{"id":21865,"date":"2018-04-26T11:33:36","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T15:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=21865"},"modified":"2018-05-31T12:35:15","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T16:35:15","slug":"donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/","title":{"rendered":"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

McKenzie Jaynes heads for a tree, which she will mark with a green ribbon as she plots out the path of a planned boardwalk through the wetlands. Behind her, Sarah Whitney searches for trash in the muddy water.<\/p><\/div>\n

Seth Pemberton, faded \u201cGulf Shores\u201d baseball cap on his head, stands ankle deep in mud and water, a black plastic garbage bag in his hand. The bag sags with trash.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only been about an hour that Pemberton, a junior in environmental science, has been picking up trash in a wetlands area off Amnicola Highway and about four miles from the UTC campus. Around him, other university students do the same thing, their garbage bags also stretched with the trash they\u2019ve found.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s upsetting,\u201d Pemberton says, looking at the garbage bag filling up with alcohol bottles, plastic soda bottles, fast-food wrappers and other assorted trash. Only about an hour after starting, he\u2019s already on his second bag.<\/p>\n

The same weekend as Earth Day, a group of UTC students, most from the Wildlife-Zoology Club, headed out to the 17-acre wetlands, donated to UTC about two years ago by Ray Marler of\u00a0 Marler Construction Co. “I didn’t go to UTC,” Marler says, “but I’m a small business fella in this town and I’d like to give something back. I thought that UTC, being that close, could get more benefit out of it.”<\/p>\n

Encircled by industrial supply companies, distribution warehouses and train tracks, the wetlands are virtually invisible from the road that runs right alongside it, which might explain why, at the end of about two hours of work, students had pulled out a car muffler, a waterlogged mattress from a patio couch, more than 10 tires, a TV set, pieces of sheet metal and garbage bag after bag after bag of miscellaneous trash.<\/p>\n

The combined mass fills the entire bed of a Ford 350 pickup truck (a broad-shouldered, cornfed beast of truck) and into a mound about a foot taller than the edge of the bed. Last November, a group of about 30 or so came to the wetlands and carried out about 2,200 pounds of trash, filling the same truck to the brim.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know when the last cleanup was, so it could be 30 years of junk in there,\u201d says Dr. Tom Wilson, UC Foundation associate professor and graduate program coordinator in biology, geology and environmental science.<\/p>\n

He and Dr. David Aborn, associate professor, and Dr. Bradley Reynolds, senior lecturer, both in biology, geology and environmental science, are the faculty team leading the cleanup and restoration of the wetlands. They also are the advisors to the Wildlife-Zoology club.\u00a0As far at the trash-gathering operations are concerned, the goals are twofold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to clean that up anyway, so it\u2019s a good opportunity to talk to students about wetlands conservation and the importance of water quality, to get them out there,\u201d Wilson says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do believe the hands-on side of it is a good teacher,\u201d he says. \u201cNot to say the textbook is not, but they\u2019ve got to put it in context and the only way for the students to put it in context is to be involved with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cullen Harris, a senior in environmental science, was at the November cleanup and found it inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was really cool is that \u2026\u00a0 we put on waders; we were in the mud; we were pulling up garbage, and people had smiles on their faces. They\u2019re having a good time and were feeling really good about it once it was all said and done.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the recent Saturday, students in chest-high waders squish through mud that clutches ankles and crunching across fallen tree branches and trunks. In places, iridescent patches of oil glisten on top of the water. But there also are patches of bright-yellow butterweed flowers and bird calls sing from everywhere.<\/p>\n

But there also is garbage hidden among the mud and wood. Megan Reed, a senior in psychology with a minor in environmental science, says trash often hides in the muck or in the underbrush, making it hard to see. But she still resolutely slogs through the wetlands, eyes peeled. Picking up bottles and food wrappers and pieces of metal might not seem like a big deal in the vast scheme of things, but “small things can have a big impact,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

There are longer-term plans than just getting students to do the dirty work of cleanup, Wilson says. They can carry out research on plants, animals and insects living in the wetlands; they can determine whether the soil has been damaged by being in a mostly-industrialized area; they can help with any restoration that needs to be done.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be the only student-based restoration project in the city and certainly the county,\u201d Wilson says. \u201cAnd for UTC, this could be the flagship property for us to do that type of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UC Foundation has agreed to help build a boardwalk through the wetlands, giving visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the environment without damaging it. Students have wrapped green ribbons around trees, plotting a possible path for the boardwalk.<\/p>\n

Maintenance and restoring the wetlands goes hand-in-hand with Chattanooga\u2019s ongoing efforts to be a green city, Wilson says. And once city residents see the wetlands, they may be inclined to help clean it up, restore it, make it healthier and improve the overall environmental profile of Chattanooga, Wilson says. In turn, restoration work can broaden a person\u2019s horizons and help them see a bigger picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changes, in part, or influences, in part, who they are, so they can maybe think about things in a different way,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt opens up other opportunities in their lives, here and elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleaning and restoring a single urban wetland won\u2019t change the world, he acknowledges, but it won\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n

\u201cImproving landscapes and green space proximate to homes is a healthier way of living. You\u2019re putting in plants and you\u2019re encouraging species to restore a system. We know healthier systems are healthier landscapes, and we know healthier landscapes, in theory, should mean healthier people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Seth <\/a>
Seth Pemberton and Sarah Whitney filled several bags with trash during the cleanup. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Brian <\/a>
Brian Feltus, left, and Alex Jones wrestle the waterlogged cushion from a piece of patio furniture into the bed of a pickup truck. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rosie <\/a>
Rosie Velasco carries an old TV set, one of the pieces of trash found in the wetlands. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jennifer <\/a>
Jennifer Ruggiero and Alaina Krakowiak search for garbage. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Patches <\/a>
Patches of bright butterweed flowers dot the landscape in the wetlands. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Megan <\/a>
Megan Reed finds rusty pieces of metal in the mud. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Discarded <\/a>
Discarded tires, pieces of metal, a car muffler and many other pieces of trash were pulled from the wetlands. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jennifer <\/a>
Jennifer Ruggiero carries a bucket and a beat-up trash can out of the wetlands. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 17-acre wetlands donated to UTC about two years ago is now an outdoor laboratory for students. But first on the agenda is trash pickup and, so far, about two tons have been hauled out, including TVs, tires, car parts and lots of plastic and glass bottles.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1105,"featured_media":21873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123865,61,3,64,661],"tags":[72914,72915,12734,72913,72912],"class_list":{"0":"post-21865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-biology-geology-and-environmental-science","8":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","9":"category-community","10":"category-news","11":"category-students","12":"tag-bradley-reynolds","13":"tag-david-aborn","14":"tag-department-of-biological-and-environmental-sciences","15":"tag-tom-wilson","16":"tag-wetlands","17":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nDonated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 17-acre wetlands donated to UTC about two years ago is now an outdoor laboratory for students. But first on the agenda is trash pickup and, so far, about two tons have been hauled out, including TVs, tires, car parts and lots of plastic and glass bottles.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A 17-acre wetlands donated to UTC about two years ago is now an outdoor laboratory for students. But first on the agenda is trash pickup and, so far, about two tons have been hauled out, including TVs, tires, car parts and lots of plastic and glass bottles.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-26T15:33:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-31T16:35:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1016\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shawn Ryan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shawn Ryan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Shawn Ryan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c7532013925b3412f8142e378b04942\"},\"headline\":\"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-26T15:33:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-31T16:35:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1055,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/Wetlands4.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"bradley reynolds\",\"david aborn\",\"Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences\",\"tom wilson\",\"wetlands\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science\",\"College of Arts and Sciences\",\"Community\",\"News\",\"Students\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/\",\"name\":\"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/Wetlands4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-26T15:33:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-31T16:35:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c7532013925b3412f8142e378b04942\"},\"description\":\"A 17-acre wetlands donated to UTC about two years ago is now an outdoor laboratory for students. But first on the agenda is trash pickup and, so far, about two tons have been hauled out, including TVs, tires, car parts and lots of plastic and glass bottles.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/Wetlands4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/Wetlands4.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":1016,\"caption\":\"Brian Feltus, left, and Alex Jones wrestle the waterlogged cushion from a piece of patio furniture into the bed of a pickup truck.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"description\":\"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c7532013925b3412f8142e378b04942\",\"name\":\"Shawn Ryan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fd3380969898eaf8c8a869d0a88ec19c46f2edd41319a7a40d9c63946c900aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fd3380969898eaf8c8a869d0a88ec19c46f2edd41319a7a40d9c63946c900aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fd3380969898eaf8c8a869d0a88ec19c46f2edd41319a7a40d9c63946c900aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shawn Ryan\"},\"description\":\"Shawn Ryan is the executive staff writer in the Office of Communications and Marketing at UTC.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/author\\\/hqv743\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"A 17-acre wetlands donated to UTC about two years ago is now an outdoor laboratory for students. But first on the agenda is trash pickup and, so far, about two tons have been hauled out, including TVs, tires, car parts and lots of plastic and glass bottles.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","og_description":"A 17-acre wetlands donated to UTC about two years ago is now an outdoor laboratory for students. But first on the agenda is trash pickup and, so far, about two tons have been hauled out, including TVs, tires, car parts and lots of plastic and glass bottles.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/","og_site_name":"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga","article_published_time":"2018-04-26T15:33:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-31T16:35:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":1016,"url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Shawn Ryan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_site":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shawn Ryan","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/"},"author":{"name":"Shawn Ryan","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7c7532013925b3412f8142e378b04942"},"headline":"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked","datePublished":"2018-04-26T15:33:36+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-31T16:35:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/"},"wordCount":1055,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","keywords":["bradley reynolds","david aborn","Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences","tom wilson","wetlands"],"articleSection":["Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science","College of Arts and Sciences","Community","News","Students"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/","name":"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-26T15:33:36+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-31T16:35:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7c7532013925b3412f8142e378b04942"},"description":"A 17-acre wetlands donated to UTC about two years ago is now an outdoor laboratory for students. But first on the agenda is trash pickup and, so far, about two tons have been hauled out, including TVs, tires, car parts and lots of plastic and glass bottles.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","width":960,"height":1016,"caption":"Brian Feltus, left, and Alex Jones wrestle the waterlogged cushion from a piece of patio furniture into the bed of a pickup truck."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/04\/donated-wetlands-are-a-chance-for-students-to-get-their-hands-dirty-and-soaked\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Donated wetlands are a chance for students to get their hands dirty \u2014 and soaked"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/","name":"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7c7532013925b3412f8142e378b04942","name":"Shawn Ryan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd3380969898eaf8c8a869d0a88ec19c46f2edd41319a7a40d9c63946c900aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd3380969898eaf8c8a869d0a88ec19c46f2edd41319a7a40d9c63946c900aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd3380969898eaf8c8a869d0a88ec19c46f2edd41319a7a40d9c63946c900aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shawn Ryan"},"description":"Shawn Ryan is the executive staff writer in the Office of Communications and Marketing at UTC.","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/author\/hqv743\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Shawn Ryan","author_link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/author\/hqv743\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Wetlands4.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21865"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22002,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21865\/revisions\/22002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}