The Project Stream research site, a boardwalk in a wooded area near a stream

Academics
Research Excellence and Opportunity
Restoration Ecology Research

Restoration Ecology Research

The Restoration Ecology Program focuses on real-life restoration projects, both on and off campus.

Project Stream

Project Stream is at the heart of the Restoration Ecology Program. Prior to 2012, Project Stream was an unnamed (and largely unknown) waterway feeding into the north end of the Mount Holyoke College lakes system. Kate Ballantine's Restoration Ecology class began studying the stream and conducting research. They soon found that, like much of the globe, the Mount Holyoke College water system has problems with nutrient pollution, and Project Stream was not functioning to its full potential to remove those nutrients and filter the water. REP students took on the task of planning for and implementing a full site restoration. Through their efforts, that plan became a real-life restoration project.

Project Goals

To improve the quality of water entering Upper Lake from the tributary stream.
To set the site on a trajectory toward dominance by native plant species.
To encourage site visitors and program participants to engage in the science, practice, and social dimensions of ecological restoration through education and outreach endeavors.

Restoring the world. Here.

The history of Project Stream.

The 2013 Restoration Ecology class

Restoration Ecology 2013 was the first group of students to adopt Project Stream

In Phase 1 of the project, they focused on asking "What is the problem?" – conducting research to understand the various issues facing Project Stream. After analyzing the condition of the stream and where the pollution was coming from, the class worked together to research and write up a proposal for a campus wetland restoration project designed to improve the quality of water entering Upper Lake from this stream.

They worked in the to pull together the following:

a thorough site history (with help from College Archives);
an interactive GIS map;
data collection to examine the water, soil, and vegetative characteristics of the proposed project area;
a literature review of relevant case studies;
a review of legal requirements and restrictions;
a community outreach effort through a course website, Facebook page, two campus news interviews, and a student and alum questionnaire;
an artistic rendering of what the site looks like now and may look like after project completion; and
informational interviews with relevant stakeholders (e.g., golf course managers, Facilities Management, and Mount Holyoke College students and alums).

2014 Restoration Ecology Class

Building on the previous class’s work, they designed a comprehensive monitoring plan to understand the baseline site conditions necessary to inform the design of a restoration project.

They each wrote a monitoring proposal designed to guide long-term monitoring of the restoration site. The data from these monitoring efforts will help us understand how the site changes over time. Topics ranged from greenhouse gas monitoring to bird monitoring to measuring the effect of engagement in community-based restoration projects or educational activities on elementary and high school students. Students presented their proposals on-site for the South Hadley Conservation Commission and other interested stakeholders in a Restoration Showcase at the end of the semester.

Seven of the students pursued the work they proposed and/or related restoration work via independent studies at the site during the following summer.

The 2013 Restoration Ecology Class — The 2015 Restoration Ecology Class

In Phase 3 of the Project Stream restoration planning, students tackled the question of how to conduct outreach and share the value of the Project Stream site with members of the Mount Holyoke and South Hadley communities. The group focused much of their attention on developing a "user interface" for the site – creating a plan for a boardwalk and educational signage that would draw Mount Holyoke students and community members into the site and invite them to learn about the site, the project, and the importance of wetland function.

They also assembled materials to share with the public that answer many of the questions people may have about the restoration, such as:

"What is restoration?"
"What is the REP?"
"What have the students done and why?"
"What is the current project?", and
"What is the long term vision of the REP?"

Their work culminated in a restoration showcase where they presented to over 130 members of the MHC and South Hadley communities. Following their work, the project was permitted through the South Hadley Conservation Commission, and construction commenced in late Summer 2015, as a direct result of student work over the past three years

New England Environmental, Inc.
Amherst, MA

NEE is working with the Restoration Ecology Program to provide a full range of environmental consulting services for the Project Stream restoration, from on-site wetland and soil assessment and landscape architectural and ecological design services to invasive species management, permitting, and construction management/oversight. Registered Landscape Architect Andrew Bohne worked with the REP to design Project Stream, envisioning a meandering wetland with hummocks and hollows that engages students and visitors alike along an elevated boardwalk, with gathering space for an outdoor classroom. The plans created with NEE were essential to getting the wetland restoration project permitted, and NEE's continued involvement in the project is vital to meeting the project goals.

Scapes Builders & Excavation, LLC
South Deerfield, MA

With an outstanding reputation for quality work in wetland areas, Scapes Builders is our excavation and construction crew. The Scapes team will be lowering the elevation of the floodplain to bring the stream back into connection with the surrounding wetland landscape–a key piece of the restoration. Scapes will also be building the pedestrian boardwalk that will allow visitors from MHC and the surrounding communities to experience the new wetland up close.

Clean Water Action
Boston & Northampton, MA

Clean Water Action unites diverse groups to protect our environment, health, economic well-being, and community quality of life, with key focuses on preventing water pollution and maintaining clean, safe, and affordable water. Clean Water Action helped make the Project Stream restoration possible through a generous grant.

The Project Stream Research Site and Boardwalk

View Gallery

The octagonal area of the Project Stream boardwalk that is used as a classroom space

A map showing the location of the Project Stream site

Restoration Ecology students standing in the stream looking at samples

Restoration Ecology students investigating samples taken near the Project Stream boardwalk

Students looking at a water sample in a pipette

Tidmarsh Restoration

Potential development trajectories and biogeochemical cycling of retired agricultural (cranberry bog) sites

Photo of two students doing Tidmarsh research

Assistant Professor Kate Ballantine is a principal investigator for a 250-acre restoration project taking place at Tidmarsh Farms, a retired cranberry farm in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This project involves dozens of academic, state, federal, and non-governmental partners working within the non-profit learning initiative of the Living Observatory, and is serving as a “gold standard” for the thousands of acres of cranberry farms that are projected to be eligible for restoration in this region in the coming decades. Background research has been taking place at the site since 2000, and active restoration work began in the summer of 2015. Ballantine is leading the effort to understand how biogeochemical functions at this site change over time with restoration, and how these functions differ under different land use trajectories. Current work compares soil-based functions among an active cranberry farm, a recently restored cranberry farm (now a wetland), an in-progress cranberry farm restoration, and a natural reference site.

Biochar

Photo of a researcher working with Biochar

The influence of biochar on wetland development and functions

Biochar is pyrolyzed organic matter (very similar to charcoal), and has been shown in many studies to improve soil function. The Restoration Ecology lab has been investigating the influence of biochar on the development and functions of restored wetlands through two projects. The first project examines the effect of biochar loading rates on the water quality and vegetative functions in a series of restored vernal pools. The second project compares the ecosystem functions of wetlands restored with different types of biochar and other soil amendments. Both wetlands and biochar are considered potential long-term carbon stores, but much remains to be learned about the influence of biochar on wetland structure, function, and development over time.

Soil Microbial Communities

Metagenomics of soil microbial communities in restored wetlands

Photo of a researcher working in a restored wetland

Assistant Professor Kate Ballantine and collaborator Jason Andras are working to characterize the microbial community of restored wetlands soils using a metagenomic sequencing approach. This project is intended to illuminate if and how functional groups of microbial communities vary with restoration methodology, and how these communities change over time.

Aging Wetlands

Effect of aging on soil characteristics and microbial-based functions in restored wetlands

Photo of a wetland area

An ongoing project to understand the long-term development of restored wetlands based on the data from a chronosequence of 56 restored wetlands ranging in age from new to more than 70 years old.

Restoration Methodology, Vegetative Composition, and Ecosystem Function

Long-term development and ecosystem functions of wetlands restored with different soil amendments

Photo of a restored wetland

This project uses a series of four replicated wetlands amended with soil treatments that range along a gradient of carbon lability to understand how different initial soil properties influence vegetative and soil characteristics of restored wetlands over time.

Wetlands in a Changing Climate

Water quality and biogeochemical cycling in wetlands under different climate scenarios

Photo of instruments used in a laboratory mesocosm experiment

Assistant Professor Kate Ballantine and Postdoctoral Researcher Todd Anderson are establishing a laboratory mesocosm experiment to inform field experiments both on and off campus. The first set of experiments investigates the influence of soil properties on desirable water quality functions and undesirable greenhouse gas emissions under different environmental scenarios predicted by climate change models. The results of the laboratory experiments are being tested in the field by setting up a large-scale experiment at Tidmarsh Farms, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. We anticipate the complementary nature of field-scale and experimental mesocosm projects will provide countless research opportunities for students to examine the development and functions of wetland soils, plants, and functions under different restoration and climatic scenarios.

Research Equipment and Data

Faculty and student researchers have access to a wide variety of field data and research equipment right here on campus. Students, faculty and staff monitor several environmental features at the Project Stream site including soil and water quality, vegetation, including trees and invasive species, greenhouse gas emissions, climate, streamflow, and more.

Long term Project Stream data is available on the Institutional Data Archive.

Semi-permanent installations throughout the site are constantly collecting data for use in student and faculty research

Water Level Loggers

Tidbit Temperature Loggers

Project Stream weather station sensors transmit live data over WiFi. We have consistent data available from Fall 2016.

View the live weather station feed

Barometric pressure sensor

Photosynthetic light intensity sensor

Solar radiation sensor

Temperature and relative humidity sensor

Soil moisture sensors (multiple depths)

Soil temperature sensors (multiple depths)

Wind speed and direction sensors

A 303' deep well in the bedrock adjacent to Project Stream allows for study of hydrological processes.

Constant monitoring water level logger

On-site cameras capture wildlife presence and movements as well as time-lapse video of the site from pre-restoration to present.

Moultrie motion-sensor wildlife cameras

Brinno time-lapse video camera

Contact Us

The Restoration Ecology Program

The Mount Holyoke College Restoration Ecology Program offers a one-of-a-kind experience for undergraduates to engage with the growing field of restoration ecology.

413-538-2607
325 Clapp Laboratory

Kate Ballantine, Marjorie Fisher Associate Professor of Environmental Studies.

Kate Ballantine

Marjorie Fisher Professor of Environmental Studies
Chair of Environmental Studies

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