Helen Boniface

Masters student

Helen received her B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Lynchburg in 2017. Part of her undergraduate career was spent studying freshwater streams in the northwest region of Costa Rica, assisting Dr. Tom Shahady to develop a simple, low-cost water quality index for community use. Helen's upbringing in rural northern Maryland combined with her undergraduate research experience inspired her to pursue a career in agroecology. With the support of her advisors - Dr. Tully, and Dr. Steven Mirsky of the USDA-ARS (Beltsville, MD) - Helen hopes her research will contribute to the developing knowledge of agroecological concepts, in order to make sustainable practices more widely implemented across the agricultural community. 

A portion of her thesis work focuses on cover crop mixture dynamics throughout the northeastern U.S., by assessing the performance of cover crop treatments across eight states, capturing a range of climate and management conditions. This research will ultimately contribute to the growing knowledge on site-specific species selection and seeding rate recommendations for the successful adoption of winter cover crop mixtures.

Helen’s second project focuses on evaluating the impacts of management decisions on soil carbon dynamics in a long-term agricultural research system in Beltsville, MD. Identifying which management techniques most efficiently build long-term soil carbon stocks at the local level can aid in the development of government-led programs that incentivize the adoption of these farming practices.