Public Service & Outreach at Odum
Public service and outreach is a vital component of the Odum School, with initiatives serving the people of Georgia & beyond.
Environmental Policy
The River Basin Center, housed in the Odum School but drawing from units across campus, connects freshwater science and policy to promote sustainable management of aquatic resources and ecosystems. River Basin Center faculty, staff and students work on aquatic management issues around the globe, but with particular emphasis on the southeastern U.S.
Service learning
The Odum School of Ecology offers courses, internships, and opportunities for students to apply the ecological principles learn in coursework to solving real-world environmental problems. A perfect example is Environmental Practicum, a multidisciplinary graduate-level service-learning course offered through the River Basin Center.
Outreach: Ecoreach and STEMzone
The student-run EcoReach program offers environmental educational activities for students at local elementary, middle and high schools and at community events. Students learn about topics such as conservation, biodiversity and natural history through hands-on activities.
STEMzone is an outreach initiative started by Ecology graduate students at the University of Georgia. UGA graduate students across STEM disciplines connect UGA football fans to science through interactive exhibits before football games. This is an opportunity for UGA fans to interact with science and learn about the research being done at UGA.
Service and Outreach News
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EcoReach gets kids (and their parents) to connect with science
Odum School’s student-run outreach program embraces creepy, crawly, and sometimes gross themes to pique interest in ecology.
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How much water is enough? UGA research helps balance needs for the Flint
The River Basin Center and American Rivers collaborate with local water utilities and others in South Metro Atlanta and Central Georgia to balance upstream needs for drinking water with downstream needs for wildlife, recreation and agriculture.
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Wildlife cameras capture critters from suburb to farm to forest
Residents across Athens are getting a peek at the wildlife in their own backyards.
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The tiniest patient: Teaching veterinarians to treat bees
Beekeepers need a prescription when hives get sick, but few veterinarians are qualified to treat bees. A new course at UGA will change that.
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University of Georgia, Spelman College and Georgia Gwinnett College to study knowledge community’s watershed health
The Odum School is part of an interdisciplinary research project focused on sustainable watershed development at a 2,000-acre site along Highway 316 in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
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Yes, killer bees are back. No, you shouldn’t panic.
Lewis Bartlett provides insight on the return of Africanized or “killer” bees.
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Mosquitos are more than a nuisance
A two-year study found high mosquito numbers in some Atlanta neighborhoods, showing how mosquitos can thrive in human-made environments.
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RBC affiliate brings wastewater professionals together to talk septic
Wastewater experts joined Krista Capps to examine issues surrounding Georgia’s decentralized, aging and poorly maintained wastewater infrastructure.
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Endangered minnow rallies conservationists in race to save laurel dace
Odum School graduate students Christian Swartzbaugh and Mackenzi Hallmark are working with the Tennessee Aquarium and local residents to save an endangered minnow that only lives in a few streams in southeastern Tennessee.
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World Water Day 2025: Delivering safe water resources to all
Ecology faculty Seth Wenger, Krista Capps and Charles van Rees, along with collaborators, published a new commentary on our relationships with water resources and how we manage them.