Sarah Parsons

Geosciences and Natural Resources
339 Stillwell Building
Biography
Education
- Ph D, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
- MS, Duke University
- BA, Emory University
Teaching Interests
My goal as a teacher is two-fold: 1) to inspire in students a contagious enthusiasm about the natural world and 2) to help students see themselves as valuable world citizens. Current courses I teach include: ES 150 (Introduction and Approaches to Environmental Science) and ES 495 (Environmental Science Senior Seminar & Capstone).
Research Interests
My research largely focuses in urban spaces, in the places where insects, plants, and humans interact. My current research explores how we can plan and design cities to optimize insect conservation. More specifically, I explore how urban land uses and zoning affect insect biomass and diversity within cities. My research will inform city planners how to build cities, so that we conserve insect diversity at large. My past work has explored how landscape design can be used as a tool to mitigate the negative effects of pests on urban trees and landscapes in a warming climate.