Parkerson Mill Creek is undergoing restoration that will transform the formerly unappealing and eroding creek into a part of campus that will encourage passersby to enjoy being near the water. The section of creek being restored is the farthest northeastern branch of exposed creek on campus, according to Ben Burmester, campus planner with facilities management.
This branch runs by the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum and the new Wellness Kitchen; its restoration is scheduled to finish in time for the fall semester.
The current restoration is the only definite plan that Facilities Management has for Parkerson Mill Creek, but the campus master plan designates the creek as a natural resource management area and has a long-term goal of improving the creek throughout University property.
Eve Brantley, extension agent and associate professor in the Department of Crop, Soils and Environmental Sciences, has led the restoration efforts.
Brantley, Burmester and Charlene LeBleu, associate professor of the School of Landscape Architecture, agree this restoration is a collaborative effort that will provide campus-wide benefits.
The Office of Sustainability, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Facilities Management, Landscape Architecture, Biosystems Engineering, School of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences and the School of Forestry are some of the groups that have contributed to the restoration.
Funding for the project has come from the Department of Environmental Management grants and equal funding from Facilities Management.
Brantley says the plans for the creek include improving floodplain protection and improving the habitat by adding natural, deep-rooted vegetation to slow down the erosion that storm water causes as it hits the creek bank.
The new vegetation will shade and cool the water and provide better living conditions for aquatic life, as well as keep the soil in place, which will prevent erosion.
Structures have been built close to the stream on campus. Infrastructure nearby is threatened when storm water from the nearby buildings builds up energy that then flows into and erode the creek.
Brantley said groups are partnering to look at managing storm water more effciently so it is not sent into the creek.
It would instead be contained and able to sink into the ground.
LeBleu said Parkerson Mill Creek is a private and public stream because the creek runs through the University and the city of Auburn.
LeBleu calls Parkerson Mill Creek a watershed and compares it to a bathtub because it drains to a single point. Parkerson Mill Creek drains into Chewacla Creek and the Tallapoosa River.
Brantley, who came to Auburn in 2002, said she remembers coming to campus for the first time and thinking "this could be a fantastic outdoor classroom" and hopes the restoration will encourage the creek's use.
As a land-grant university, Auburn's mission has three points: research, instruction and extension.
"Our mission is to help people learn more about how to be good stewards of our natural resources and use them wisely so future generations have access to them," Brantley said.
Brantley said she believes the University has a chance to implement its mission at Parkerson Mill Creek as the stream evolves.
"I think it might be corny, but there's probably something for every department and college on campus because we're all tied to water," Brantley said.
Several science classes have helped with the upkeep of the stream and the College of Liberal Arts community engagement practicum allows students to put plants along the stream as part of their training in improving water quality.
LeBleu, who has also worked on watershed restoration efforts at Town Creek and Saugahatchee Creek, said this restoration will provide an "awe-inspiring demonstration for the possibilities of the whole creek."
According to LeBleu, there were talks of putting the creek in a pipe and forgeting about it several years ago.
"In the past, people have thought of the creek as a ditch," LeBleu said. "This new design reclaims the creek's name and reclaims it as a living and functional stream."
LeBleu's said her goal for the restoration is to transform the creek from a ditch to a destination. She wants people to meet at Parkerson Mill Creek, relax and enjoy the scenery.
Brantley said she wants to build a greenway path that would follow the stream through campus and showcase the stream as an integral part of campus.
Brantley said she is optimistic for the creek's future.
"Nature can be resilient if we push it in the right direction," Brantley said.
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