Students engage in cutting edge environmental research on campus
Students assisted recently in a cutting edge live staking project on campus sponsored by the Tennesee Valley Authority with the help of Mainspring Conservation Trust.
Students and faculty at Rabun Gap assisted the Tennessee Valley Authority and Mainspring on October 24 with an experiment in stream bank preservation on school grounds.
As the largest private landowner in Rabun County, Rabun Gap works with a variety of agencies, both federal and state, to help with stewardship of their lands and waterways. The School is always looking to be an example of best management practices for the local community.
The Tennessee Valley Authority sponsored the experiment and came to campus along with Mainspring Conservation Trust who provided help and expertise to complete the live staking project. The purpose of the live staking exercise was to see if this method of stream bank preservation is compatible with livestock grazing and can be accomplished in such a way that it can be applied to farms across the southeast. Live staking is a process where trees are planted in wet areas from cuttings made from living trees. Several aspects of the process that they performed were unique, from the type of trees used to the grazing patterns in the drainage area.
Mr. Woody Malot, a long-time science faculty member at Rabun Gap, spearheaded the experiment. He is passionate about environmental stewardship and has been instrumental in environmental work on campus for decades.
“The reason we are working on the unnamed tributary to Jerry Branch is because Jerry Branch was identified as the most significant source of pollution to the Little Tennessee River in Georgia,” said Mr. Malot. “ Until recently the entire watershed was owned by Rabun Gap. In the past, we established riparian buffer zones around both Jerry Branch on the south side of campus and Sutton Branch and Betty’s Creek on the north side of campus. These buffer zones have improved water quality significantly.”
The areas that were live-staked in October will be monitored for years to come to see if the project is workable. Some of the parameters have never been tested before and Rabun Gap students are on the cutting edge of this research. The School’s hope is that the data is significant enough to publish.
Other ongoing projects include forest and agriculture land-use planning and management protocols, fire fuel mitigation, and continued sediment reduction.
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
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Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School is a private, coeducational day and boarding school for grades Pre-K through 12. Centrally located between Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC, and Asheville, NC, we prepare young people for college, career, and a lifetime of leadership and service.
