Sarah Fisher Davis, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at Stony Brook University, is looking to train Long Island college and high school students to become local water activists and citizen science storytellers using digital story mapping and ArcGIS software, which helps organizations create, manage, share and analyze spatial data.

The project, titled “Mapping the Story of Long Island Water,” is funded by an $8,000 public humanities fellowship from the Humanities Centers Initiative, a statewide partnership between Humanities New York and a network of humanities centers based at nine New York State universities.

“Because Long Island relies entirely on a sole-source, nonrenewable underground aquifer system for water, the preservation of that system through legislation, corporate accountability, and individual conservation is vital to both human and environmental health,” said Davis.

Because of its complexities, Long Island’s aquifer system — after becoming contaminated by chemicals, sewage, and runoff — cannot be simply cleaned, according to Davis. She cited research from Water for Long Island, a network of groups and individuals who advocate for and defend the aquifers and groundwater resources of Long Island.

“My project will advance water advocacy outside of the usual political and scientific avenues to include the stories and solutions of those who are most vulnerable to toxicants, and whose futures will depend on and shape policies around water wellness on Long Island — our young people,” Davis said.

Her project will be rolled out in two stages beginning this fall when she will teach an upper-level English course titled “Local Environmental Feminisms.”

Read the full story: Grad Student Promotes Water Advocacy Through Experiential Course