10/13/2004

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Ohio State Wetlands to Leave a Lasting Mark

Writer:

Candace Pollock
pollock.58@osu.edu
(614) 292-3799

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thirteen years ago, Ohio State University’s Olentangy River Wetland Research Park was born. Today, it will remain in perpetuity as a research, teaching and service ecological complex for students, faculty, staff and visitors to enjoy.

The complex, located just north of Ohio State’s campus, was recently dedicated in honor of the late Wilma H. Schiermeier, an Ohio State University alumnus who was concerned about clean air and water. Schiermeier dedicated in excess of $1.5 million to the complex to that end, and to ensure the park’s continued research. Schiermeier was Hamilton County’s representative to the Ohio Farm Bureau and served as the board’s secretary from 1993-2003. She was posthumously awarded the Hamilton County Farm Bureau “Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award.”

“I’m overwhelmed,” said Walter Schiermeier, Wilma’s cousin, during the dedication event, which brought students, faculty, staff, family members and visitors to the complex. “I know Wilma is smiling down on this complex today. This place represents everything she did in life.”

The Wilma H. Schiermeier Wetland Complex encompasses the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park, the Sandefur Wetland Pavilion, and the Heffner Wetland Research and Education Building. The site has five acres of experimental wetlands, a seven-acre demonstration riverine wetland, a 13-acre bottomland forest, and a mesocosm compound for smaller-scale experimentation.

“This complex is like no other one on campus and probably like no other place in the world,” said Ohio State President Karen Holbrook. “It’s a great resource for OSU faculty and staff and a place where research goes on to benefit mankind. It’s a place for education and a wonderful place for our community to appreciate and enjoy.”

Researchers use the site to study the mechanisms behind wetlands, how they can be effectively created and restored, and how wetlands benefit the environment. Hundreds of students from Ohio State and from other universities across the United States and abroad use the wetlands annually for research and field studies.

“We (students) can go forward with our research knowing that these wetlands will always be a part of OSU,” said Cheri Higgins, an Ohio State graduate student who uses the complex for her research. “We love it here. There’s no other place like it in the world.”

For more information on the wetlands research park, log on to http://swamp.ag.ohio-state.edu.