CAMPUS NEWS CSU students & faculty practice stream restoration
CSU STUDENTS, FACULTY FEATURED IN FILM
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olumbus State University’s Earth and Space Science faculty and students were recently featured in a film that was livestreamed at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour. The short film, created by The Nature Conservancy, highlights a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and CSU students and faculty. CSU professor Dr. Troy Keller was also a panelist in a live chat discussion following the film’s premiere. “The partnership provides an unparalleled opportunity for CSU students to get first hand experience working on an innovative project that will serve as a model for restoration in the region,” said Dr. Keller. CSU began a partnership with The Nature Conservancy in 2019 as The Nature Conservancy worked on a stream restoration project in the Upatoi Creek watershed near Fort Benning. While The Nature Conservancy worked to remove several dams and restore streams on their own land, CSU students and faculty monitored the area before and after restoration to understand potential habitat improvements resulting from the project. CSU professor Dr. Stacey Blersch is a principal investigator on the project and is featured prominently within the film. “Being a part of this restoration effort has been an amazing experience for myself as well as my students,” said Dr. Blersch.
“Seeing the project evolve from a plan on paper to physical structures in a stream is something most students don’t get to experience. We hope this project will serve as a model of partnership for restoration in our region and provide restoration practitioners with new tools to assess the outcome of these efforts in a changing climate.” For the third year in a row, the Trees Columbus Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour custom-curated a collection of environmental films and documentaries for viewers to enjoy. The live stream event also featured a continuous live chat during the program, so the audience could converse with filmmakers, special guests, and with each other — all in real-time. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival was established by the South Yuba River Citizens League in California. They invite partners to produce nearly 250 On Tour events annually. Festivals aim to inspire environmental activism and a love for nature through the power of film. The On Tour festival in Columbus benefits Trees Columbus, a local environmental nonprofit member organization founded in 2000, which leads the effort to protect Columbus’ urban tree canopy. As of 2019, the On Tour event in Columbus has been the largest in the country. For more information about tickets and films, please visit TreesColumbus.org/wsff.
CREATIVE TO THE CORE
Fall 2020
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