Is What Humans Do Natural?
2010 US-IALE Twenty-fifth Anniversary Symposium
Athens, Georgia | April 5-9, 2010
US-IALE 2010 Full-Day Road Trips
I. Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Site – No charge
Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory located in Otto, North Carolina (http://coweeta.uga.edu/ecology/synthesis.html) was established in 1934 to study relationships of land-management practices and the hydrologic cycle, with a specific interest in the role that forests play within watersheds. Experimental manipulation of various land-use practices, including clear cutting to conversion of forest to pasture, were conducted to determine the effects on stream flow and water quality. To date Coweeta constitutes a broad interdisciplinary effort that couples hydrology within an ecosystem context. Since 1980 Coweeta LTER Program has evolved from a site-based to a regional-based project, which examines the effects of disturbance and environmental gradients on biogeochemical cycling. For example, the current program investigates the projected consequences of changing climate and land-use practices in southern Appalachia. The landscapes of the southeastern U.S. are expected to change profoundly in the next five decades as the socioeconomic factors driving the dramatic exurbanization of the past three decades persist, and as climate change intensifies. Climate and land-use consequences will especially impact the rural and semi-rural lands that still characterize much of the region. Since the southern Appalachian region is both a “water tower,” that is, supplying freshwater to the Southeast, and among the richest temperate regions in biodiversity within the U.S. research may provide crucial within-system knowledge to citizenry, policy makers, and scientists interested in sustaining communities.
Histories of the Coweeta Site and Coweeta LTER will be given upon arrival at the United States Forestry Service (USFS) Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. Visits will include previous research sites conducted on watershed management, complex interaction of natural disturbance and land use, as well as recent study sites within the Little Tennessee River Watershed focused on different land-use patterns that affect terrestrial, riparian, and aquatic systems. Coweeta LTER personnel and graduate students currently conducting research in the area will highlight different socioecologic aspects of the current research efforts. These studies consist of recent development patterns (i.e., construction of retirement and second homes at higher landscape levels within the watersheds) that may be influencing regional social and ecological processes.
Includes round-trip transportation and boxed lunch.
II. Georgia Aquarium & World of Coca-Cola® - $91 (transportation provided)
The Georgia Aquarium is the world's largest aquarium with over 8 million gallons of water is the top Atlanta attraction, right in the heart of downtown.
The World of Coca-Cola at Pemberton Place celebrated its Grand Opening on May 24, 2007. It's the only place where you can explore the complete story—past, present and future—of the world's best-known brand. With 60,000 square feet for you to explore, the World of Coca-Cola features more than 1,200 artifacts from around the world that, until now, have never been displayed to the public before.
Includes general admissions, one-hour behind-the-scenes aquarium tour, snacks, and roundtrip transportation.
Inside CNN Atlanta Studio Tour - $18 (transportation provided)
Journey into the heart of CNN Worldwide and get an up-close, in depth look at news in the making. Inside CNN Atlanta offers a close look at the world's most trusted name in news. Ranked among Atlanta's most popular destinations during 20 years of operation, Inside CNN Atlanta is a 55-minute guided walking tour offering guests behind-the-scenes views of the studios of CNN and an exciting glimpse of newsgathering and broadcasting in action.
Includes guided studio tour, snacks, and transportation to and from the CNN Center.
III. Organic Farms, Spring Hollow, Boutier Winery - $27 (transportation provided)
Come join us as we visit three vestiges of local, organic agriculture. Full Moon Farm has married livestock and vegetable; healing the scars of historic agriculture and supplying local restaurants and families with its bounty. Roots Farm is the seasonal produce and social "hornof- plenty" for the community; as they combine down-home vegetarian feasts, summer CSA, and seasonal market offerings. Woodland Gardens has provided a year-round flexing the organic muscles of farmer and soil, as this farm's astounding annual supply of produce feeds multitudes of families and restaurants from Athens to Atlanta.
Spring Hollow is located near Ila, Georgia. This 152-acre (62-ha) property encompasses a log house (circa 1821) for gathering, reference watershed, pond, and old-growth forest. Martha H. and Eugene P. Odum provided an endowment of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) through the University of Georgia Foundation for the maintenance and support of this facility. Restoration of the log house has begun, including the completion of a cedar-plank shingle roof. An interpretive nature trail recently has been traced through the property; this trail focuses on careful observation of native flora and fauna, and unique topography of this property regarding ecological and anthropogenic management.
With a careful emphasis on viniculture, Boutier Vineyards is situated in the temperate Piedmont Region of Georgia. The long growing season and constant breezes help keep fruit and foliage dry and encourage rich, ripe fruit, and healthy vines.
Includes guided tours, lunch of local BBQ, tasting of regional wines, and transportation.
IV. Savannah River Site (SRS) – No charge
The Savannah River Site (SRS) located in South Carolina is an industrial complex operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and a National Environmental Research Park. Established in 1951 as a nuclear materials production facility, the 720km2 - area is located in the Fall Line region and encompasses a diverse array of Upper Coastal Plain habitats. Prior to acquisition by the federal government, the land consisted of dispersed farms and small rural communities, from which the residents were evacuated to allow construction of industrial facilities. One such community, Ellenton, South Carolina, relocated fourteen miles north as New Ellenton, South Carolina. The plight of Ellenton from an obscure town on the Savannah River to global recognition in 1951 is traced by Louise Cassels (1971), a native of Ellenton, in The Unexpected Exodus.
Currently, the SRS processes and stores nuclear materials, however ninety percent of the site is not directly impacted by industrial operations, and closure to public access has resulted in the protection of a diverse array of natural areas. These range from floodplain forests and swamps, to sand hills, black water streams, upland hardwoods, pine forests, old fields, and over 300 geographically isolated wetlands (Carolina bays). In 1951, Dr. Eugene P. Odum, University of Georgia (UGA), initiated ecological research on the SRS that lead to the establishment of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), affiliated with the UGA Odum School of Ecology. As the first National Environmental Research Park of the DOE, the SRS has been a unique and invaluable outdoor laboratory where ecologists, engineers and land managers work together to improve our understanding of how human activities affect the environment.
Since the SRS is a restricted facility of the U.S. Department of Energy; participants on the tour must be U.S. citizens. DOE requires that each visitor provide his/her full name (including middle name), home address, and social security number in advance of the tour and bring two forms of identification (one of which must have a picture) with them on the date of the tour. Visitors will also review a 25-minute security video before receiving visitor badges. Please provide full name, address and social security number to Holly Blanchard, Event Coordinator, (FAX 706.542.6465) by 19 March 2010.
Includes guided tours, round-trip transportation, and boxed lunch.