Kayla Hira and Kaden Melton matched with Blue Heron Nature Preserve (BHNP) this semester. Learning from Denise Cardin and other members of the team at Blue Heron, they set up weather stations in different parts of the preserve to learn about the environmental impact of urban forests and wetlands. They also performed a survey of trees at both of their homes and GSU’s downtown campus. Learn about their project, the data they collected, and the stakes of this information below:
Nya Nicholson developed these informative guides for coexisting peacefully with urban coyotes after identifying a set of common concerns in reports of coyote sightings for her community partner, the Atlanta Coyote Project.
For their community partner, Wild Nest Bird Rehab, Grace Brawn and Diane Kong created a presentation to inform the public about ways to mitigate injuries to migrating songbirds passing through Atlanta each year. Their presentation emphasizes window collisions, a major cause of bird deaths annually and an event that brought 30 Cedar Waxwings into their care this semester, only three of which were able to survive their injuries.
Sydney Erickson, Tiffany Le, and Mina Pham spent their semester volunteering with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. They cleaned out trash traps and analyzed their contents, tested the water after a major equipment failure at the RM Clayton Wastewater Treatment Facility resulted in unsafe levels of e. coli bacteria in parts of the river, and helped with events like Sweep the Hooch.
These students documented their journal on an Instagram account dedicated to the experience:
https://www.instagram.com/crk_volunteer_gsu/
They also discuss their research and findings in this accessible and engaging presentation: Service Learning Final Project
Dua Spall and Raihaanah Bint Abdullah Muslim worked with the Dunwoody Nature Center, an organization with an emphasis on outdoor environmental education. To help communicate this organization’s message, they produced an infographic about the importance of environmental education for young children with evidence from DNC’s record of providing quality, public environmental-educational programming.
Kelly Clarke and Sheryl Varghese volunteered with the Intown Atlanta Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society (GNPS) this semester. They worked on various projects, from plant sales to park cleanups, with their community partner, learning about the importance of preserving native ecosystems and local biodiversity.
During their time with this organization, they saw a need to help promote native planting and gardening beyond an audience of homeowners with private lawns and stewards of public parks, so they launched a three-pronged campaign to bring what they learned to a couple of additional communities: their campus community at GSU and renters and other folks with limited space to garden or strict regulations about how they can use the green spaces they have.
Working closely with Dr. Amy Lederberg, Leslie Inman, and Vicki Mann of the Intown Atlanta Chapter, Sheryl and Kelly planned an informational event on campus, where they gathered support to start a campus charter of GNPS (coming in Fall 2024):
They also created three infographic fliers to help people access information about the organization, native plants and the ecosystems they supports, and opportunities to make a positive ecological impact:
As I begin to wrap things up with the Atlanta Coyote Project, I can say that I’ve enjoyed my time with the organization. All my work was completed virtually which wasn’t what I had planned for, but it turned out to fit well with my busy schedule this semester. My primary task involved reviewing submitted coyote sightings through the project’s website. The organization is run by two college professors with busy schedules of their own. They haven’t been able to thoroughly look through these submissions in several years, so my task of going through the submissions was the top priority.
There were hundreds of submissions that I had to read with varying experiences and attitudes toward coyotes. Negative feedback often stemmed from concerns about the safety of pets or children. Positive perspectives typically came from people who had familiarized themselves with coyotes through the project’s website or other sources, expressing curiosity and fascination about local wildlife. The Atlanta Coyote Project’s website has valuable insights on coyotes and strategies for coexistence, yet the abundance of information available may be overwhelming to digest.
For my final project, I aim to create straightforward infographics with concise information for easy reference based on the seasons. Coyotes exhibit different behaviors throughout the seasons, and as the weather gets warmer, coyote pups tend to be more active and branch out. Concurrently, humans and pets also spend more time out when it’s warmer. Through my infographic, I hope to provide important seasonal information and address common public concerns, so people can be better informed about coexistence with coyotes. Ultimately, this infographic could serve as a resource on their website, social media platforms, or used as a flyer for presentations.
My work with the Dunwoody Nature Center has been an enlightening experience overall. I mainly helped them prepare for their programs in terms of organization. I also helped during field trips and the Fairytale Forest Festival. The most satisfying experience was removing knots from bird houses in preparation for the festival. Holly wanted the bird houses to look more like fairy houses, so she also widened their doors with a small saw.
The most shocking experience was witnessing the behavior of five-year-olds during a recent field trip. While I know that kids fight each other for no particular reason, I was still shocked when they did so during one of our field trips. This was a filed trip for kids around five years of age (basically, babies). There was an indoors component where the kids colored cut-outs of snakes and played with toys. The outdoors portion was more or less a hike because there was no educational component, it was full of site-seeing and playing “The Floor is Lava”. I was not interested in playing “The Floor is Lava”, but the kids kept yelling at me out of concern that I was standing in lava, so I started to play along. At some point we made it to the Tarzan swing that had a platform on either side. The kids stood in line waiting for their turns, but one kid skipped line which caused a fight to break out and the kids started pushing each other. This made me nervous because anyone could have fallen off the platform and gotten extremely hurt. The teacher did not seem phased with their behavior. Besides that incident, I witnessed the kids bullying each other and one even got bitten. It is important to state that all the kids were sweet, even the ones that were fighting. Out of the thirteen kids, only two caused trouble, and one of them had just turned five.
I do believe that I played a part on furthering Dunwoody Nature Center’s mission. Not only did I help prepare for programs, I also gave Holly feedback on how to improve them next year. I also believe that the final project will be useful to the organization because they can use our product to enhance their advertisements.
This week at Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, I went to go sample some more water from the river. Recently, R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center had released large amounts of untreated wastewater into the Chattahoochee river causing the E. Coli levels to reach 340 times greater than the recommended limit. R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center treats a large portion of the Atlanta’s wastewater, however the untreated wastewater polluted the river and affects the population that lives downstream of the sewage spill. I went to sample the water that was being directly released from the water treatment plant. Although I did not get the result back from the lab, news articles online state that it may take months for the e.coli levels to go back down.
Although the drinking water from our tap is not affected, it is still unfair to the plants and communities downstream of the Chattahoochee that also have to deal with the highly contaminated water. Additionally, the wastewater being discharged back into the river will release foul odors in which communities living near the river will have to endure the consequences. It is scary to think about the individuals who are not aware of this incident. Exposure to E.coli is a risk in exposure to pathogens, therefore individuals who are not made aware of the situation and who also have a poor immune system become more vulnerable to sickness.
I went to collect a water sample from this water treatment facility and it was definitely an experience. I went directly to the water discharge area to collect a sample but it was kind of scary since the water that is being released back into the river was splashing everywhere. Of course I was wearing proper PPE but nonetheless, being splashed with untreated sewage water was not the best scenario to be in.. More importantly, it was an eye opening experience. I only did it once, though, there are individuals who do this for a living. It really gave me a chance to be grateful to those who are willing to put themselves in uncomfortable positions to help the environment as well as the community.
Reflecting on my experiences at Wild Nest Rehab as I near the end of my required hours with them, I have developed sympathy for these vulnerable creatures in our modern, industrial society. This journey has been full of unexpected discoveries, challenges, and moments of deeper understanding. Overall there is an issue about the lack of knowledge about avian species among the general population. Many of these incidents could have been prevented if people were more knowledgeable about bird behavior and nesting habits. It’s a reminder of the importance of education and awareness when it comes to coexisting with wildlife in our increasingly urbanized environments. For instance, one of the most surprising revelations has been the extent of bird injuries caused by collisions with windows and other structures—an issue often overlooked in the hectic schedule of everyday life. Another example of this was when an individual brought in baby house finches whose nests had been inadvertently removed by a pressure washer worker, leaving them orphaned. Although Wild Nest Rehab is about treating and rehabilitating injured birds; it’s also about preventing these incidents from happening in the first place through informed action and respect for wildlife.
I highly encourage others to volunteer with this organization; the supportive atmosphere and meaningful contributions make it a truly fulfilling experience. Looking forward, I find myself considering further involvement with this cause. Throughout this experience, I have admired the organization’s dedication to caring for injured birds. I was able to have first-hand experience with avian care from thorough injury assessments to precise treatment administration.