Reed Creek Park Earthcache
Welcome to Reed Creek Park. Coordinates will lead you to the entrance of the park.
Reed Creek Park and Interpretive Center is nestle in Columbia County of Martinez, Georgia. The park and wetlands Interpretive Center offers the perfect get-away from your everyday living.
Children can witness Mother Nature and the natural world around, with indoor and outdoor activities at the Park and Interpretive Center. Reed Creek Park offers much to see and do for their visitors.
A day at the park can shed light to some of the many natural life that call Reed Creek Park and Wetlands Interpretive Center home.
Amenities include: After-school and Home school Nature Clubs; 300 foot boardwalk over wetlands; Concrete sidewalks; Interpretive Signage; New Wetlands Trees and Vegetation; 25-space parking lot.
Visitors may catch a glimpse of an array of species to include: box turtles, butterflies, and birds. Take a trip to one of Augusta's best educational, entertaining, and relaxing recreational facility and enjoy the experience.
***** Reed Creek Park Earthcache is Wheelchair accessible*****
Trails are open sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week
Wetland Geology
Geology is seldom mentioned in the context of wetland studies, yet geology plays a critical role in understanding wetland dynamics. Geology is an important aspect of wetland studies for a variety of reasons. Wetlands lie on the surface of the Earth and are underlain by rocks; the extent of the wetlands, thechemistry of their waters, and the kind of sediments that build up within a wetland are therefore influenced by the underlying geology of the region.
Wetlands defined
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil. Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and promote the development of characteristic wetland (hydric) soils.
Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors, including human disturbance. Indeed, wetlands are found from the tundra to the tropics and on every continent except Antarctica.
Importance of Wetlands:
Wetlands are much more than the muddy places we once thought of as a barrier to moving from one place to another, or taking up land that could otherwise be farmed. Wetlands were also thought to be a problem causing flooding in some areas. They were promptly drained of their water, and streams near them were straightened. Ironically, our harsh treatment of wetlands proved more costly than ever thought. Wetlands commonly provide important benefits throughout the nation, such as:
Flood Control
Some wetlands, particularly those on floodplains and in coastal areas, function in flood control by storing and decreasing the velocity of excess water during heavy rainfall. As water flows into wetlands, it naturally loses velocity as it collects and continues to spread out. Wetland vegetation provides another natural barrier to fast moving water and therefore aids in flood speed reduction. The result of wetland activity during floods is often decreased damage to surrounding areas.
Silt Catchers
When flood waters are slowed by wetlands, they drop sediments among the roots and stems of the plants. This protects downstream water bodies by preventing a dangerous build-up of gill clogging and egg damaging silt.
Erosion Control
Wetlands buffer shore lands against erosion because they are often located between water bodies and high ground. The roots of wetland vegetation bind the soil, putting a hold on it, while the plants themselves absorb the impact of waves.
Water Cleaners and Suppliers
Wetlands fed by groundwater further transport the water to streams that may otherwise dry up during warm summers or times of drought. Furthermore, wetlands absorb water during the wet seasons and gradually release it during dry seasons, and can thereby refill aquifers and other drinking water supplies. Wetlands not only supply water, but they cleanse it. When water enters a wetland, the wetland becomes a giant kidney, filtering out impurities before allowing the water to leave. The wetland vegetation plays a large role in this filtering system as it uses its roots and stems to trap and gather sediments comprised of both chemicals and nutrients.
Vital Habitats
There is more life in a one acre of a healthy wetland than there is in one acre of almost any other kind of habitat. Wetlands are virtual havens for the endangered species of the United States; about 35% of all plants and animals listed as threatened or endangered in the United States either live in wetlands or depend on them in some way.
Nature's Nurseries
The thick vegetation found in wetlands provides a safe haven and plentiful food supply for the young of many fish, crabs, and other small creatures who begin life in wetlands, remain safely until they are not so vulnerable, and move to open waters when the time comes.
Migration Stations
Many migratory birds including ducks, herons, sandpipers, and eagles "visit" wetlands in the fall and/or spring to feed while en route to their summer and winter destinations. A large number of birds nest and winter in wetlands as well, but the greatest bird populations are recorded during migration.
Recreation and Economy
Hunting , fishing, hiking, boating, photographing, and bird watching opportunities are abundant in America's wetlands. According to the Terrene Institute wetlands support and annual commercial fur and hide harvest of $300-$400 million and the 50 million people who observe and photograph birds and wildlife in wetlands spend close to $10 billion a year supporting their hobby.
What brings you Here?
This Park was re-established to demonstrate the importance of preserving wetland environments and to provide public education in the matters of natural resources and preservation. Reed Creek Park, located within an urban environment, has three habitats.
1. One Habitat is located in the southwest area of “Reed Creek Park” and is essential to the survival of indigenous plant and animal species. These habitats are rarely or never flooded by water. These habitats support the growth of grasses, shrubs and trees. It also provides habitats for animal, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
2. Reed Creek has both a moist soil and open wetland habitat. Moist-soil or seasonally flooded are habitats are basically weed fields that contain water. Moist-soil habitats encourages growth of natural, sedges and other plants that produce abundant and nutrient-rich seeds that ducks and other waterfowl enjoy.
3. The last habitat is related to and influenced by surface waters, especially the margins of streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, seeps and ditches. This habitat is the first upland habitat zones you encounter as you move outward from the river.
To get credit for this cache you will need to walk around the boardwalk system and collect the information. Here are the requirements:
1. Based on the geological formations of the area what do you notice about Reed Creek Park versus the surrounding areas. With this inforamtion how do you think the wetlands gets most of its water?
2. Identify all three habitats listed above and identify three things that are “typical” for that specific habitat. (3 per habitat)
3. A healthy wetland can eliminate more than ____% of phosphorous and up to _____% of water borne pathogens.
4. (Optional) A photo of yourself or party at Reed Creek is always welcomed.
5. (Optional) A photo of any of the habitants at Reed Creek Park is also welcomed
Once you have collected the info please Email it to me at the time you log this cache. Any logs will be deleted that doesn’t have the correct info or have not emailed the info after a couple of days. Also a log maybe deleted if it contains answers to these questions.
Please enjoy your adventure in REED CREEK PARK.
FTF.---- Will be the one who has logged and emailed the correct information