Wetland at Lakeshore Park is an ‘outdoor classroom’
Dalton State College ornithologist David DesRochers said the college began studying animal and plant populations in the wetland at Lakeshore Park eight years ago.
At the time, the wetland at the west end of the current track and artificial-turf, multi-use field were littered with trash and construction debris. Little care was given to the native plant and animal species living there.
“When we started doing the surveys in 2011, it was when the wetland was at its most degraded point,” DesRochers said. “The grass was cut right up to the edge of the water and there was not a lot of habitat and we were surprised at the bird species that were coming in and using it even then. It takes a few years for a habitat like this to rebound.”
In the years since the study began, the park’s natural ecology has undergone a revitalization with the help of city of Dalton money and the efforts from a six-year partnership of the college and students and teachers at nearby Brookwood School. The funding to help with the efforts to preserve the area came from the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that passed in 2015. Part of that SPLOST included $2.2 million for projects around the park.
Dalton Mayor Dennis Mock said the money spent on the wetland put the “special” in the SPLOST.
“We are only borrowing this Earth while we are here,” Mock said. “We need to preserve it for future generations. It (the wetland) is a real important aspect of the city. It involves community. It brings the college kids here and it brings the Brookwood elementary kids here and gives them a place for significant research and training for possible careers. It is just a great facility.”
The addition of a walking trail, pavilion and bridge across the wetland have enhanced the project, which included removing invasive plants and planting replacement vegetation that had been destroyed.
Students from the college were recently completing another of their regular surveys of the area’s turtle population. Biology professor John Lugthart said surveys of the area have included vegetation, birds, amphibians, plants, fish and invertebrates.
“We began this study and several other studies just to get an idea of what was living here in the natural areas of Lakeshore Park and the wetland and the lake,” Lugthart said. “One of the reasons why we began the surveys was in the hope this revitalization would really occur. In population studies it is great to have that before-and-after data. We have continued with surveys to see what has happened since then with the improvements (to the area).”