{"663737":{"#nid":"663737","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers and Alumni Aid in $2.6 Million Effort to Restore Salt Marshes in Historic Charleston","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor marine scientist, climate activist, and Tech alumnus Albert George (MS\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHSTS\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;2009), the fight against climate change is also a fight for home.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, what started as a citizen science initiative led by George has turned into a $2.6 million National Fish and Wildlife Association effort to restore degraded salt marshes in Charleston, South Carolina. As part of the project, Joel Kostka, professor and associate chair of Research in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, will lead a team of researchers to not only monitor these restoration efforts, but gain insights into why the marshes degraded in the first place \u0026mdash; and how to prevent it from happening in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOver the past three years, Kostka, who has a joint appointment in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, has worked with SCDNR and Robinson Design Engineers, a local firm co-led by Tech alum Joshua Robinson (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECEE\u003C\/a\u003E 2005), to develop engineering and design plans for the restoration of the salt marshes.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;That project went really well,\u0026rdquo; shared Kostka, \u0026ldquo;and now we have developed engineering and design plans for the actual restoration as we are moving forward with the next phase.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWork for the current phase of the project is set to begin soon. Over the next four years, community volunteers will work to plant marsh grasses, restore oyster reefs, and excavate the tidal creeks that supply the marsh with sea water.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Because if we don\u0026#39;t do this work,\u0026rdquo; George shared, \u0026ldquo;then basically it means a place that I grew up in and a place that I call home will no longer exist.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/community-collaborations\u0022\u003ERead more about the collaborative effort and the community that started it all in the College of Sciences newsroom.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat started as a citizen science initiative led by a M.S. HTS\u0026nbsp;alum has led to a $2.6 million National Fish and Wildlife Foundation effort to restore degraded salt marshes in historic Charleston. As part of the project, which is being spearheaded by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, School of Biological Sciences Professor and Associate Chair of Research Joel Kostka will lead a team of researchers to monitor restoration efforts \u0026mdash; and to better understand why the marsh died off in the first place.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A citizen science initiative led by a M.S. HTS alum has turned a community\u2019s concerns into a collaborative effort \u2014 which includes Biological Sciences Professor Joel Kostka \u2014 to study and restore Charleston\u2019s degraded salt marshes."}],"uid":"35766","created_gmt":"2022-12-08 13:36:54","changed_gmt":"2022-12-16 19:02:56","author":"dminardi3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-12-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2022-12-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"662947":{"id":"662947","type":"image","title":"An aerial view of the restoration site in historic Maryville.","body":null,"created":"1667841055","gmt_created":"2022-11-07 17:10:55","changed":"1667841055","gmt_changed":"2022-11-07 17:10:55","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251004","name":"DJI_0211.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DJI_0211.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DJI_0211.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":700007,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DJI_0211.JPG?itok=jmI3zn0L"}}},"media_ids":["662947"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.postandcourier.com\/environment\/historic-maryville-marsh-damaged-by-drought-getting-new-life-with-volunteers-in-the-muck\/article_42db5cba-38e9-11ed-8a06-7fe7f0eec66e.html","title":"Historic Maryville marsh damaged by drought getting new life with volunteers in the muck"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/joel-kostka-awarded-32-million-keep-digging-how-soils-and-plants-capture-carbon-and-keep-it-out","title":"Joel Kostka Awarded $3.2 Million to Keep Digging into How Soils and Plants Capture Carbon \u2014 And Keep It Out of the Atmosphere"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/salt-marsh-grass-georgias-coast-gets-nutrients-growth-helpful-bacteria-its-roots","title":"Salt Marsh Grass On Georgia\u2019s Coast Gets Nutrients for Growth From Helpful Bacteria in Its Roots"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAudra Davidson, College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEditor and Contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences at Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jess@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}