Telling Environmental Stories Through Data: Winter 2026 Final Projects from EDS 240

"New York City's Urban Forest" – Ava Robillard (MEDS 2026)

With a background in plant science and a love for New York City, Ava found the perfect subject at the intersection of the two: the 666,134 street trees catalogued by NYC's 2015 Tree Census — the largest citizen science initiative in NYC Parks history, supported by over 2,200 volunteers. Her infographic explores not just where different species grow across the five boroughs, but who has access to shade and how tree species diversity varies by neighborhood income. Her analysis revealed that census tracts with higher median household incomes support more diverse tree canopies, and therefore greater resilience to pests, disease, and climate change. To bring the urban setting to life, Ava hand-sketched building silhouettes and layered them over her bar chart, blending the geometry of city architecture with the organic world of trees.

"The Sunflower: A Symbol of Ukraine" – Sofia Sarak (MEDS 2026)

For Sofia, this project was personal. As a first-generation Ukrainian-American, she wanted her infographic to celebrate her culture. Sunflowers, she explains, are far more than an agricultural commodity; they are a national symbol of peace, resilience, and hope. Her visualization traces Ukraine's sunflower seed and oil production over time, situates the country's remarkable output within a European context, and maps farm distribution across Ukraine's oblasts. A quiet but pointed dip in production after 2022 marks the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war. The infographic's blue and gold palette is no accident — it mirrors the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
 

"Drowning in Plastic" – Isabella Segarra (MEDS 2026)

Isabella's infographic began with a simple question: what do we actually know about plastic pollution in California? That search led her to a three-year study by the San Francisco Estuary Institute and 5 Gyres Institute — and to a striking finding: 7 trillion pieces of microplastic flow into San Francisco Bay every year. Her infographic traces how different plastic types move through five sampling environments across the Bay, from stormwater runoff to fish tissue, using an alluvial chart whose flowing lines mirror the literal movement of plastic through the ecosystem. One of Isabella's central challenges was translating dense scientific terminology — polystyrene, polytetrafluoroethylene — into language a general audience could connect to.

Whether working in government, nonprofits, research, or industry, environmental data scientists increasingly need the skills to not only analyze data, but also communicate it clearly to diverse audiences. Projects like these demonstrate what becomes possible when technical training meets creative storytelling — and when students are given the freedom to bring their own backgrounds, identities, and questions to the work.