Au Naturel

Wearing a long-sleeved, neon-green shirt, the woman hops out of her Honda SUV and crunches across the gravel parking lot to her office. The unassuming beige construction trailer faces an industrial-sized conveyor belt feeding coal ash onto the top of a pile the size of a house. Not too far in the background, four tall cylinders rise from the earth, one spewing white steam into the blue Texas sky. The sounds of heavy machinery and water birds fill the air. This natural setting is both an office and a laboratory for Gwen Young.

An environmental scientist at CPS Energy’s Calaveras Lake Power Plant, Young was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in environmental science and engineering from UTSA. Her academic journey began nearly 30 years before at the University of Utah where she completed three years toward an undergraduate degree in medical technology. Young left school before graduating to raise her two sons. In the fall of 2000, she enrolled as an undergraduate student in the Department of Biology at UTSA; many of her peers were closer to her sons’ ages than to her own. In fact, Young’s two sons attended UTSA while she was a student, and her oldest walked the graduation stage with her when she received her Ph.D. in 2007.

Much of Young’s life has been spent defining her interests through volunteerism. Before moving to San Antonio from Kennesaw, Ga., she co-founded an environmental group called Save Our Legacy. The group monitored streams and wetlands in the area, and Young was selected to consult with the city on environmental matters. When she returned to college, she knew exactly what she wanted to do—combine her love of nature with a degree in the sciences.

Young began attending classes six months after moving to San Antonio. As a 43-year-old undergraduate student in a new city and state, she wanted to meet like-minded people, become familiar with Texas flora and fauna, and quickly earn credits toward her degree. A flier on a bulletin board in the Science Building led her to the Summer Program in Field Biology.

Open to all students, the three-and-a-half-week-long camping excursion through West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona involves about 20 participants. Students are graded on projects involving the observation and cataloging of the local flora and fauna, and can earn up to seven credit hours. Established in 1979, the trip is unlike any experience the students have had, or are likely to have again. Program founder and UTSA Professor Bill Van Auken says, “With more than 3,000 entering freshmen in biology, students often don’t know who is sitting next to them. That doesn’t happen with the participants on this trip.” Instead, he says, the field biology students forge lifelong friendships with each other and with faculty members.

Through her Summer Program experience, Young found a mentor in Assistant Professor Janis Bush. The two became friends, and when Young needed an adviser for her doctorate, Bush was naturally the first choice. Before Young finished her Ph.D., Bush was asked by Ron Christian, field operations manager at CPS Energy, to recommend someone to head a new environmental project at Calaveras Lake. The project was “too big for an undergraduate and too big for most graduate students. Gwen was the only student I knew that would be able to do what CPS Energy wanted,” says Bush.

The three-year project was aimed at redefining the way vegetation is managed along Calaveras Creek that flows eight-and-a-half miles from the Calaveras Lake Dam to the San Antonio River to cool the Calaveras Lake Power Plant. Plants growing along the creek inhibit water-flow and cause flooding. Prior to the project, engineers would strip the area of all vegetation, which only caused it to grow back thicker and adversely affect the surrounding environments.

Young was hired to create and implement a process to selectively remove some plants, thereby improving the water-flow without disturbing the nearby ecosystems. Her plan took into account both the goal of clean, quick-moving water and the preservation of the environment along the creek. Using principles that combine hydrology, ecology and geology, Young and her Natural Resources Team achieved both goals. When the project began, she and her team prepared homeowners along the property line for the coming work. Now, in the project’s second year, they continue to walk the 17-mile round trip, flagging some plants to stay and others for removal.

Over the past two years, Young’s role and the duties of her team have evolved with new challenges presented by the natural work setting. For instance, they initiated a wildlife rescue and care plan for animals in dangerous situations. “We have had injured birds, pelicans in fishing line, loose cats and raccoons, and a cormorant with broken legs.” Also, CPS Energy has committed a fixed amount of money for each of seven years to plant trees around the Calaveras and Braunig Lake power plants. Spearheading the project, Young began by writing contracts, creating timelines and selecting species of trees to plant. Leaning out of a growling Kubota utility vehicle, Young points out the trees she already planted at the Calaveras site and the bare areas around buildings that could use a little green and are targeted for future plantings.

Young likes to stay connected to the UTSA community. Whenever she has an opening on her Natural Resources Team, she looks to hire recent UTSA graduates to give them the vital experience needed for success in the competitive scientific marketplace. She also comes back to campus to speak to current students about her experiences and research.

Recently, she presented her dissertation, “Assessment of the Allelopathic Potential of Juniperus ashei on Germination and Growth of Bouteloua curtipendula” at one of the first ever Integrative Biology Seminars, a series designed to show students the various career options for biologists.

The same advice she gave her own sons she gives to members of her team and undergraduate students she encounters at UTSA: “Network and get experience, and the best way to do both is to volunteer.” Young’s interests that were developed through volunteering within her community are mirrored in her educational path, which in turn has kept her happy in her job. “Volunteer, get involved, make friends, learn something outside of what you’ve been doing in the past,” she says. “You’ll be happy in the long run.”