Center for Rural Engagement

Permanent link for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/25351

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Browsing Center for Rural Engagement by Subject "Center for Rural Engagement"

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    Characterizing Perennial Bedrock Springs in the Low-Yield Aquifer Region of Southwest-Central Indiana
    (Indiana Geological & Water Survey, Indiana University, 2021-08-25) Rasnake, Lindsey; LeGare, Stephanie; Branam, Tracy; Florea, Lee; Burgess, Sarah
    Groundwater in the rural southwest central region of Indiana has been used for a variety of purposes, including drinking water, agricultural, livestock, & commercial use, all of which make the springs important features for the communities in rural Southwest- Central Indiana. There is a gap in the understanding of the spatial relationships between these springs as well as the changes in spring quality over time. To fill that gap in understanding, the Indiana Geological Water Survey (IGWS) is partnering with the Center for Rural Engagement (CRE) to investigate a subset of the 360 known springs in the Southwest-Central Indiana region. This presentation, given as a part of the "Locating and Characterizing Important Springs of the Indiana Uplands" project, explains the goals of this investigation, the preliminary findings and spatial analysis of the springs, and future goals for the project. This project will culminate in a publicly accessible and crowdsourced online geospatial tool that combines contemporary results with historical data to contribute to knowledge of the springs and foster community engagement.
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    Characterizing Perennial Springs of the Uplands Region of Indiana - Springs of Owen County
    (INDIANA GEOLOGICAL & WATER SURVEY, INDIANA UNIVERSITY, 2021) Branam, Tracy; Burgess, Sarah
    Springs project goal is to collect water samples during dry season for bedrock aquifer characterization. The Uplands region of Indiana has the largest concentration of springs, including the largest springs in the state. Springs have been historically significant in this region because of the scarcity of water supplies. The data collected will become the groundwork for an online searchable database, providing chemical and descriptive information for each spring visited. To date over 100 springs have been sampled. The database is being designed to allow new data entries for existing springs plus the addition of new springs.
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    Food Routines Among Older Adults Survey Data
    (2021) Knudsen, Dan; Babb, Angela; Burris, Mecca; Czebotar, Kamila; Giroux, Stacey; Stafford, Phil; Valliant, Julia; Waldman, Kurt
    Project description: Through five phases of research, consisting of focus group discussions, a survey, interviews, dietary analysis, and co-design workshops, the project investigates the barriers to accessing and consuming sufficient, culturally appropriate food among older adults, and the complex provisioning strategies elders use to mitigate household food insecurity. Using four counties in the Indiana Uplands as a case study, the authors determine: 1. What food insecurity looks like among seniors in rural Indiana; 2. How provisioning strategies of seniors change throughout a typical year, and how they changed over their lifetimes; 3.How various provisioning strategies shape food access and consumption by older Americans; 4. What program- and policy-specific leverage points exist to improve food security among older Americans; and 5. The extent to which communities, based on their existing assets, can devise sustainable programs to improve food security among older Americans. An additional research question was added in response to the Covid-19 pandemic which occurred during the study period: How did Covid-19 impact seniors' food provisioning strategies and to what extent did the pandemic impact the physical and mental well-being of seniors in the Indiana Uplands? The principal finding is that food insecurity, poor health and loneliness are inextricably linked. Critically, any solution to food insecurity must not only address issues of food access, but also must address the loneliness many older adults in rural locations face. The current pandemic has only added to feelings of loneliness and made accommodation of special diets more difficult.
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    Navigating Food Insecurity as a Rural Older Adult: The Importance of Congregate Meal Sites, Social Networks and Transportation Services
    (Taylor & Francis, Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 2021-10-30) Valliant, Julia C.D.; Burris, Mecca E.; Czebotar, Kamila; Stafford, Philip B.; Giroux, Stacey A.; Babb, Angela; Waldman, Kurt; Knudsen, Daniel C.
    To explore how older adults in rural communities navigate food insecurity, ten focus groups were held in Indiana, USA with 65 discussants. Recordings underwent inductive qualitative data analysis. Driving and transport remain a barrier to rural food access. Living alone is another contributor to food insecurity, while older adults’ social networks are protective. Congregate meal sites are critical to maintaining nutrition and are underfunded; one-third of this region’s meal sites closed in 2019. These must be maintained and expanded. Transportation to food outlets is needed. Mechanisms that reinforce older adults’ social networks can build upon an existing asset.