the altamaha initiative: spring 2001

Mission Statement

To help protect the ecological integrity of the Altamaha River Basin, with a focus on the major tributary rivers: the Oconee and the Ocmulgee, by working with stakeholders to address natural resource concerns and human activities associated with water quality. The Altamaha Initiative is a service learning course that provides a structured and supportive format for students to apply policy and ecological principles learned in the classroom to the real world of people and policy.

The North Oconee as it passes through Athens. The Oconee and the Ocmulgee Rivers merge to form the Altamaha.

Practicum History

The Altamaha Practicum is a service learning course that matches graduate students from the University of Georgia with community stakeholders facing specific environmental challenges. Students from law, ecology, environmental design, wildlife ecology and scientific illustration may participate in the course. Water quality and the protection of critical streamside environments through the best available science, design and policy concepts are key goals for this hands-on program. The course presents a holistic approach to land use planning from the perspectives of our interdisciplinary faculty and guest lecturers.

Practicum Goals

• Provide an educational environment where students can apply skills learned in the traditional classroom to pressing community concerns and problems;
• Provide an opportunity for students and faculty to work with other disciplines in integrated environmental decision-making and problem-solving thus improving their ability to understand, communicate with, and influence other disciplines;
• Increase awareness of the importance of addressing environmental issues proactively within the university community and the broader community;
• Respond to community concerns and problems in the piedmont region of the Altamaha River Basin. This encompasses the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers, the main tributaries of the Altamaha River;
• Build capacity for service learning at the University of Georgia.

Class Structure

At the beginning of the semester, an extensive list of potential service projects is distributed to the students. The projects have been suggested by local governments, landowners, and conservation groups active in the Altamaha watershed, including the Macon-Bibb County School Department, Greenspace Advisory Committee, and Downtown Development Authority; the government of Jackson County; the Upper Oconee Watershed Network; The Georgia Conservancy; the Altamaha Riverkeeper; The Nature Conservancy; the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest; and the Coastal Georgia Center for Sustainable Development.

Within the first few weeks of the semester, students decide which projects to pursue, and form interdisciplinary teams for each project. All the practicum participants, students and faculty, together create a rubric, a document which clearly articulates the responsibilities and requirements of each participant and of each project team.

Scientific Illustration for the Altamaha Practicum

The practicum includes the opportunity for Scientific Illustration students from the Lamar Dodd School of Art to do directed studies projects under Prof. Gene Wright. To enhance the presentations and publications developed by Practicum participants, the Scientific Illustration students, working with Practicum students and faculty, identify species and ecosystems to illustrate.

Guest Speakers

Most classroom sessions feature guest speakers: once the semester's projects are chosen, experts on relevant topics are invited to address the class. Speakers include UGA faculty, Altamaha stakeholders, and local and state government officials.

Class Schedule - Fridays, 8:30 to 11:30 am (unless noted otherwise)

Note: Class schedule is tentative and subject to change

Beth Fraser of the Upper Oconee Watershed Network presents an overview of the Oconee and its tributaries at the first Altamaha Practicum meeting.

Brian Rood of Mercer University in Macon shows an overlay of Georgia watersheds during his presentation on the Ocmulgee river system.

Alex Scherr of the UGA School of Law leads a discussion on the differences and similarities between the ways scientists and lawyers solve problems.

Class Projects

Macon-Bibb Downtown Development
Municipal Downtown Development Authorities are an underused tool for revitalizing downtown business districts throughout the state. Unfortunately, no substantive "green" guidance exists even for the few DDAs successfully operating today. With the new Greenspace Initiative, the time is right to breathe new life into the DDA mandate by including smart growth and conservation strategies as an integral part of DDA structure. This project involves creating an environmental training module featuring innovative aproaches to sustainable downtown development, using Macon-Bibb's DDA as a model.

Coastal Area Small Wetlands Protection
Small wetlands are particularly vulnerable to the growing development pressures of Georgia's coastal areas, especially in light of the recent US Supreme Court decision that small, individual wetlands are not covered by the Clean Water Act. This project focuses on researching the economic and environmental costs/benefits of protecting small wetlands, and developing legislative and other measures, such as mitigation banking, for their protection.

Watershed-based Curriculum Development
The goals of science education in Georgia include providing students "with the concepts and skills necesary to be responsible, active caretakers of their micro and macro environment..." But science curricula don't currently fulfill this goal. Acting at the request of the Macon-Bibb school system and the Upper Oconee Watershed Network, this project focuses on creating a watershed-based curriculum for middle school students.

Scientific Illustration for the Altamaha Practicum
Four Scientific Illustration students from the Lamar Dodd School of Art are doing a directed studies project under Prof. Gene Wright that brings their talents to the service of the Altamaha Practicum. To enhance the presentations and publications developed by Practicum participants, the Scientific Illustration students, working with Practicum students and faculty, have identified species to illustrate. As the impact of land use on water quality is an important theme of the Practicum, species whose life cycles and habitat depend on clean water have been selected for this project.

Joel Ball Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea American Eel, Anguilla rostrata Rainbow Snake, Farancia erytrogramma
Gini Knight Wetlands ecosystem Altamaha Shiner, Cyprinella xaenura Eastern Spadefoot Toad, Scaphiopus holbrooki Lesser Siren, Siren intermedia Wood Duck, Aix sponsa
Ryan O'Mara Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentina Diamondback Terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin Nine-banded Armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus
Justin Shirah Robust Red Horse, Moxostoma robustum Wood Stork, Mycteria americana

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