Tough to suggest a topic when I don't know what environmental and floristic/horticultural zones are involved. Are you planning to follow up as a botanist or in graduate school? If the latter, ought not you consider a topic related to a potential Master's thesis? When I was a graduate student, a fellow student started his PhD dissertation with a senior thesis, added more research and data in graduate seminars, expanded the research in his Master's thesis and completed a PhD program in record time by...you guess right!

Hi, you said summer thesis so maybe this letter isn't too late. Try wetlands as a topic. they are very important to our environment. Lots of info on their importance. lots of intern possibilities with local governments and non profits. one angle, is that developers hire their own "experts" that are paid to deliver reports that are favorable to developers. Just talked to a friend who is involved in urban organic gardening. she suggested focusing on the carbon imprint that happens when produce is brought to the market. good luck Sue

oh lets see....

FInd a local state park and so a vascular plant survey. Maybe compare native to non-native...

Survey a wetland.

Use Arc Gis to examine the spatial layout of open space in your community.

Compare two distinct habitat types in relation to the animals that are there. Birds are always good.

Try to map populations of threatened / endangered plants in your area...

LOTS of ideas and things you can do.

Andrew

BTW, I am working on a Masters Thesis in Biology / Botany

Please consider studying what plants are most effective at removing nitrogen and other nutrients in rain gardens or bioretention areas.

Another subject that I found a lack of information on is whether burning wood is "carbon neutral" or not. Many, many websites claim this because the regeneration of wood contains as much carbon as that which was given off from burning. This makes lots of people happy by burning wood thinking they are not adding to the CO2. The problem is that it is assumed that the new trees are getting all of the carbon from the atmosphere. The only info that I found that speaks of how much carbon trees consume (per pound of tree) indicates that only about 4% of that atmospheric carbon given off by the burning per year leaving 96% of it in the atmoshere. Consider that wood burning releases more CO2 per btu than fossil fuels and it would clearly have wood burners leaving bigger carbon foot prints that those using natural gas or oil. I think a good honest scientific study of this would have huge implications.