Massachusetts Earth Team Group Creates Salt Marsh Restoration Design Plan

By Carol Rickless
Massachusetts Earth Team Volunteer Coordinator

Click photos to enlarge.

Smith College Picker Program Design Clinic students and NRCS staff with project poster. (l-r) Nancy Sheard, NRCS, Civil Engineering Tech; Leonora Baddoo, student; Meghan Irving, student; Ida Ngambeki, student; June Yeung, student; and Dennis Verdi, NRCS, Planning Engineer.

Leonora, Ida and June in waders preparing to survey the Weir Creek Salt Marsh.

Meghan and Leonora confer with Jeremy Bell, Wetlands Specialist on invasive plant species.

A multi-cultural group of Smith College engineering students served as group volunteers for the Massachusetts Earth Team this past school year. From September 2006 to May 2007, the volunteers worked with NRCS staff and partners to design a culvert for the restoration of the Weir Creek Salt Marsh in Dennis, Massachusetts.

The 1,658 volunteer hours that the team logged over the school year were not only an academic experience but became valuable real life work experience. “I learnt a lot from doing this project, it covered a lot of ground and allowed us to do a variety of tasks,” said Ida Ngambeki of Uganda. “It also provided me with a chance to see the workings of NRCS and their commitment to the environment.”

Ida and her fellow students, Leonora Baddoo of Ghana, June Yeung, originally of Hong Kong, and Meghan Irving of New Hampshire worked in collaboration with NRCS, Massachusetts Wetland Restoration Program and the Town of Dennis to prepare a final design for the salt marsh restoration culvert improvement. The final design and specifications will be used by NRCS and the town for obtaining funding, permits, and as a construction package for implementation.

“The students were professional and represented the Smith College Picker Engineering Program well,” said Dennis Verdi, NRCS Planning Engineer. “They worked diligently on the project throughout the year and did an excellent job on the final presentation at the May engineering design clinic. We enjoyed working with the students on the project. It was a learning experience for everyone involved.”

The volunteers researched salt marshes, modeled tidal flow into the marsh, planned and developed alternatives for the site, then prepared a design, construction specifications, and a cost estimate for the project. They provided NRCS with weekly progress reports, which also were an opportunity for the students to request assistance and ask questions about the project.

Over the course of the project NRCS engineering and resources staffs and the partner agencies provided reference material and technical guidance, assisted students as they surveyed the project site, provided guidance on modeling and evaluating alternatives, collaborated weekly through meetings, email, and teleconferences and answered questions regarding planning and design for the salt marsh restoration culvert improvements.

In 2000, Smith College began the nation’s first engineering program at a women’s college. The goal of the Smith College Picker Engineering Program Design Clinic is to provide students with an opportunity to tackle real-world engineering projects with actual industry and government clients. Students are required to solve engineering design problems and produce a final product. Students work in teams of three or four under the guidance of a faculty adviser and one or more technical liaisons from the sponsoring organization. The completed projects benefit both the students and the sponsoring organizations.

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