Letting nature do its job

The Wetlands Ecology and Management class didn't have to go far to see an example of applied management.  A five minute ride from west campus and a quick walk brought us face-to-with Stream and Water Assessment Management Park (SWAMP), a project organized through the Duke University Wetland Center (DUWC).  The director of the DUWC happens to be our professor, Dr. Curtis Richardson.   The project was organized out of the need to clean up Upper Sandy Creek, a stream that sends water down towards a drinking water source for four counties in North Carolina.  The stream had high nutrient levels collected from the roads and parking lots on Duke campus.  The runoff from these impervious surfaces also increased the speed that water enters the stream causing severe erosion.  This deepened the channel of the stream and cut it off from the wetland soil and vegetation that is responsible for absorbing most of the nutrients.   The project implemented in three phases over the past three years attempts to reconnect the stream with its flood plain and restore the wetland to the point that it can remove excess nutrients from the water.  

For me, the field trip was a great representation of how the Nicholas school takes science and applies it to the real world.  It was also ironic to see wetlands, which have been filled in and built on for centuries, used as a tool valued for its ability to clean up the impacts of development.   Wetlands are actually being tested in many cities across the United Stated as a way to clean wastewater.  Understanding wetland ecology may eventually allow us to eliminate waste water treatment plants, which require significant amounts of energy and resources to run properly.  

Next semester, Dr. Richardson is teaching a wetland restoration course where students work in groups to develop a wetland restoration plan from beginning to end.  It will be a great opportunity to apply the background information we have gained this semester.