Fulbright Visiting Scholar visits Nicholls for constructed wetlands lecture

On March 11, Nicholls State University hosted special guest and Fulbright Visiting Scholar Joan Garcia for a lecture on constructed wetlands.

Garcia, a Barcelona, Spain native, taught at a university in Catalonia and now teaches at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Garcia described the great architectures of Barcelona and showed pictures of his city before he began his lecture on constructed wetlands.

“Constructed wetlands are good for small communities because it is a more eco-friendly and expense-friendly alternative,” Garcia said.

The set up of subsurface flow constructed wetlands is one that contains a pretreatment, primary treatment and secondary treatment.

Pretreatment consists of screening and sand removal, a primary treatment consist of a septic tank and a secondary treatment consisting of wetlands.

The subsurface wetlands are not like the surface wetlands down here in Louisiana.

To make a subsurface wetland, a hole is dug in the ground, gravel is put on top, then natural wetland plants and then the water is added. The gravel and roots of the plants help remove the waste from the water.

Ramaraj Boopathy, professor of biological sciences and Alcee Fortier Distinguished Service Professor, invited Garcia as a special guest. Boopathy is a Fulbright specialist.