Geography of the James (Earth Lodge)

Choosing Pony Pasture as my reflection spot has special meaning because the significance of the location has greatly changed over time for me. When I first encountered the location, it was simply as a place to take recruits for the swim team. I never really got a chance to sit down and look at anything. Of course I knew that we were at the river, and that the river was pretty and the trees were big, but I never really saw it. I just knew in the back of my mind that it was there. I was completely engrossed in another activity and Pony Pasture simply served as a backdrop, but nothing more. My view of the river was like this for my entire freshman year. Even when we did not take recruits there, I went with my teammates and we would often sit on the rocks and talk about practice or school, but not once did we sit there in silence and take in our surroundings.

Now that I have been a part of Earth Lodge for a couple of months, I am beginning to see Pony Pasture in a new light. First of all, I never really realized how connected the University was to the river. Obviously I knew we had a lake, but I always felt for some reason that it was pretty contained to the limits of campus. I had learned about run off and pollution in middle school and in high school and I knew that all the water in the area was connected but I guess I had never really thought about it until this class. I had never payed attention to the little creek and I never payed attention to the trees along the banks of the lake. Again, they were things I just knew were there. But as I started to learn more, I began to see (arguably for the first time) what was going on on campus so that when I went back to Pony Pasture, I really saw that what we did at school impacted the river. Being part of the class has really opened my eyes because a lot of the information regarding pollution or the water cycle was information I had already learned about or had been at least minimally exposed to. But now I am more able to apply it and see it in action, making it more real for me, but also making me feel like I can make a difference too.

Full of hidden treasures: a phrase I would use to describe both the Potomac and James Rivers. Beautiful, a teacher, and full of opportunities are also words to describe these two important rivers.

During Fall Break this past weekend, Earth Lodge members went on a boat ride on the Potomac River around Washington, D.C. to learn about the history, health, and uses of the Potomac River watershed. Though it has its own unique characteristics, the Potomac is quite similar to the James River watershed which we have been studying for many weeks up to this point.

Some obvious similarities are the rivers’ importance during the colonization of America and during the Civil War. The national capital was built on the Potomac because of the resources the waterway could provide. The James River was colonized for similar reasons and Richmond serves as the capital city of the commonwealth of Virginia. Both rivers were exploited for their resources and were neglected in the way of protecting the rivers’ health. It was not until much damage was done to each river that citizens began to realize the consequences of the urbanization. Now, both rivers face their own set of serious issues and there are many efforts and organizations that are trying to repair the rivers back to good health.

“We’re going to break into groups and test some different abiotic factors of the water,” explained one of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation leaders to us when we stopped near the Washington, D.C. wastewater treatment plant. Memories of doing this in high school immediate flooded my mind, but I had to take a moment to think what we could possibly expect to see as the health of this river. Dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrates, temperature, and salinity were among some of the abiotic factors we tested and compared to another spot near the deeper section of the upper Potomac. Some aspects were better than expected, like dissolved oxygen and pH, while others were worrisome, like phosphates, nitrates, and turbidity. We have not specifically tested the water of the James for these factors, but one can hypothesize that the health is at a similarly low level due to a serious problem with nitrate, phosphate, and sediment input into the James River.

Setting up a water catchment device with an environmental advocate from Texas aboard the CBF boat

Another factor of river health, biodiversity, was tested when we set out a trawl net to catch fishes and marine animals along the bottom of the river. Eric, one of the CBF leaders made a remark that it was the worst day of fishing he had seen all year. To that end, we discussed why this could be: a large rainstorm, the first in a month and a half, had just impacted the river days before and could have sent the river and its inhabitants into a bit of chaos. Like the James River though, large rainstorms heavily impact the Potomac due to a startling lack of riparian buffer, a result of the building of a city along its banks. The water of both the James and Potomac become very murky as the sediment is churned and polluted water rushes into the river.

Who couldn’t appreciate this gem within the boundaries of our own national capital?

We spent a good amount of time in various parts of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in the last 2 months and one conclusion I can say with certainty is that the bay and its watershed are beautiful treasures that must be protected. The James and Potomac River are both important spots for recreation and serve as a classroom to teach biology and the need for environmental conservation to anyone who will listen. Though you can’t see nitrates and other pollutants at the surface of a river, you also can’t see the wonderful treasures like oysters, game fish, and Diamondback Terrapins that lie within those polluted waters. It is only by hearing about what the rivers used to be and seeing what they are like now that we can start to understand the magnitude of impact humans have made. And then we can begin to work towards more sustainable and healthy habits of interacting with these, and all other, rivers.

Fantastic is a word that isn’t grand enough to describe the experience of this Fall Break Trip. From a rainy day’s exploration of Harper’s Ferry to a warm day’s adventures at sea, I feel as if I’ve learned and grown beyond what I expected out of this trip.

When I first decided to join Earth Lodge it was because I wanted to experience what such a diverse group of people could come up with around such a like minded idea. For the first few weeks (while they were very informative and allowed us to grow to know each other) I felt as if we were just going though the motions of another class, barely bothering to get to know one another. This trip changed that. From the first drive (3 hours in a van with 6 other people) we began to talk and hold deeper conversations about topics which could insight anger or dissent (politics, anyone?) but we also grew to find out a bit more about each other. From that point forward I made it my personal goal to be open and honest with everyone the whole trip as well as try and bond with everyone and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I feel as if we are a closer family of lodgers (And yes, I do include the 3 who, unfortunately, couldn’t make the trip as part of our family!).

But the more important, or should I say significant, bit of our adventures on the Potomac was the knowledge gained by first hand experience. While I found myself in many a moment where I was muttering answers under my breath or I felt as if we were getting the same information for a second (or third) time, there are still some moments which stick out to me in particular. For one, seeing the chemical values first hand after extracting them from the very water we were sailing above was a shocking and effective way to put everything in perspective. Being able to draw parallels with the James was also extremely helpful as I could see how much more mature the research and projects were on the Potomac whereas, in many cases, the James is just starting to get the attention it deserves.

All in all, I think the trip was a brilliant success and has allowed for a gateway into deeper and more meaningful conversation where we (the lodgers) don’t have to feel as if we are contributing as much to a class discussion as a discussion with some of our closest friends. It is those very discussion that could bring about revelations in thought and practice that we have the amazing opportunity to initiate here on the James in hopes of making the RVA city, a better place for all who visit.,

The Earth Lodge weekend trip began at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. Since I had rain boots on, my first inclination was to run straight into the water and put my feet in both at the same time. In a way, all of us continued on this vein the rest of the weekend. Anytime we were out on a boat or skipjack or at Sandy Point State Park, we couldn’t help ourselves from getting hands-on.

Part of gaining a deeper understanding of watersheds is comparative hands-on research. We got the opportunity to do this through abiotic and biotic surveys in the Potomac at two different points and in the Chesapeake Bay. I was personally surprised that water near D.C. had better nitrate readings than in the Chespeake Bay (1.7 PPM vs. 35+PPM). Yet, the successful wastewater treatment in D.C. most likely gets rid of these excess nutrients. This got me thinking back to Richmond and the James. How effective is our wastewater management. What are the exact water quality readings that characterize the water near us at the University of Richmond? This also got me thinking back to my summer internship where I did water quality surveys all around Baltimore County, whose subwatersheds also end up in the Chesapeake. I never remember any nitrate values getting that high, but I’m tempted to check with my supervisor. How do we let things get this way?

Agriculture is a huge culprit. It is a top contributor to the nitrate levels we observed in the Chesapeake. In the James, I assume agriculture would also raise levels. Even on the Richmond campus, higher nutrient loads are observed downstream of the golf course that heavily overfertilizes. This basically mirrors what happens downstream of farms that use fertilizers on their crops.

In terms of observations from biotic surveying, the Potomac catch only supplied us with 2 or 3 different species of fish. The Chesapeake Bay proved more biodiverse with a total of 6 very different species – macroinvertebrates such as worms and barnacles, multiple fish species, 1 live oyster (out of 30 maybe) , and blue crabs. There were bald eagles spotted in the skies near both sites, which indicates that they are sustained by feeding on the life in the water. It strikes me as strange that there was more biodiversity in an area with a higher nutrient load. Perhaps the algal blooms that result from high nitrate levels have not begun yet.

In the end, we may not have literally dived into the Potomac or the Chesapeake Bay, but we did make many key observations necessary to compare it to our watershed in Richmond and in my case, my hometown watershed. My memorable quote from the Earth Lodge trip sums up our semester – we have been in different watersheds and now these watersheds are a part of us.

Raising awareness and creating place identity are two things that can lead to conservation and sustainable management practices. To be able to create place identity, you must have some sort of connection with the land, such as walking on the soil or boating through the river rapids. These connections allow you to be more a part of the place, and less of just another human visitor. These connections were made in all of my fellow Earth Lodgers.

Unfortunately, I did not get to interact personally with the land this weekend because I was unable to attend the trip due to sport conflicts. Fortunately, I was able to learn what seeing the river might not have been able to tell me. I had the opportunity to discover how the river became what it is today, through reading a book called The Potomac by Frederick Gutheim. While this book did not fill my seat in the van or my bed in the cabin, it did allow me to understand more of the history behind the Potomac River watershed. With this deeper knowledge, I was able to then compare current statistics about the James River watershed and the Potomac River watershed as well as compare their pasts.

In River Time has informed us all of the ups and downs throughout the James River history and our field trips and readings have filled in the rest of our current knowledge of the James. The explorers of the past seem strikingly similar. Their attitudes were simple. They wanted to succeed. The early comers of both watersheds settled close to the river enabling them to harness the power of the water. In both situations the river was used as a highway. It allowed for exploration and for trade. Interestingly enough both sets of new comers experienced an urge to cross the river and explore the other bank. Both rivers acted as “floating worlds”, but also as barriers. The list of similarities throughout history goes on and on, but I will not bore you with that.

Having spent my weekend reading a book all about the Potomac River, I could not help myself from creating a connection with the river. I hope to explore the watershed further and I hope to learn more about the river from my classmates. I unfortunately will never be able to make up not being on the trip with my fellow Earth Lodgers, but I will make an honest effort to venture up to the Potomac at the end of Thanksgiving Break.

Above the confluence of the Shenandoah and the Potomac Rivers a railroad loomed, symbolically raised as though to represent the domination of human development over natural processes. I saw this at Harpers Ferry in West Virginia where our group of scholars began our educational journey down the Potomac River. Our group waded in the confluence and walked through the Lock, observing nature without disrupting it. From then on, our journey had an overarching theme to prioritize the existence of the river in a natural and untouched state. I had always been told that waterways are a legacy people leave behind, an idea that found new meaning during our excursion down the Potomac. Preserving water systems such as the Potomac River Watershed creates a legacy for the future. On our trip we learned various ways to rebuild waterways like the Potomac River to their former glory.

I did not have high hope for the Potomac waterways surrounding Washington D.C. I had heard stories about the many ways waterways that flow through cities are polluted. I expected the water to resemble a sewer more than a river. After experiencing and studying the Potomac first hand I now know the waters around Washington D.C. are not as bad as I thought but they are still not even close to their natural state. Our group took a sample of water freshly processed by the Blue Plains waste water treatment plant. It helped me understand the best condition water should be for the ecosystem by measuring Nitrates, Dissolved Oxygen levels and the water’s pH. It turns out that the Blue Plains treatment plant does an excellent job processing waste water because most of our measurements provided positive results. Blue Plains sets the bar for waste treatment, not only by thoroughly processing waste water but also through other innovations such as capturing the methane from the waste and using it to provide energy for the plant.  The waters were in good shape considering the heavy downpour of rain from the previous night had most likely washed pollutants from the city straight into the water, we even saw two bald eagles perched on a dead tree scanning the waters for fish to hunt. Our fishing attempt told a different story because after running a trowel through the water the captain labeled it as the worst catch of the year. The captain also told us about the poor condition of the crab population. Crabbing regulations allowed Virginia crabber to catch and sell pregnant female crabs which meant invading and destroying crab spawning grounds. Crab is one of my favorite foods and I expect to eat them for a very long time so it is disheartening for me to hear that crabs are decreasing in population.

The sail boat crew of our second day trip stated that “We love people who eat oysters.” Coming from people who have dedicated their time to restore the water ways to their former glory, this was a strange. The crew love people who eat the mollusk they were trying to protect and repopulate. I now understand that they were making the point that the people who are most likely to care about the waterways are those who are most connected to them.