Coursework helps restore Olentangy River
COLUMBUS – Giving students the chance to help restore a portion of the Olentangy River is one of the goals behind a service-learning project at The Ohio State University.
The Olentangy Technology Transfer, Education and Research (OTTER) Project is a collaboration between four service-learning courses at Ohio State to help design a stream restoration project that reflects the needs of the University District community, the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed and the city of Columbus.
Water samples indicate that the two-mile stretch of the Olentangy River that runs through Ohio State’s campus is one of the most impaired sections of the waterway, said Timothy Lawrence, coordinator for the CampUShed, a university program that promotes the collaboration between the academic and service sectors of the university to address environmental issues on campus.
“With its expertise, Ohio State is in a very good position to take on projects like this one,” Lawrence said. “When the project is completed, the Olentangy River could be a place for the university to congregate.” Lawrence said the section of the Olentangy River that divides the campus into two halves, west and main campuses, has a lot of sediment and lacks the diversity of fish, mussels and other aquatic species found in other parts of the river.
“Ohio State is working with the Columbus community to deal with this environmental issue,” Lawrence said. “Allowing such interaction between the university and the community is extremely important.”
The city of Columbus, in a settlement with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, has proposed consideration of the Fifth Avenue dam’s removal, said Herb Asher, a university liaison for the Columbus community. As a first step in the process, the Army Corps of Engineers will be conducting a feasibility study to determine how the dam’s removal would affect the Olentangy River and its surrounding areas. If the study suggests that the dam should be removed, the river’s water flow will improve, but the landscape will be affected as the river goes through a transition period. Those involved with the project are working with the community to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“This project gives Ohio State a chance to work closely with the community and to give the community an active voice in the process,” Asher said. “Restoring the Olentangy River could make the area much more attractive to the community.”
If the dam is removed this would adversely affect the Ohio State men’s and women’s crew clubs.
However, Asher said, an alternative practice site would need to be found before the university could support removal of the dam. The university is working with the city on this issue.
The project is divided into four focus areas, each of which coincides with an Ohio State course:
• Ecosystem Management Policy (Natural Resources 835) – promotes group discussions with Ohio State students and the University District community to determine perceptions of the Olentangy River and thoughts of dam removal
• Planting Design (Landscape Architecture 633) – examines planting design, its theory and practice, using themes of sustainable design, ecological restoration and community- based problem solving
• Ecological Engineering and Science (Civil Engineering/Natural Resources/Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering 618) – collaborates to create designs for proposed restoration, recreation and education projects on the river; students will design a scenario in which the Fifth Avenue dam both remains in place and is removed
• Community Education (Natural Resources 715) – gathers community feedback for the proposed restoration designs and shares it with contributors.
According to Jay Martin, an ecological engineering professor, the project combines the university’s missions of teaching, research and service.
“Ohio State has the opportunity to accomplish its goals through this project,” Martin said, adding that the professors involved will help the students learn about river restoration while benefiting the community.
“Students are more eager to participate if a project affects campus,” Martin said. “Our goal is to provide the best opportunity for students to benefit.”
Deborah Georg, who teaches the landscape architecture course, said her students’ assignment is to design a landscape that “makes the space come to life and connects people to the river.” Landscape architecture students and students from the ecological engineering class collaborate to design a landscape responding to restoration needs and the needs defined in community surveys.
Georg said the project has been a wonderful educational experience for her students.
“It is invaluable to see how the project could affect the community,” she said. “Service-learning is a way to give the students the feeling that the project really means something. It is more than just an academic pursuit.”
In addition to the OTTER project, Ohio State students and researchers are already working to improve the water quality of the river through the university’s Olentangy River Wetland Research Park.
