Using the campus nitrogen budget to teach about the nitrogen cycle

Faculty members in earth sciences have the opportunity to engage students more fully in their local and global environments by working with them to develop and interpret a campus nitrogen budget. Through this experience, a campus environment is transformed into a conceptual framework for understanding the nitrogen cycle, specifically human impacts on the local nitrogen budget, and the effects of environmental management programs on the local nitrogen budget. This paper describes why and how to use the campus nitrogen budget as a class project.