In this picture I see a drain with a large warning posted right next to it.
I noticed how hard it is to miss the warning as it uses colors that contrast the surrounding environment and how many of these drains have the same warning next to them around campus.
This picture makes me realize how much of a problem public dumping that leads to rivers is in our community. If there was no problem or if it was a small problem, there would not be so many of these warnings around our community.
I feel guilty when I look at this picture because I, along with many others, occasionally throws some small item of trash into these drains without thinking of the consequences to the environment. However, I feel better that there are actions being done to prevent this.
I think this picture reveals that there is a problem with public trash being drained into the river, but that there are actions being taken to prevent this phenomenon.
I took this picture at the area where Lilly Branch comes out
from underground to daylight near Joe Frank Harris. The main thing that struck
me with this picture was the amount of erosion along the bank. The fact that Lilly
Branch has been kept out of sight in most areas kept me from knowing it existed
for the past year at UGA, even though it is easily visible on my morning walk
to class, as I first noticed the next day. The sheer notion astonishes me that the
water from our community, that has been hidden from mine and others’ sight for
so long, has also made such an impact on the environment over the years to
create the erosion we see in the image.
This image prompted me to have more awareness and start to
take action in the community. The fact that our campus was built over the stream
makes me realize that our community has a lack of awareness, and even care,
about where our water goes, and more importantly, where our pollutants end up. Thus,
I am excited to learn more about the specifics of such pollution in Athens and
make a difference through our semester projects.
In this picture, I see the daylight water source of Lily Branch located on East Campus.
What I notice in this picture that stuck out to me initially was the size and natural beauty of it! While it is no massive waterfall or something anyone might go hiking for, it is a beautiful pop of nature we are lucky enough to have in one of the busiest places on campus. People may not even recognize what is right in front of them.
This scene makes me think about, and honestly realize, how I spend so much of my time not taking in my surroundings. I have been a student at UGA and lived in Athens for over a year, and I have never noticed this watershed site until I was forced to go searching for it. I even work at the Ramsey Student Center which is directly next to where this picture of Lily Branch was taken and I had no idea it was there! Along with that, I had no idea about the intricate watershed system that I learned about while on my scavenger hunt. There are so many intricate places and structures that go into Lily Branch that I was oblivious to! This East Campus scene also made me realize that when I am not noticing things like this in my environment, it causes me to loose consciousness of how I am treating the environment and watersheds in my area. While I do not treat them “bad”, I have not put in any effort to treat them better. I have been oblivious to the situation and the need on campus for us to care for our watershed.
When I look at this picture, I feel peace. Water has always been a place where I feel calmed whether it be by an ocean, lake, pond, river, and even stream. The gentle movement of the water always allows me to take a step back and clear my mind. This picture also makes me feel motivated to spread awareness about how we can promote healthier watersheds in our area.
I think this picture is about realizing what is right in front of us that we often overlook. It will serve as a reminder for me, and hopefully others in our class, that we should recognize what our environment needs from us so that it can continue to be healthy.
In this picture I see the Lily Branch stream tucked in next to River Rd and the East Campus Dining Hall. The first thing I noticed about this was how the stream is sunken into the ground and tucked away; I had never noticed it until I took this picture and did the scavenger hunt. This picture makes me think about how out-of-sight the streams actually are, even if they’re daylighting. It surprised me how ignored and hidden the stream is. When I see this picture I feel the beauty of the land and stream, but I also feel the neglect of the stream because it is “out of sight, out of mind.” I think this picture is about noticing the world around us and attempting to protect and recognize nature.
In this picture, I see a broken up red solo cup close to the watershed.
What really struck me about this picture is that the piece of trash is so small, that anyone who passed by it could easily pick it up. It is also unclear how long this piece of trash has been there. It could have been there for years for all that we know, so it is very sad that no one picked it up yet.
This picture makes me think about how little we care for our environment, even our closest surroundings. This is not like throwing a piece of trash in a place you will never visit again (which is still bad). This shows people trash their own home, and also don’t care enough to fix it whether or not it is theirs.
When I look at this picture, I feel sad. I also feel hypocritical because I know that as bad as it is to leave this trash there, there have been plenty of times where I have just left a piece of trash somewhere because I was in a hurry or I just did not care enough.
I think this picture is about being aware of how our small actions affect something as big as a watershed. It is also about being aware of how much impact we can make just by being conscientious of our own and others mistakes.
I think that the groups I am interested in, cleaning the watershed and the tailgating cleanup, would both agree that this is an important issue. At the tailgating initiative especially, they probably have seen many more red solo cups around that people just discarded.
In this picture, I see a simple sewer grate set into the side of the road with a label in front of it that says “NO DUMPING! DRAINS TO RIVER.”
What I notice in this picture is how clear the warning label. It is written in capital letters on a white background, is surprisingly large, and even has illustrations of water and a fish to emphasize the point.
This picture makes me think about rivers and streams and how they are constantly impacted by our bad choices. We are always dumping trash and other toxins into the waterways around us and think little of it.
When I look at this picture, I feel proud but also sad. I’m proud of the community for putting up a sign like this in an effort to remind us of the consequences of our actions. However, I also feel sad because I realize that we shouldn’t need a label there and that the only reason it is there is because we messed up in the past.
I think this picture is about us learning from our past mistakes and trying to do the right thing as we move forward.
This picture shows the portion of Lilly Branch watershed that goes underground through a culvert.
The one thing that struck out to me was how secluded the culvert was. Because this was so well hidden, I was surprised when I first came across this portion of the creek. Aside from its location, I was also surprised to see the area surrounding the culvert. It was very unnatural. The creek loses its natural aesthetic when it flows between the concrete. Since the area is surrounded by trees, it is difficult for light to shine on the creek. As seen in the picture, the dim nature of this area makes it difficult for some plant life to grow.
This picture made me think about how hidden this culvert was. If I didn’t wander into the woods, I would’ve never stumbled upon it. This picture reinforces the idea that most of the watershed is out of sight. Just because it’s difficult to spot, it doesn’t mean it’s insignificant. People with limited knowledge about the watershed may not see the importance of this culvert and the area around it.
When I look at this photo, I feel a sense of responsibility to maintain the watershed. Even though this portion is out of sight, it brought to my attention that most of the watershed here is hidden. The watershed’s importance does not diminish because it is difficult to spot.
I think this picture conveys the hidden nature of the watershed. It shows that parts of a watershed may be difficult to find, but we should be aware that our actions can affect the health of the watershed.
In this picture, I see an area where the river disappears under ground. It goes under campus, specifically under the ECV area.
The one thing I noticed in this photo was how dry the area was, because at the time this photo was taken, it had been a while since the last rain. In addition, after I took the photo, I noticed so many more similar things around campus, like right next to Bolton Dining Commons.
This picture makes me realize just how much influence civilization has in the Athens area, specifically on the UGA campus. There are multiple instances where things are built over creeks and rivers, most notably Sanford Stadium which is built over a creek.
When I look at this picture, I feel reassured that mankind is the strongest species on Earth and does things to the environment that are in their best interest rather beneficial to the environment.
I think this picture is about the issues of humanity exerting their dominance on the Earth, which can be very harmful, because it is very important to conserve the planet we live so it can be enjoyed for multiple generations.
In this picture, I see an art instillation near a stream that runs under a bridge. The stream is dry in the picture but it looks like water would be there when it rains.
It’s interesting that the picture was taken on campus but there’s no sign of school buildings. I didn’t expect to find art in the middle of a watershed.
This picture wouldn’t originally strike me as having an art installation but you can see it when you look closer. I think someone would see the trees and the dry ground and not be able to tell water is meant to flow there.
When I look at this picture, I feel calm because it features a peaceful, natural environment.
I think this picture is about nature being one form of art and the instillation being another.
In our Watershed scavenger hunt field trip, my group and I went around the east campus taking photos of different locations that involved water. My group was me, Ted Otto, Zach O’Connor, and Chase Ghannam. I was one of the picture takers in our group and would get out at the locations and take the picture that we needed. I also helped with directions.
I found this field trip to be very interesting because I never knew what half of the items on the scavenger hunt were. Our group also made the mistake of driving instead of walking. This made finding some of the locations much more difficult because we couldn’t leave the car to go take pictures. We had to find a spot to park before we could go do anything.
In this experience I learned that sometimes doing things the hard way (walking) is actually much more beneficial than the easy way (driving). I did use some of my skills that I leaned through Boy Scouts. It was helpful because we had to navigate through the woods for a few minutes to find where the creek merged with the Oconee River.
As a result of my experience, I will most likely take the more difficult path next time because it ends up being a better teacher.
