New guide puts focus on Brick Pond Park

North Augusta's Brick Pond Park has become the area's premier living study in an ecosystem where plants, animals, birds and humans all work together to keep a balance that continues to be a friendly environment for the wildlife natural to the area.

In the last five years, as the ecosystem was restored and refined, more and more researchers, students and nature-lovers have found the park to be a welcoming place where they can enjoy the surroundings and study the wetlands and its inhabitants at the same time.

As a result, officials at the City have developed a field guide to the area, "Brick Pond Park - A Wild Life (Park Users Guide)." The guide will be given out to schools that visit the park and will be available for $3.80 to others who would like to know more about what's in Brick Pond Park.

Written by Tanya Strickland, the City's environmental coordinator, and edited by David Caddell, stormwater manager, the guide includes information on the history of the area, how the restoration was accomplished and what plantlife and wildlife is likely to be seen there.

Strickland explained that in 2006 a partnership was formed between the City of North Augusta and Hammond's Ferry Development Corporation to restore the 40-acre site along the Savannah and to document the progress of a balanced ecosystem there with the help of a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Strickland said since then they have been gathering data on the water quality, as well as the wildlife found there.

"Since Brick Pond Park opened in 2008, we've been routinely monitoring plants, animals, water quality ... whether the ponds needed more aeration or less ...," she said, adding she has compiled a database of all those things.

The guide includes the results of those studies, with the exception of the detailed water quality data and the science of the park, which are available on the City's website at www.northaugusta.net.

At the same time, Strickland explained, the City entered into a cooperative with the North Augusta area public schools to provide educational outreach each year.

"I would make copies of handouts for each school group that went through," said Strickland, who said she would pull together all sorts of information, not just for schools but for other groups who visited the park and for the City's Adventure Camp, held each summer. "We finally decided it would be good to do a field guide."

Strickland said she had, in the past, used "Pond Life," a more generic guide, when talking to various groups, but the new book is very specific to North Augusta's Brick Pond Park.

"I know lots of people who love the park and are down there all the time," she said, explaining they began asking for a guide book. She said the local universities are also in the park on a regular basis - "We have USCA, ASU and ATC students doing research."

The field guide is divided into a history of the wetlands, a listing of the plants documented in the park thus far, as well as the animals, listed by groups.

She mentioned river otters, for example, that folks don't get to see very often. "They were recently in the East Pond on a pipe," she said, explaining they mostly come to the park in the winter. "They're so playful and fun to watch."

It took a full year to compile the nearly five years of data for the book, said Strickland. And it includes lots of input from regular visitors to the park - particularly photographers, she said, indicating that photos in the field guide were either taken by her or are credited when the photo was submitted by someone else.

Strickland said there is a core group of regular visitors to the park who let her know when things are changing. "I'm very thankful for those people," she said, noting that they are often helpful in reminding folks that they must not feed the wildlife in the park.

She acknowledged the information in the book is always going to be somewhat in flux, because people are sending in new information all the time. "People send in photos and say, 'Look what I saw' or 'What is this?'" she detailed.

In fact, in "Brick Pond Park - A Wild Life" are listed 112 species of birds that have been documented there, but that list is already outdated, said Strickland. "One of the photographers who's out there all the time sent me a picture and said, 'Is this an American Widgen?'" she said. Then a short time later, he sent another photo and said, "I've now seen the male and female. It's definitely an American Widgen."

She also mentioned the "edge creatures." She said there are species that are a somewhat rare treat here. "We are on the extreme edge of the alligator range and of some snakes," she said, pointing out that not much farther north folks would not see the alligators at all.

For herself, Strickland said she's been on the lookout for a Painted Bunting for some time. Others in the park have seen the colorful bird, but she hasn't had the privilege in Brick Pond Park. "Sometimes you're very lucky to see some of these birds," she admitted.

Strickland added, "I love to get the public involved ... "If you see something that's not there (in the book), I'd love to have that information."

There will be notations at the kiosks in Brick Pond Park directing folks who are interested in the field guild to pick one up in the Municipal Center at the water department or in the Arts and Heritage Center gift shop.

There are also regular updates on Brick Pond Park in "The Resource," a City publication included in the water bills each month.

For more information on "Brick Pond Park - A Wild Life" or on the park in general, visit www.northaugusta.net, email stormwater@northaugusta.net or call 441-4246.