Ecological Design 101 Workshop

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AEES is in the process of developing a Certificate in Ecological Design program. As part of that process, this workshop will explore selected key concepts in ecological design. 1.275 CEUs will be awarded upon completion of the workshop.

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Paul Frank
Associate Engineer, CH2MHILL

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Mr. Frank is an engineer with more than eight years of experience in the research, design, management, and operation of natural treatment systems, primarily constructed wetlands for treatment of a variety of wastewaters. His expertise includes multiple tools for modeling water quality, hydraulics, and hydrology of aquatic ecosystems. In addition, he has experience in the field of fluvial geomorphology and the design of stream and other riparian ecosystem restoration projects. Current assignments include river channel or wetland design projects in his home state of California, as well as in Arizona, Texas, Italy, and Singapore.

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Alex Horne, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering,University of California, Berkeley

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Dr. Alex Horne is Professor Emeritus of Ecological Engineering at the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His teaching and research focuses on aquatic ecosystems ranging from Antarctic oceans to freshwater lakes and reservoirs. Specific topics have included the in situ measurement of toxic and biostimulatory effects of highly-treated wastewaters and the effects of heavy metals, oil spills, chlorinated wastewaters, and selenium in estuaries, rivers, wetlands, lakes, reservoirs, and oceans. He has written over 225 publications and the popular undergraduate textbook, Limnology. In addition to his research, Dr. Horne has been involved in the design of over 20,000 acres of wetlands combining water treatment, wildlife habitat enhancement, and aesthetics.

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Patrick Kangas, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park

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Dr. Patrick Kangas is a systems ecologist with interests in ecological engineering, tropical sustainable development and general ecology. He received his BS from Kent State University in Biology, his MS from the University of Oklahoma in Botany and Ecology and his PhD in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida. After graduating from Florida, Dr. Kangas took a position in the Biology Department of Eastern Michigan University and taught there for 11 years. In 1990 he moved to the University of Maryland where he is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Science and Technology Department. He has published more than 50 papers, book chapters and contract reports on a variety of environmental subjects, including the text Ecological Engineering: Principles and Practices.

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Marty Matlock, PhD, PE
Associate Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Arkansas

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Dr. Marty Matlock is an associate professor in the Ecological Engineering Group of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas. He is a Certified Senior Ecologist with the Ecological Society of America, and a Registered Professional Engineer. Matlock is also Director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability. He works with municipal, state, and federal agencies, as well as non-profit organizations to better understand and manage ecological services in Arkansas and the region. Matlock's partnership with the UA Community Design Center has resulted in more than a dozen national and international design awards for eco-sensitive community design. Matlock serves as technical advisor on three national sustainability committees, has published more than 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts, eight book chapters, and numerous articles on measuring and designing sustainable systems.

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Steve Patterson, PhD
President, Bio by Design

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Dr. Steve Patterson is a restoration ecologist who has been conducting and managing biological studies for over 25 years. His company, Bio by Design, specializes in ecological restoration and ecosystem design. Steve's recent work applies his understanding of natural ecological processes to the development of ecologically-engineered cultured ecologies for the improvement of water quality and ecosystem function. Throughout his career, Dr. Patterson has had a special interest in the integration of ecology and design, and has organized workshops and charrettes on that topic in a variety of venues.

Agenda

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Monday, June 9, 2008

11:00 am: An introduction to ecosystem design

12:00 pm: Boxed lunch

12:30 pm: Certificate in Ecosystem Design program

1:00 pm: Field trip to a suite of sites that are examples of ecosystem design or of problem sites where ecosystem design could provide a solution

Tuesday, June 10

8:00 am: Ecological processes and an ecologist’s predilections and priorities

8:45 am: The engineering design process and an engineer’s predilections and priorities

9:30 am: Break

10:00 am: The landscape architect’s design process and an landscape architect’s predilections and priorities

10:45 am: Design exercise

12:00 pm: Lunch

1:00 pm: Ecosystem design solutions and case studies

2:30 pm: Break

2:45 pm: Self-organization

3:30 pm: Unit processes

4:00 pm: Panel discussion: Key concepts and components of ecosystem design and an ecosystem design education

5:00 pm: Adjourn

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Stream Restoration Design: Beyond Bankfull Workshop

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This workshop will provide practicing stream restoration design professionals with a fundamental theoretical background in ecohydrology (the linkages between hydrology and ecosystem processes). The workshop will demonstrate the application of this knowledge and the use of practical tools in process-based stream restoration design. Workshop presenters will walk the participants through an actual design using a local stream as an example. 1.325 CEUs will be awarded upon completion of the workshop.

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W. Cully Hession, PhD, PE
Associate Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech

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Dr. Hession is an associate professor in the department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. He is a professional engineer in Virginia with over 25 years of experience in watershed hydrology and more than 10 years experience in stream morphology research, education, assessment, as well as restoration design and implementation. The bulk of Dr. Hession's research involves cross-disciplinary efforts to understand the influence of streamside vegetation on channel structure and linking physical channel conditions to aquatic ecosystem structure and function. He has received grants for research and teaching totaling more than $7 million from a variety of agencies, including: NSF, EPA, USDA, and the states of Virginia, Vermont, and Pennsylvania, as well as private foundations. He has published more than 30 refereed journal articles, chapters, and proceedings.

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Theresa (Tess) Wynn, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech

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Dr. Tess Wynn is an assistant professor in Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. The recipient of both an NSF Graduate Fellowship and an EPA STAR Fellowship, she earned degrees in agricultural and civil engineering. As an undergraduate, she was selected as the 1992 Virginia Tech Woman of the Year. Prior to starting her PhD program, Dr. Wynn has worked as an engineer in state government, private consulting, and for USAID. Dr. Wynn's research focus is in watershed management with an emphasis on stream and wetland restoration and low impact development. She teaches courses in hydrology, watershed management, and stream restoration. She has published over 30 publications and has been a frequent invited speaker on streambank erosion and low impact development.

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Erich T. Hester, PhD, PE
Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech

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Dr. Hester recently completed his PhD in the Ecology Curriculum at the University of North Carolina, and will be starting an assistant professor position in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. He previously received an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. His research focuses on how hydrology, hydraulics, and geomorphology influence ecological health in fluvial and wetland systems, with the goal of advancing process-based knowledge to allow better informed land use planning, ecological restoration design, and preservation of aquatic ecosystems. His dissertation focused on how common in-stream geomorphic structures like log dams and steps drive hyporheic exchange, impact stream temperature, and affect stream organisms. Dr. Hester is also a registered professional engineer with 7 years professional experience including stream and wetland restoration design.

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Agenda

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Monday, June 9, 2008

11:00 am: Introduction: A view of the whole watershed

12:00 pm: Boxed lunch

1:00 pm: Linking stream hydrology and habitat: A view of the full hydrograph

1:30 pm: The impact of structures on hyporheic exchange and habitat

2:30 pm: Bankfull/effective discharge: The design flow?

3:30 pm: Break

3:15 pm: Sediment transport: energy conservation and management

4:15 pm: The role of riparian vegetation in bank stability

Tuesday, June 10

8:00 am: Field trip to walk the design stream

11:00 am: Self-organizing design

12:00 pm: Lunch

1:00 pm: Design charrette - design exercise and discussion among participants

5:00 pm: Adjourn

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Mitigation Wetland Design Workshop

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This workshop is designed to provide a foundation in the design of mitigation wetlands. The workshop focuses primarily on developing a sound water budget, construction techniques to encourage hydric soil formation, the interaction between site design and ecosystem function, and vegetation selection, succession, and monitoring. 1.275 CEUs will be awarded upon completion of the workshop.

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W. Lee Daniels, PhD
Professor, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech

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W. Lee Daniels is Professor of Environmental Soil Science at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Dr. Daniels areas of specialization include stabilization and restoration of disturbed lands including areas disturbed by mining, road building, waste disposal, urbanization and erosion. In particular, he has focused his research and consulting experience in mine reclamation and wetland impact mitigation. His teaching programs at Virginia Tech focus on soil geomorphology and landscape analysis with particular emphasis on the relationships among surficial geology, hydrology, soil patterns and long term landscape evolution processes. Major awards include the Reclamation Researcher of the Year by the American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation in 1993 and the USEPA's National Biosolids Utilization Research Award in 2000. Lee Daniels is currently the Coordinating Secretary of the International Affiliation of Land Reclamationists, and will host the 2008 meeting of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation in Richmond in June of 2008.

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James E. Perry, Ph.D., PWS
Professor of Marine Science, Biological Sciences, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

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Dr. Perry is a Professor of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science. His primary research interests involve monitoring stress and documenting long-term changes in vascular plant communities of tidal and non-tidal wetlands, and the relationship of those changes to changes in environmental parameters within watersheds. He has worked in Asia, North America, and South America, and has presented many invited seminars and lectures abroad. He is currently involved in several international wetland projects in China designed to examine the role of environmental conservation and sustainable development in urban wetlands. He teaches courses in Asian Environmental Issues, Wetlands Ecology, and Coastal Botany. Dr.Perry is a lifetime member of the Society of Wetland Scientists. He is currently the Secretary General for The Society of Wetland Scientist Professional Certification Program (SWSPCP), which he helped to develop in the early 1990's, and was one of the first wetlands ecologist to received his Professional Wetland Scientist certification.

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Laura A. B. Giese, PhD, CF, PWS, PWD, CSE
Principal Environmental Scientist, Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.

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Dr. Giese has over 20 years of experience working in aquatic ecosystems; research, private consulting, and teaching. Dr. Giese's experience includes wetland delineation and functional analyses, stream assessment, mitigation monitoring, streambank restoration, and macroinvertebrate sampling. She also provides forest, and endangered and threatened species information for compliance with local ordinances. Dr. Giese's wetland research includes quantification of carbon pools and fluxes in restored and non-disturbed riparian forests to develop indices for riparian restoration, and analyze tree growth rate and regeneration of several forested wetlands under natural and altered flooding regimes. She is currently researching soil organic matter and C:N ratios in created wetlands.

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G. Richard Whittecar, PhD
University Professor, Ocean Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University

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Dr. Rich Whittecar is an environmental geologist who conducts research on the geology and hydrology sites undergoing landscape modifications designed to improve environmental conditions. A University Professor at Old Dominion University, Rich started his career as a geomorphologist and continues to study the effects made by cold and dry Pleistocene climates on landscapes in Virginia and North Carolina. His on-going research involves developing new techniques to assess the hydrogeologic conditions at sites being considered for new wetlands. Rich has published more than 40 refereed journal articles, chapters, technical guides, and proceedings.

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Agenda

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Monday, June 9

11:00 am: Introduction (COE jurisdictional criteria, permitting)

12:00 pm: Boxed lunch

12:30 pm: Site selection

1:30 pm: Water balance and budget

3:15 pm: Break

3:30 pm: Water budget, cont.

4:30 pm: Field trip to Brown Farm and dinner there

Tuesday, June 10

8:00 am: Wetland ecology and succession, monitoring

10:15 am: Break

10:30 am: Ecology and self-design

12:00 pm: Lunch

1:00 pm: Construction (developing hydric soils)

2:30 pm: Break

2:45 pm: Monitoring and success criteria

5:00 pm: Adjourn

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