Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy History

Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy, an Augusta, Georgia-based private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1996 in response to a critical need in the community for leadership in natural resources management and environmental education. The Academy’s mission is to promote environmental stewardship through education, research, and public outreach. Today the Academy is highly qualified for these tasks, employing specialized scientists and educators with degrees and professional work experience in the natural sciences.

The Academy’s work began with two initiatives. The first involved a plan to solve Augusta’s recurring violation of the city’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) wastewater permit limits by designing a constructed wetlands complex for tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater. Ten acres of natural wetlands were impacted during construction of the manmade wetlands complex, and the concept of the Academy was proposed as an innovative form of wetland mitigation. This marked the first time in the history of the Southeast that the Corps of Engineers accepted environmental education as a form of mitigation.

The second initiative was to form Phinizy Swamp Nature Park through a public-private partnership with Augusta – Richmond County , Georgia. Today visitors enjoy the extensive natural wonders of the 1150-acre Nature Park through trails, boardwalks, observation decks, outdoor classrooms, and a picnic pavilion. The park serves as a platform for Academy programs that brings scientists, educators, and the general public together in a collective effort for better stewardship of our valuable natural resources. Last year more than 40,000 people visited the park and over 7,000 K-12 and undergraduate students and teachers participated in Academy education programs.

The goals of the Academy are to promote clean water, to restore ecological functions, and to serve as a catalyst for community participation in local natural resources management. The Academy is the only organization in this area pursuing these goals.

In October of 2003, the Academy celebrated the opening of its fully funded Phinizy Swamp Campus at the park with research, education, and visitor facilities. In September 2005, construction of the Academy’s fully funded Administrative Headquarters was completed, and the Academy's administrative staff rejoined the education and research staff on campus. This facility has been instrumental in fulfilling the objectives of the Academy’s Savannah River at Risk Initiatives, and provides a site for hosting meaningful community forums on critical water resources issues. The new Campus provides the Academy with teaching tools unparalleled in this community. The co-location of the research facility with administrative, education and visitor buildings enables Academy staff to more effectively integrate scientific research on natural resources management into K-12 education programs, college courses, and family outreach events.

Research

The Academy’s research program began with a Savannah River fish tissue study, conducted in conjunction with the University of Georgia in 1998. The Academy's project resume includes extensive research in the areas of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment, terrestrial and aquatic-based ecological restoration, and urban river impacts.

The Academy research programs focus on river basin ecology in the areas of watersheds, rivers, floodplains, streams and wetlands; and restoration ecology, including urban impacts, mining, reforestation, and low impact development. These programs foster conservation and preservation of remaining natural resources, and engage in science-based restoration and rehabilitation of sites where ecological value has been degraded. The Academy has advanced its profile within the research community by forming its Center for Urban River Research and its Center for Ecological Restoration.

In 2003, the Academy completed construction of its research facility in Augusta, Georgia, dedicated as the Center for Urban River Research. This facility provides an ideal laboratory for field-based ecological research and supports the Academy’s undergraduate teaching program. The Center for Urban River Research currently focuses on several projects of importance to the resources of Savannah River and the economic health of the region. These projects are outlined briefly below:

• Innovative approach to funding water quality research in Augusta’s 22-mile urban corridor of the Savannah River Because research funds for addressing urban impacts to rivers are scarce, the Academy went directly to the people to raise funds in support of a critical research project to develop a baseline of the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the urban corridor of the Savannah River and its major feeder streams. From our abbreviated baseline study, we have developed the scope for a rigorous research project that has undergone intense peer review. The Savannah River at Risk research initiative will formally begin in October 2005. This project will combine the Academy’s expertise with the research talents of universities, agencies, and other environmental groups in order to maximize the value of funding. The Academy already has raised nearly $1.26 million for this important research effort.
• Novel optimization study for Augusta – Richmond County ’s constructed wetlands complex. The constructed wetlands project is responsible for the most significant water quality improvement in Augusta ’s urban corridor of the Savannah River in decades. Our research is providing new insights into the biology, chemistry, and hydrology of constructed wetlands, and how these wetlands should be designed and operated as a cost-effective and efficient means to remove nutrients from wastewaters and runoff. The Academy recently completed a multi-parameter tracer study is being conducted which provided insight into hydraulic modeling in man-made wetland systems.
• Pioneering science-based restoration of degraded clay mine properties in Phinizy Swamp that provide a significant base-flow of groundwater to the Savannah River. This research project links the role of bottomland reforestation to water quality and will serve as a model for restoration of numerous clay, sand, and gravel mines throughout Georgia. Eventually, 3500-acres of degraded floodplain will be restored into a mosaic of bottomland hardwood forest and wetlands which will serve as a regional floodplain restoration demonstration site.
• Preserving and restoring ecological functions. Academy scientists conduct research in the area of urban ecology by working with environmentally-concious developers to preserve and restore ecological resources within proposed developments and to protect receiving streams from stormwater impacts.

In 2003, the Academy licensed a portion of the closed Kennecott-Ridgeway Gold Mine in Ridgeway , South Carolina , to create its Center for Ecological Restoration. Mining at the site, which was completed in 1999, resulted in a reconfigured landscape with two deep mine pits. These pits were partially backfilled with waste rock and filling with surface water and groundwater began to create pit lakes. Due to modern removal and extraction technologies, the pit lakes are approximately 450 feet deep, and such pit lakes have historically posted an environmental challenge because of the acidity of the water and the mobilization of metals from the pit walls and backfill materials. As the lakes fill and become a source of discharge to surrounding surface waters and groundwaters, pit lake water quality becomes an important issue. To address such issues, Kennecott Minerals funded an extensive five year research and monitoring program by the Academy addressing the physical, chemical and biological factors involved in the developing pit lakes.

The Academy’s two research centers provide a critical link between human activities and our shared water and land resources so that future generations will be able to enjoy sustainable uses of critical natural resources.

Education

The Academy is filling a valuable niche in our community for environmental education and outreach programs, and education is central to the Academy’s mission. Since 1998, the Academy has conducted formal K-12 environmental education programs at the Nature Park for thousands of students per year. These Academy programs serve students from public, private, and home schools in six counties throughout the area, and they are designed to complement conventional classroom science education with hands-on learning experiences that promote student understanding of local natural resources issues. The Academy faculty also developed college-level courses in Ecological Restoration and teaches undergraduate and graduate students at our sites for our academic affiliates.

Academy education programs not only exceed state and local criteria for science education, but they are also of recognized excellence. Recent awards include the 2005 President's Environmental Youth Award, 2005 Environmental Educator of the Year Award, given by the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s Georgia Chapter, 2004 Take Pride in America Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior, and 2003 Conservation Fund Environmental Educator of the Year Award to add to its repertoire of awards from state and national entities. In addition, the Academy’s regional contributions were recognized with the 2004 Outstanding Service Award from the North American Association for Environmental Education, a multinational organization.

The Academy recently shifted its education focus to middle school and high school with across-the-curriculum programming. Entire grades of middle and high school students now visit Phinizy Swamp Nature Park with their teachers from all academic disciplines to experience each field of study as it applies to the natural sciences.

Since the Academy’s founding, the education philosophy has been one of inclusion, with every effort made to ensure that no child is turned away from Academy programs.

Public Outreach

The Academy offers a variety of events at the Nature Park and other venues designed to reach the many diverse audiences it serves. For example, Songbird Hikes and Waterfowl Hikes appeal to birders and seniors. Swamp Saturdays appeal to nature enthusiasts. Family Bike Tours and Family Dinners are activities for the whole family to enjoy. Moonlight Serenades and Full Moon Nature Hikes provide a unique after-hours look at the swamp and nocturnal wildlife. The Cattail Kids Club, Gator Gang, Muskrateers, Creek Freaks Adopt-A-Stream Club, and Eagle Eyes Youth Birding Team provide elementary, middle and high school children with after-school fun and learning. The most popular annual event is Earth Day Augusta, which the Academy has managed and hosted for Augusta since 1998. The Academy recently expanded its Earth Day reach into South Carolina communities and dubbed the week-long event Earth Day Central Savannah River Area and unified it with the "Sustaining the Savannah" theme. In addition, the Academy, which is not a United Way agency, continues to partner with various United Way agencies to reach underprivileged children.

A strong component of our Savannah River at Risk Initiatives includes a public outreach component, three public forums open to all stakeholders within the Savannah River Basin . These forums offer the unique opportunity for stakeholders to share issues and concerns with other stakeholders and state, local, and regional regulatory agencies, and be updated on Savannah River research programs of the Academy and other environmental groups.