stream restoration features, coordinating
multiple local, regional, state and federal partners and funding agencies, improved
public access, and opportunities for public education and awareness. Dr. Lawrence
is also assisting with several other current and recent environmental projects on
the Tenmile Creek/Ottawa River working with TMACOG, Ohio EPA, USACOE, City of Toledo, Lucas County, and Partners for Clean Streams Inc.
2011-2012 Ottawa River Restoration Project. US Fish & Wildlife Service. GLRI Grant
Program for Habitat Restoration. $114,132. (P.I.: P.L. Lawrence)
2011-2012 A Multifaceted Urban Stream Restoration Project for the Ottawa River at
the University of Toledo, Ohio. Ohio EPA Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Project Grant
Program. $235,197. (P.I.: P.L. Lawrence)
2009-2012 Enhancing Environmental Education and Careers: Restoration Project for
the Ottawa River at the University of Toledo. Stranahan Foundation. $60,000 (P.I.:
P.L. Lawrence)
2. Watershed Planning and Community Decision-Making in the Maumee Area of Concern
Since 1999 Dr. Lawrence has been an active participant with the Maumee Area of Concern and local Remedial Action Plan having assisted with several projects and served in various roles including chair
of the MRAP Open Spaces and Wetlands Action Committee and currently as chair of the
Maumee RAP Public Advisory Committee. In 2006 his was a founding Board member for
Partners for Clean Streams Inc. (PCS) and presently serves as President of the PCS Board of Directors. In his various
capacities and roles Dr. Lawrence has been involved with wetlands and habitat inventories,
community education and outreach, watershed planning, preparation of the Maumee RAP
Stage II report, and organizing of the twice a year MRAP Summit events. In association
with this work Dr. Lawrence has secured funding support from USDA NRCS, USEPA, and
Ohio EPA and published numerous papers and book chapters.
3. Climate Change Education
Dr. Lawrence has recently been involved with several education grants and related research efforts in the area of climate change education including training teacher leaders in a MA Education degree program in renewable energy at the University of Toledo and preparing learning modules for local high school teachers and students. In 2008 Dr. Lawrence, along with Dr. Weintraub from Environmental Sciences, and with a grant from the UT Center for Teaching and Learning, developed the first climate change undergraduate course at the University of Toledo and one of the few offered in the state of Ohio
2010-2013 Climate Change Education: Engaging Teachers and Students and Correcting Misconceptions Using NASA Data. NASA Global Climate Change Education (GCCE) Program. $377,251 (P.I.: K.P. Czajkowski; C.I.: P.L. Lawrence et al.)
2010-2015 LEADERS: Leadership for Educators: Academy for Driving Economic Revitalization in Science.$4.9 million. National Science Foundation (P.Is.: K.P. Czajkowski et al.; S.I.: P.L. Lawrence et al.)
4. Park and Protected Areas Planning in the Great Lakes
During his career Dr Lawrence has had a long standing interest in the planning for parks and protected areas in the Great Lakes starting with his undergraduate senior honors thesis project. He has been involved with various planning projects and activities including for Lake Erie parks and protected areas, shoreline conservation, Gard Island (owned by the University of Toledo), the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, and Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario, Canada. Current work includes planning for Lake Erie Bluffs Park in Ohio and an evaluation of the 25 years of park planning for the Bruce Peninsula National Park.
Recent Publications
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Lawrence, P.L. (ed.) (2013). Geotechnologies and the Environment: Geospatial Tools for Urban Water Resources. Springer Press, UK. |
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Lawrence, P.L. (2012). As The Water Flows: Community Based Decision-Making and Participatory Planning for the MaumeeArea of Concern, Ohio. In Grover, V.I. and Krantzberg, G. (eds.). Great Lakes:Lessons in Participatory Governance. Science Publishers. Enflield, NH., pp. 293-311. |
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Lawrence, P.L. (2012). Sweetwater Seas and Shores: Waters and Coasts of the Great Lakes Georegion. In Nelson, J.G. (ed.). Beyond the Global City: Understanding and Planning for the Diverse Georegions of Ontario. McGill-Queen’s University Press. Kingston, Ontario, pp. 55-79. |
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Lawrence, P.L. (2011). Achieving Teamwork: Linking Watershed Planning and Coastal Zone Management in the Great Lakes. Coastal Management 39, pp. 57-71. |
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Lawrence, P.L. (2011). “The EC3 Project: Linking River Restoration, Stormwater Improvements, and Bank Stabilization for a section of the Ottawa River, University of Toledo, Ohio.” In Proceedings of the 2011 Environmental Connection 11, IECA Annual Conference. Orlando, FL. February 2011. |
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Nelson, J.G. and Lawrence, P.L. (2009) Places: Linking Nature and Culture for Understanding and Planning. University ofCalgary Press,Calgary,Alberta. 499 pgs. |
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Recent Graduate Students
M.A Geography
2012 - Sara Mierzwiak: “The Development of the Contaminant Rating System (CERS) for Comparing Groundwater Contaminant Data”
2009 - David Dean : “An Application of Geospatial Technology to Geographic Response Plans for Oil Spill Response Planning in the Western Lake Erie Basin
2009 - Jessica De Witt Randall: “Estimation of crop residue in the Maumee River Watershed using imagery from Landsat Thematic Mapper”
2009 - Chris Sadowski: “Site Identification of Large Megawatt Wind Turbine Engines within the City of Cleveland by means of using GIS”
2007 - Kathryn Swartz: “The Application of GIS in Watershed Planning: The Case of the Western Lake Erie Basin”
2006 - Phil Haney: “Water Quality Testing Site Location: A Methodology for Site Selection”
2006 - Kari Gerwin: “Relating Water shed Land Cover to Biotic Integrity in the Lake Erie Direct Tributaries, North west Ohio”
2004 - Michael Sachs: “Opportunities to Create a University Urban Village: Secor Gardens and the University of Toledo”
2004 - Gavin Smith: “Community Planning in Fulton County,Ohio: A GIS Methodology for Integrating Community Values in Local Level Planning on the Urban Fringe”
2004 - Nate Torbick: “The Utilization of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the Development of a Wetlands Classification and Inventory for the Lower Maumee River Watershed, Lucas County, Ohio”
Current Graduate Students
| M.A. Geography | ||
| Farzana Danish Sara Mierzwiak | GIS and Monitoring Airborne Contaminants | |
| Ph.D. SISS | ||
| Karen Gallagher | Public Health and the Built Environment | |
