Wetlands
Aquatic Education Research Facility
The AERF is replicated experimental wetlands on campus. The HAERF was built on the KSU campus in 2001. It includes 10 independently flooded wetland basins, a stream pool habitat, and terrestrial habitat around the perimeter of the wetlands. The wetlands have been in use since 2002 to conduct population and community-level experiments under natural environmental conditions.
Peatland Wetland
A peatland wetland includes a shallow pool, dry in the summer that usually floods after spring rains and snowmelt. Kent State University faculty, staff and Biology Club students collaborated on a management plan to preserve a peatland wetland on campus. Kent State University is using best management practices to achieve its goal of providing a healthy and functioning wetland ecosystem. This provides excellent amphibian breeding habitat due to the lack of predatory fish.
Stormwater Wetlands
Stormwater Wetlands are located along the Portage County Hike and Bike trail and Summit Street. Stormwater wetlands (a.k.a. constructed wetlands) are structural practices similar to wet ponds that incorporate wetland plants into the design. As stormwater runoff flows through the wetland, pollutant removal is achieved through settling and biological uptake within the practice. Wetlands are among the most effective stormwater practices in terms of pollutant removal and they also offer aesthetic and habitat value. Although natural wetlands can sometimes be used to treat stormwater runoff that has been properly pretreated, stormwater wetlands are fundamentally different from natural wetland systems. Stormwater wetlands are designed specifically for the purpose of treating stormwater runoff, and typically have less biodiversity than natural wetlands in terms of both plant and animal life. Several design variations of the stormwater wetland exist, each design differing in the relative amounts of shallow and deep water, and dry storage above the wetland. (USEPA)
Environmental Science and Design Research Symposium
The Environmental Science and Design Symposium is a multidisciplinary forum that promotes the exchange of ideas related to the resiliency of natural and built systems. Speakers from a wide range of disciplines (fashion, geology, geography, architecture, and ecology) will address topics related to urban, sustainability, restoration, and the integration of design with biological systems.
Registration is free and open to the public. You may support the symposium, attend, submit abstracts for poster presentations, and encourage other students and colleagues to attend!