Kenton Sena, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer

About Me

Kenton Sena is a Senior Lecturer in the Lewis Honors College, where he teaches HON 140 and Honors courses in ecology and the environment. He received recognition as one of the 2023 Great Teacher award winners from the University of Kentucky Alumni Association. He earned a B.A. in biology (with a minor in literature) from Asbury University, and an M.S. in forestry and a Ph.D. in integrated plant and soil sciences from the University of Kentucky. His research involves forest restoration in Appalachian mined land, as well as urban and suburban areas in central Kentucky. He lives in Lexington with his wife Susanna and their children Silas, Eden, and Elanor.

How to Honor the Balance

I honor the balance by biking to work (great for my physical and mental health) and setting work-life boundaries; I don't bring work home in the evenings or on weekends.

I try to remind students that they are more than their major or planned career--they are a whole person! I encourage students to cultivate their whole person in my classes through creative reflection and service-learning.

Ask Me About... 

• Sustainability! I’m interested in sustainability broadly, but especially as it relates to urban environments, local economy, food production, greenspace, and transportation.
• Food! My wife and I love food—ask me for local food recommendations.
• Ecology and Literature! I did an undergraduate minor in literature—I’m excited to have more time and flexibility at my current stage of life to re-engage literature, especially classic literature and literature of the environment.

Research 

My research program explores development of forest structure and function in urban and suburban forests planted by community members as part of Lexington's Reforest the Bluegrass program. Recent papers from this program report on an environmental field day for middle schoolers, shifts in tree and shrub communities, and patterns of understory plants related to canopy closure and invasive species. 

I also study ecosystem structure and function in planted forests developing on reclaimed mined land in Appalachia. Recently, we published a paper exploring the role of loblolly pine as a possible "nurse tree" to support native tree establishment and growth. 

Another major research focus involves analysis and interpretation of decades of environmental data collected from Robinson Forest, UK's research forest in eastern Kentucky. Recent studies evaluated patterns in coarse woody debris accumulation in forest stands recovering from timber harvest, streamflow permanence in small headwater streams, and patterns of precipitation and stream-water chemistry indicating watershed recover after acid rain. With funding from an NSF EPSCoR grant, we are continuing this work with a focus on flooding in Appalachia. 

Finally, I study what literature reveals about environmental perspectives and attitudes, particularly imaginative literature such as The Lord of the Rings (LOTR). Published work includes papers exploring ecological degradation and restoration in LOTR, a pro-Dwarf environmental reading of LOTR, and an evaluation of Tolkien's wizards as an exploration of environmental ethics.