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Research | Education | Community Engagement

Virtual Everglades Educational Experience - What Are Stormwater Treatment Areas?

FAU’s Center for Environmental Studies has been developing a series of Virtual Everglades Educational Experiences to inform the public about important restoration and water quality improvement projects that will ultimately benefit the Everglades and the citizens of south Florida. The videos were created in partnership with the USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Sciences Program to support the annual IHE-FAU International Water Professionals Program. Our latest video focuses on Stormwater Treatment Areas, or STAs. What are STAs? STAs are constructed wetlands that play a critical role in helping to protect the Everglades. When fertilizers are used in suburban, agricultural and urban settings, high levels of phosphorus are introduced to our watershed. This excess phosphorus stimulates plant growth and causes an overgrowth of undesirable plants. STAs use the “green” technology of wetland plants to filter out excess phosphorus before the water enters the Everglades. Learn more about STAs by viewing the following video:

Did you miss our LILA Video? Check it out here and look out for our next video about the Tamiami Trail in an upcoming newsletter.

IHE-FAU International Water Professionals Program Launches again in Early February In September 2020, CES changed our plans from holding our annual, IHE-FAU International Water Professionals Program in-person to offering the program completely online. This program normally brings students from around the world studying at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education to South Florida for two weeks of specialized lectures and field trips to learn how we solve our water resource challenges. We are offering the program online again in February. We worked closely with our scientific experts at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) & South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to pre-record their lectures. Students participate in lectures, engaging activities, and live question-and-answer sessions with the experts. Please check CES’ social media to meet our international students and hear their feedback on the program.

Poop Doesn't Lie CES’ long-time partner from the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Dr. Fred Bloetscher, has recently made the news for his work with his colleague and CES’ partner Dr. Dan Meeroff and their graduate students. Using CARES Act money, the research team has been examining the wastewater around the FAU Boca Campus since September.   “We saw a rise of COVID-19 in November while students were on campus, but a decrease over the holidays when students were away,” Bloetscher explained. “We have continued testing so we will know what the numbers look like in a couple weeks now that students have again returned to campus. “ “We find that COVID-19 seems to rise in wastewater about two weeks before we see the increase in cases in the population. The use of this testing method could be helpful to health practitioners to be ready for a surge, or lack of one.”  But one thing Dr. Bloetscher says is certain, “If we see COVID, there is COVID. Poop doesn’t lie.” Check out this clip from Miami’s WSVN 7 News that featured this research.

CES to Launch New Podcast, FAU's Home and High Water CES has exciting news! We will be launching a new podcast next month called FAU's Home and High Water, in which we will examine how we live, adapt, and thrive in a changing climate and create coastal resilience. Stay tuned for more details and follow us on social media for the latest updates.