Food Safety for Camping
Keeping food safe on your next adventure is crucial to protecting yourself, your family, and your friends from foodborne illnesses. Follow these easy food safety recommendations for properly...
Author: Karen E. Jackson
What’s a Livestake?
If you’re looking for an inexpensive and easy way to re-establish vegetation along a waterway, livestakes are for you! Livestake installation is a method of propagation that uses cuttings from a...
The Fall Color of River Oats
River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) One of my favorite native plants in South Carolina isn’t a typical spring emergent full of bright colors; it’s a species that starts to turn heads as we head...
Improving Fish Populations in Recreational Ponds
All ponds are unique, including the management strategies and overall goal of the pond owner. For some pond owners, management for increased fish production is at the top of their list. Common...
The Hyporheic Zone and Streams
You may not have heard of the hyporheic zone (HZ) or be able to see it, but it’s an integral part of our freshwater ecosystems and has a lot to do with keeping our streams healthy! The HZ is a...
The Pesky Wet Spot in Your Lawn
If I had a dollar for every time a client called this year about a wet spot in their lawn, I’d probably be able to adopt another dog. Fortunately for our clients, there are several ways to address...
What’s this stuff in my stream!?
“There’s orange water coming up through the ground!” said the homeowner who called me last week, wondering what kind of contaminant had made its way into her yard. If you’ve ever come across this...
Freshwater Bryozoan
Have you ever looked in your pond and seen what could only be described as an alien egg? Bryozoans certainly look like something from out of this world and are often mistaken for many common pond...
Dragonflies
Did you know the beautiful dragonflies you see flying around rivers, ponds, and lakes spend most of their lives underwater?! Their lifecycle begins as adult females dip their abdomens onto the...
Recreational Pond Chemistry
Maintaining recreational pond health requires an understanding of various water quality parameters and how they interact with the living and non-living components of a pond. Properly managing water...
Protecting Headwater Streams
Freshwater Streams Healthy streams provide countless benefits to both the community and the environment. These benefits include recreational opportunities, reduced downstream flooding, and increased...
The Dual Benefits of Rain Gardens
Do you have an unsightly spot in your yard plagued by erosion? Or, how about an area that captures the majority of rain from your rooftop, driveway, or sidewalk? Rain gardens are the perfect...