Category: Updates

Service Blog Post #6

by nnicholson3

This is my first blog post since the first introduction, and I’ve had a few updates. Initially, I was matched with the South River Watershed Alliance and had planned to create an educational video to share with the public. Unfortunately, those plans fell through, and I had to explore other options for a new partnership. I decided to work with the Atlanta Coyote project.  

This organization, led by two biologists who are also professors at local universities, aims to study the presence of coyotes within the Atlanta metro area. They mainly focus on understanding how coyotes adapt to urban and suburban environments, their impact on local ecosystems, and strategies for peaceful coexistence between humans and coyotes. This work involves a collaboration among scientists, volunteers, and the public who collect data through camera traps, GPS tracking, and public sighting reports. 

My interest in the Atlanta Coyote Project was sparked earlier this semester after I attended a presentation by their organization at Trees Atlanta. Going in, I knew nothing about coyotes, let alone that they were living around us, and some have even been spotted in Piedmont Park! Dr. Mowry talked about their work and shared valuable information about coexisting with coyotes. He also shared an interesting story about a melanistic coyote named Carmine, who became known for his unusual friendliness towards neighborhood dogs. Reports of a black ‘dog-like’ animal playing with pets in people’s yards circulated, bringing attention to the possible interactions between urban wildlife and the community. With assistance from the public, Carmine was eventually captured by the Atlanta Coyote Project and rescuers and transferred to a wildlife sanctuary. Some pet owners were uneasy about his friendly demeanor, and given his presence in busy areas, relocating him was considered necessary for his safety.

Carmine’s story emphasizes the challenges of managing wildlife in urban areas. As part of my involvement with the Atlanta Coyote Project, I’ve been reviewing the tracking reports submitted by the public, focusing on the comments regarding each sighting or encounter. So far, I’ve learned a lot about the perception the public has towards these animals, both positive and negative. My plan is to use the data from these reports to create a project that explores the nuanced interactions between humans and coyotes in the city. Ultimately, I hope to dispel some of the misinformation that may cause people to perceive coyotes negatively.

Here’s a short clip about Carmine: 

 

Blog Post #6

by serickson11

Howdy everyone! Since my last time posting, not a whole heck of a lot has changed from what I was doing before but I’ll give a few smaller updates. For starters, we have continued to do the weekly trash trap cleanouts and do the standard ETAPs for what we collect (ETAPs are forensic litter audits using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol—in simple terms it is just categorizing what was collected into subcategories like take-out boxes, shopping bags, water bottles, etc. and marking brands that show up repeatedly).

One location we did, we ended up collecting nearly 30 full manicure/pedicure kits as well as roughly 10 half-to-full cans of yellow spray paint (an odd collection of items if I do say so myself). Our assumption for the spray cans was that someone was fixing certain parking and road lines up by the nearby road and purposefully disposed of the rest of the cans for reasons unknown. For the manicure/pedicure kits, we guess since they were prepackaged and seemed undamaged that a truck delivering the product had a shipment fall off and land somewhere in the river. Either way, both acts come from a place ignorance and since both ended up in the river, they both should be held accountable for their faulty choices. 

Another thing that I noticed is that one of the reasons it takes extra time to clean out each trash trap is the sheer amount of sticks, leaves, and general parts of nature that end up making their way in amongst all of the collectable trash and recycling. I talked about this with Jordan and it seems there is no real effective way to sort out the items that CRK seeks to collect out of the river and distribute the natural items back into the stream, but I would love to see some type of advancement in that area sometime in the future because it definitely adds another level of difficulty for those who have a kind enough soul to clean those traps for a living. 

I am coming up on my last time volunteering with CRK in person but I can definitely see myself helping them out with larger river clean ups in future and I can truly say I have appreciated the opportunities I have had to work alongside them this semester. 

Blog # 6 – Wild Nest Bird Rehab

by dkong3

Engaging in voluntary service at the Wildnest Rehabilitation Center has been both a privilege and an educational journey. My experiences there have provided unique insights into avian diversity, notably through encounters with drastically different bird species such as the American woodcock and waxwing. At first glance, the American Woodcock seems like an unusual bird, notably due to its prominent beak and ground-dwelling nature, often requiring a pile of leaves for comfortable rest. In stark contrast to the peculiar appearance of the American Woodcock, the waxwing emerged as the most striking bird I encountered at the rehabilitation center. Its silky-looking feathers, adorned with vibrant yellows and bright reds make it stand out from the other birds. 

The beginning of April marks baby bird season and has presented invaluable opportunities to actively participate in the care and rehabilitation of vulnerable avian populations. Engaging in tasks such as hand-feeding and nurturing these fledglings has given me a sense of stewardship and responsibility toward wildlife conservation. Conversely, challenges have also arisen, serving as a reminder of the threats faced by avian species in the wild. The majority of birds that have been admitted to the rehabilitation center have suffered injuries due to window or car collisions, resulting in neurological damage that impairs their ability to stand or fly properly, often with devastating consequences. Last week, I encountered a bird so severely injured that it could barely move, prompting the rehab team to make the difficult decision to euthanize it, recognizing that its chances of recovery and survival in the wild were slim. Witnessing such heartbreaking situations has been a sobering reminder of the fragility of wildlife and the importance of conservation efforts to mitigate human-induced threats to their well-being.

*The following image is found on Google Images and not taken at the rehab facility*

Cedar Waxwing | Audubon Connecticut

^ Waxwing 

American Woodcock - eBird

^ American Woodcock

Service Blog Post #5

by khira1

This week for our time at Blue Heron Nature Preserve, we were putting up our weathering stations that we made for the woodlands and Riparian/Wetlands. To make the signs, I painted them with both the GSU and Blue Heron logo as well as the descriptions of all the measurements we were required to track in these upcoming weeks. I learned a lot about weather implementations and what Denise wanted us to track which were things like hygrometers which measure humidity and anemometers which measure wind speeds. It was very interesting researching all the elements of weather and correspondence of areas of more moist environments like wetlands, having a higher or lower chance of wind speeds than dryer areas like woodlands. Then my partner Kaden, put the signs together and we took them to the preserve and put them up one at a time. It was such an amazing experience seeing our creation actually be a part of the Blue Heron Nature Preserve because it is us showing a difference that we care about the environment how important weathering tracking is to the environment and the different ways the community can regulate it. In these upcoming weeks, we will be periodically going to the preserve to track the wind speeds, rainfall, humidity, and other forms of weather tracking for our final project.

While we were there this past week, Denise was planting some more native plants in the preserve and let us help in planting them. The plant in question was a Fringed Champion (Seline Polypetala), which is a rare species of flowering plant that is native to Georgia and is becoming more and more endangered. Denise explained to us that these were on the High Priority list of plants in the Georiga Department of Wildlife and Natural Resources which means they are at a high risk of becoming extinct in their natural habitats. The main reason that Fringed Champion is on the high-priority list is because of degradation and loss of suitable habitats. With the increasing gentrification and urban areas, a lot of native plant species in Georgia have been killed or are on the cusp of being extinct, which opened our eyes to the fact that we need to help spaces like preserves and natural from being ruined.

This is a photo of one of our weathering stations!

 
This is a photo of the Fringed Champion we planted!
 

Water Sampling with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

by tle148

This past Thursday morning/afternoon I met with my community organization partner and we spent majority of the time collecting water samples from areas of the river that showed alarming levels of E. Coli. To pinpoint the exact location of the issue, we strategically collected water samples from specific points along the river for better judgement and analysis. Collecting the water samples was a fun experience as you get very hands on with nature. It was kind of silly as we would park on the side of the road and quickly collect water samples as cars drove by probably wondering what was going on. This organization also works with residents who reside along the Chattahoochee river and the volunteers collect their own water samples from their backyard or nearby, and come to drop it off at the office for testing. Walking around neighborhoods allowed me to appreciate the river and its beauty as this is not something I typically think about when I walk or drive through areas. Walking by the river allowed me to find joy even in the simplest things. Instead of being in the car driving across a bridge, I walked across a bridge and got to see a part of the river flow naturally. Of course it is nature just doing its thing, but its refreshing to be able to appreciate nature in its entirety and with my own eyes.

Recently, the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center, which is a wastewater treatment facility that caters to most of Atlanta, had an issue at their plant causing the release of contaminated wastewater into the river causing the E. Coli levels to rise dramatically. It was discovered that a majority of their plant is not functional and is not treating all the incoming sewage water and thereby having to release it back into the river. I didn’t hear about this incident until I heard from the organization and it is quite alarming since I too live close to the river. Articles online advised communities to avoid river contact downstream of the sewage spill but it worries me of those who don’t have easy access to this information. I would not have known had I not spoke with this organization. Next time, I’ll be documenting about trash cleanups.

Blog Post #5

by kmelton6

Hello, everyone on the blog post. Since this is my first post, I will introduce myself. My name is Kaden Melton and I was partnered with the Blue Heron Nature Preserve, along with Kayla. For the past couple of weeks, our main objective has been completing a weather station for the preserve. As part of our community project, we built a wooden weather station that would measure various aspects of the environment, such as rain level, humidity, temperature, and CO2, in two different ecosystems, allowing us to compare them to each other and their potential effect against climate change. 

To build this weather station, we went through various phases. The first and easiest phase was planning the design and layout of the station. We completed this in under 20 minutes and decided that we would make a station with a front-facing sign and a shelf on top to hold some of the measuring instruments. The face of the sign would also contain descriptions of the purpose of the various instruments attached to the station, as well as both the GSU and Blue Heron Nature Preserve logos. The second phase of the project was to build it. I was responsible for actually assembling the structure, so I went stumbling around Home Depot trying to find the right type of wood and screws to buy. After getting the proper materials, I went home and assembled the structure. After finishing the structure, I gave it to Kayla to paint the sign, including writing the descriptions and painting the logos. Once the signs were finished, we returned to our partner next week to put the stakes on the station and put them in the ground, but we ran into difficulties. 

We didn’t have the proper tools to drill the screws into the stakes, resulting in the screws getting excessively hot and starting to smoke, eventually leading to the drill dying on us completely. Since we could not finish the signs that day, I took the signs and the stakes home and finished them over the weekend. We came back the following week, aka this week, and we were able to successfully install the stations in the ground and take our first measurements. After all the time we invested into the stations, finally being able to successfully install them was an extremely satisfying feeling, and I’m excited to begin the other half of our project.

Blog Post #4

by dspall1

Throughout the experiences with Dunwoody Nature Center, I feel like this week was the most hectic and fun I’ve had yet with the amount of tasks that I completed. The last few weeks have essentially just been very chill, but this week was exciting because I got to help prepare for the Fairytale forest festival. The nature center hosted this festival to showcase many fun and exciting events that can be educational for children while also allowing them to play around and show of their creativity. There were many things to do such as tree climbing, painting, coloring, and so much more. Before the festival, I got to work with the center to digitally create signs that showcased an aspect of the forest that would be educational for children. The ones I worked on were the backyard birds station and the forest habitat station. My volunteer partner, Raihannah worked on the wetlands station. I feel like the experience of getting to digitally create these signs was particularly exciting for me as I enjoy practicing any aspect of digital design. Because of the amount of work I’ve had, I hadn’t had the opportunity to do it until now, and I’m extremely thankful because it’s inspired me to get back in touch with my passion for graphic design. Moving on, I’m enjoying my time at the nature center because it’s also allowed me to get in touch with my surroundings and start exploring the outdoors more in my free time. I often find myself going on walks throughout the nature center’s park and admiring the nature around me. More-so, I’ve been able to prepare for the festival through tasks that require me to pick leaves for children’s projects. While volunteering, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about what these creative projects are meant to teach children. I’ve learned about how creativity can go hand in hand with education. The nature center thrives to allow children to showcase their creativity while also learning about the nature that constantly surrounds them. Stations where children can paint bird houses serve as a way to showcase their creativity while also giving back to the world little by little.

Blog Post #4 – Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

by serickson11

        Hi everyone! This is my first official blog post so I have a good amount of time to recap but I mostly want to focus on what has occurred in the last two-ish weeks. The biggest thing so far has definitely been the annual Sweep the Hooch event that Mina and I attended on Saturday, March 23rd. There were over 64 sites cleaned, Mina and I went to the Murphey Candler Park one from 9am to 12pm and we got very lucky because we had beautiful weather (the photo is from one of the trails we cleaned up). 

        We mostly stayed on land due to not having proper waders but we still worked our tails off collecting all of the tiny trash that would have washed into the water eventually if not picked up. In total, on Saturday there were 46 volunteers including ourselves at our location and we managed to collect 1530 lbs of trash, 380 lbs of recycling and 5 tires (a pretty impressive amount if I do say so myself). The biggest takeaways I had from this was how easy it was to do a little good for this earth by spending some easy hours collecting trash and that Double Bubble desperately needs to make their packing biodegradable because I picked up so many of those little wrappers to the point I almost went insane. 

         Before this Saturday, I had been going to Chattahoochee Riverkeeper on Fridays to help with trash collection from the trash traps and conducting ETAPs (essentially a forensic litter audit using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol—in simple terms it is just categorizing what was collected into subcategories like take-out boxes, shopping bags, water bottles, etc. and marking brands that show up repeatedly). In this process they also collect water samples to do tests for high levels of anything dangerous in the water. A major situation unfolded while I was there on the 15th when CRK detected dangerously high levels of E. coli in the Chattahoochee River downstream from the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center. There was a big problem with how the AJC was reporting it and spreading misinformation about how long those high levels had been detected and CRK had to make public statements suggesting staying out of the water and requesting that a more factual timeline be displayed to the public. Jordan Yu (CRK Watershed Protection Specialist), Mina and I actually went to the Water Reclamation Center to get a sample from where the water was going into the river (big big big shoutout to Mina for sacrificing herself by getting in full gear to get close to the splashing sewer water). When we got back news stations were there to talk to CRK and Mina and I went inside to thoroughly cleanse ourselves from the nasty water. 

         So far, I have really enjoyed having this opportunity to work with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and could definitely see myself participating in their local events after this class ends based on the good time I had at the Sweep the Hooch event. 

Dunwoody Nature Center and Environmental Education

by rmuslim1

The Dunwoody Nature Center focuses on educating the public about nature and encouraging environmental stewardship. On my first volunteer day, I was told to follow a group of students on their school field trip. At first, I was disappointed by this because I thought it would be boring. I imagined that school field trips were not that insightful for kids or adults, nonetheless. Claire, a volunteer from a high school, seemed excited at this prospect. Her enthusiasm about the field trip made me wonder if it would be worth it after all.

Contrary to my preconceived notions, school field trips are fun and educational. The field trip was split up into an indoor portion, where the kids were introduced to animal furs, an owl’s wing, and a live snake to learn about animal groups, and an outdoor portion where the kids were shown a live toad and tadpoles and learned about watersheds. It was interesting to see how easily they got excited about the live animals. When the instructor showed them the tadpoles and toad, they huddled around him in awe. The funniest thing about the experience was their reaction to the animal furs and the owl wing because the kids were concerned that the instructor had just stolen the fur and wing from the animals to teach the course. At some point the instructor had to clarify that “no animals were harmed in the making of this program”.

That field trip is a highlight of my experience with Dunwoody Nature Center. I thought it was nice that the kids were learning about watersheds because I only recently learned about them in another seminar. The Dunwoody Nature Center has a variety of programs that enable children and adults to interact with nature. Through these programs they promote environmental awareness and stewardship. Recently we have been preparing for the Fairytale Forest Festival which takes place this weekend. As the name suggests, this festival incorporates interactions with nature and fairytales.

I am developing my project with Dua. Our experience with the Dunwoody Nature Center has inspired us to create a product that focuses on environmental education. Some ideas that we have discussed so far include infographics, a website, and a survey. I recently spoke with Dr. Finck about developing a short survey for festival attendees for feedback on the educational aspect of the festival. We might also make a broader survey that addresses environmental education in general. This one will be longer and target individuals at 40 years and under.

 

Service Blog Post #3

by mpham29

On the second day, Mr. Yu was giving a talk about recycling for the 7th graders. It was also raining heavily, so we did not do any litter cleaning. However, I learned about how water sampling works. The “unclean” sample will turn yellow. Some samples did not turn yellow but fluorescence as they were put under UV light. It was fascinating to see the correlation between the distance of the spillage and the number of fluorescence samples. This method was one step in tracking the spillage sites that actively harm our water source. Next, Mr. Yu brought Sydney and me to more trash trap sites, and we saw a $175,000 trash trap owned by the city of Atlanta.

He said that one day, we might clean up that trap. Mr. Yu also showed us a site where they still use the combined sewage/water system. He said it was crucial to keep this river safe for the safety of the people in the area, especially the students from the school right next to the trash trap. The most exciting aspect of my service with Chattahoochee River is the knowledge I retained from many people with different specialties in every session. They had scientists who worked on the water samplings and littering tracking. They also had people who work mainly on social media and fundraising. Volunteering with them helps me realize how much impact a person can make towards “cleaning” our environment.

After getting back to the office, we sometimes discussed the final project for the course. Mr. Yu let us freely decide on the topic that we want to do. He also provided us with data links that might contain the number needed for our presentation. We might take some time to review the data, come up with an overview, and briefly talk about recycling and littering. One of the aspects that leads us to this thought might be coming from the fact that we would visit different sites along the Chattahoochee River and collect litter. We calculated the amount of trash collected for each site into various categories. Therefore, we might be able to figure out a relationship between some of the factors.