A microgrid is a collection of power-generating devices that boost power from the primary electrical grid or serve as a backup when the grid cannot provide sufficient power. Microgrid systems are used where primary grid connectivity can be unreliable due to remote location or natural disasters, serving as renewable alternatives to traditional fossil fuel power production. Recent innovations have given rise to new microgrid technology that can be conveniently deployed in times of need. Mobile microgrids– often in the form of trailers covered in solar arrays– are being used increasingly as tools in disaster response and community grid support. This project reviews the use of microgrids in a global context and explores the application of mobile microgrids in supporting existing energy infrastructure at the community level. Using a local approach, we propose to create a robust guide for establishing a small-scale mobile microgrid in Missoula, Montana utilizing community resources and support. To achieve this goal, we have and will continue to collaborate with community organizations and city council members to discuss possible partnerships. Our intent is to inform organizations about the benefits of a Mobile Microgrid and find a place of best fit for the equipment. We hope to provide a convenient, shared resource that may be used to bring green energy to the Missoula area as an emergency or supplementary power supply.

Missoula, Montana, is defined by its extensive network of public parks, yet, many residents face challenges experiencing them. This capstone project evaluates how community members interact with the City’s parks system and how the Missoula Parks Department, but more specifically, Fort Missoula, can best serve the Missoula community.

Over the past year, our team conducted six data-collection events during the Parks Department’s “Frost Free Fridays” initiative at Fort Missoula Regional Park. Each event invited different user groups, which gave us a diverse set of responses spanning ages, occupations, and primary activities. We collected information through an anonymous online survey, accessible via QR code, asking about their views of the Parks Department and its parks, barriers to participation, and perceptions of department communication.

Preliminary findings indicate that barriers include things like lack of transportation options to the sites, lack of information about events, administrative complexity, and uncertainty about available programs. Participants consistently expressed interest in more and clearer communication, more public events, increased public transportation to parks, and more intuitive ways to learn about activities, facilities, and ecological features.

Our final deliverable will be an implementation plan for the City, which will include our collected data and our recommendations on how to modernize communication and media, increase public access, and diversify the offerings of Fort Missoula. This project demonstrates how systematic public input can strengthen civic trust, increase park participation, and improve equitable access to the public lands that shape Missoula’s identity and quality of life.

Stable mentorship is a critical protective factor in childhood development. Yet many children worldwide grow up without consistent mentors, leaving them more vulnerable to the impacts of adverse childhood experiences. These children enjoy fewer social and academic opportunities that allow them to become productive members of society. The Missoula community is home to a large population of young adults who are capable of becoming valuable mentors; however, vulnerable youth populations in Missoula are still underserved. Through our Capstone project, we aim to address the underrepresentation of male mentors in Missoula and build a mentorship-awareness initiative among college students. To do this, we plan to organize a speaking event at which representatives from Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), as well as former and current BBBS participants, will inspire students to become mentors. We will promote this speaking event through tabling and targeted outreach to classes and organizations such as fraternities and ROTC. We will employ personal calls to action, as this method is supported by research to be the most effective in recruiting male participants. However, we prioritize inclusivity above all and hope to recruit as diverse a cohort as possible.

Know Fear is a verbatim theatre show and community conversation. The show is a word-for-word compilation of responses from in-depth and "on the street" interviews conducted by the producers both in the local Missoula community and globally. Each interview focused on fear and how it affects individuals personally and collectively. Fear is one of the few universal biological experiences for all living things. It influences how we relate to each other and how we present socially. When our fear responses are consistently activated, communities experience decreased social trust and increased conflict. Know Fear is an outlet for individuals to share their vulnerabilities with others without stigmatization. Additionally, it uses storytelling to inspire empathy within the audience. We hope the show creates a ripple effect of shared understanding amongst each other.

The industrialized food system creates environmental harm, reduces food sovereignty, and contributes to growing food insecurity – which is oftentimes overlooked in higher education. To address this gap, our project examines how access to sustainable food education and campus-community partnerships can improve well-being and informed decision making amongst students at the University of Montana. This collaborative project has led us to partner with UM Wellness, PEAS Farm, the Missoula Food Bank, and the Big Sky Culinary Institute. Our research includes applied learning with these organizations by hosting a variety of speaker series presentations and coordinating several workshops. Quantitative and qualitative data have been collected through anonymous surveys administered at Wellness Wednesday tabling events, before and after speaker sessions, and at our hands-on workshop. These surveys assessed baseline student experiences with food access, changes in knowledge and attitudes, and anticipated shifts in food-related behaviors. Furthermore, we have scheduled partner interviews, and a collaborative community meeting, to capture organizational perspectives and how their connectivity could lead to a more robust localized food system. By connecting students with the diversity of our food system, emphasizing sustainability, culture, and well-being, our project seeks to deepen food literacy, promote equitable food environments, and strengthen local networks that support student success beyond the classroom.

Our society is less connected to nature than previous generations, resulting in a push for research and interventions that seek to reconnect global populations with nature by establishing feelings of nature connectedness. Research suggests that developing a connection to nature in childhood is especially important for increasing well-being and pro-environmental behavior. Our project “Rooted” aims to investigate how nature connectedness in Missoula children might be associated with positive impacts like enhanced well-being. This project seeks to answer the question, “How might we creatively assess, develop, and maintain connectedness to nature in Missoula children in hopes of enhancing wellbeing?” Rooted filled a gap in Missoula programming by providing accessible, cost-free nature connection workshops at the Missoula Public Library for children aged 5–12. These four workshops encouraged emotional, cognitive, and experiential engagement with the natural world, helping participants build a lasting sense of connection. Our group assessed Missoula children’s connection to nature using the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) (Mayer & Frantz, 2004) and wellbeing using the WHO-5 Well-being Index (Topp et al., 2015).  We then analyzed our survey results, finding a positive shift in both nature connection and overall wellbeing among participants who completed both pre- and post-surveys. Our findings present an important assessment of the state of nature connection and wellbeing in Missoula children. Alongside these findings our work has also filled a gap in cost-free, accessible nature connection workshops to our community which enhance children’s wellbeing, at least short-term.

Bees are an essential species that support the growth of plant communities and enhance human agricultural success. Urbanization is associated with increased impermeable surfaces, large-scale land-use change, and changes in plant and animal community assemblages. Urban expansion exacerbates habitat fragmentation and loss, which has a particularly negative impact on specialist wild or native bee pollinators and the plant species they pollinate. Global and local research indicate the widespread nature of these negative trends; however, there are abundant opportunities to mitigate the impacts on bee pollinators by restoring wild bee habitat in urban areas. This study aims to investigate mechanisms that facilitate habitat fragmentation in urban areas, examine the consequential decline in native bee diversity, and explore how community engagement in bee conservation can mitigate this decline. The literature review informed a community conservation project in Missoula, Montana, where three workshops drew a total of 107 community members and resulted in 75 constructed bee hotels. High engagement and positive comments from attendees facilitated the establishment of bee hotels and the promotion of planting native vegetation to increase wild bee abundance and diversity throughout urban green spaces.

Manicured, monoculture lawns often dominate private land in urban areas for aesthetic organization. Colonialist roots embedded in the history of turfgrass lawns and white-picket fences intended to suppress Indigenous knowledge and ways of caring for the diverse land around us. Private land misuse and homogenous lawns are not limited to the United States; the modern lawn contributes to biodiversity loss on a global scale. Humans are concentrated in cities across the world, and urban areas are known to have negative implications for wildlife and habitat, human health, and sustainable resource use. Management of private land in urban settings is problematic because land use decisions are entirely up to the owner. As a result, policies that dictate the way we use our land are minimal, voluntary, and lack community incentive. To combat these issues, we need to focus on community-based re-wilding efforts on private land to improve wildlife connectivity, create more opportunities for positive social interactions, and decrease resource consumption. We will do this by hosting a workshop that teaches participants how to effectively design a native plant garden and distributing native plant kits for homeowners to implement in their own yards. Policy can also play a role in improving urban biodiversity and environmental health. To support the city of Missoula in reaching environmental policy goals, we invited local government agencies to establish a long-term international partnership with the Biophilic Cities Network. Our participation will benefit native plants, pollinators, wildlife, and human well-being.

In Montana, approximately 1 in 7 children live in a food-insecure household. Lacking access to consistent, adequate nutrition impacts children’s full physical and cognitive potential, with rural youth in particular facing unique barriers such as geographic isolation, high food prices, and limited transportation (Montana Food Bank Network, 2025).

Our project, Feeding Missoula, started with an evaluation of how current assistance programs met or failed to meet the needs of rural Montana youth. Our methodology integrated a comprehensive review of existing literature and structured interviews with key local stakeholders. Our analysis was guided by a five-pillar theoretical framework: availability, access/affordability, utilization/quality, promotion, and sustainability, emphasizing promotion and sustainability to encourage long-lasting, systematic resilience and food literacy. Our findings indicated that household-level data often mask the fact that individual youth are experiencing hunger, even in families officially counted as food-secure. We implemented targeted community-based solutions in partnership with Missoula Food Bank & Community Center (MFB&CC) to create social media posts on “relatable cooking” that showcase low-cost meals, an interactive community food resource map, and the distribution of educational pamphlets containing recipes and age-appropriate activities in weekend meal packs (Empower Packs). To further enhance our local impact and engagement, we included a targeted food and supply drive throughout March, focusing on niche items that MFB&CC indicated they needed, such as diapers, formula, and baby food. This project generated actionable recommendations to reduce stigma and improve programs, ensuring that rural youth receive the foundational support necessary for positive long-term life outcomes.