In anticipation of Earth Day on April 22, students in the Fish and Wildlife Management program at Ogeechee Tech spent time picking up trash and debris in and around the OTC Statesboro campus.
Casey Corbett, Fish and Wildlife Instructor and OTC’s Instructor of the Year, mentioned that this year their group picked up less trash than they had in the past and is optimistic that is a result of more people becoming aware of the proper way to dispose of their plastics and other trash.
“About 80% of the trash that ends up in our oceans originates on land. As a result, 90% of all shore birds have undigestible plastic in their body because they mistake small pieces of plastic as food,” said Corbett. “It’s important that we discard our trash properly so that it doesn’t continue to fill our rivers and streams and ultimately make it’s way into our oceans, impacting wildlife.”
Corbett and five of her students spent several hours walking campus and picking up garbage. However, their most exciting find of the day was not garbage, but wildlife.
“The highlight of our Earth Day Cleanup excursion was finding an Eastern Kingsnake,” said Corbett. The kingsnake was caught and admired for a few moments by the instructor and students before being released back into the woods.
The Fish and Wildlife Management Program at Ogeechee Tech merges basic biological knowledge and practical application of technical skills necessary for successful careers as Wildlife Technicians in state and federal agencies, private or corporately-owned hunting plantations, or companies specializing in wildlife damage control
To learn more about the Fish and Wildlife Management Program at Ogeechee Tech please visit www.ogeecheetech.edu/FWMT.
