Wetlands Estonoa Learning Center Project

St. Paul, Virginia is a small southwest Virginia town composed of 1,000 citizens. Our town, is located in Wise County, is situated along Alternate Route 58 and is bordered by Russell County. Our community is nestled in a karst river valley having the Clinch River as our primary water source. Karst topography results from the dissolving of limestone and weathering of our limestone mountains has resulted in numerous caves and sinkholes. 

In the spring of 1999, Appalachian Ecology students were assigned a project. One student, Stevie Sabo chose to do his project on a local, forgotten lake, Lake Estonoa. His project covered the lake's history, present condition, and his desire to see the lake returned to its former pristine state. The project piqued the interest of another student, Nikki Buffalow, in the fall of 1999. From her research, she discovered the “lake” was in fact a wetlands and an existing law protected wetlands. With the hope of preserving Lake Estonoa, she began a quest to have the lake officially dubbed wetlands. She succeeded in this endeavor and began her mission to preserve the site. As a result of her accomplishment, an interest began to grow and the entire Appalachian Ecology and Physics classes soon undertook the project. The students became known as Team Estonoa and the protection and conservation of Wetlands Estonoa became their mission. Semester after semester, it is with excitement, curiosity and high expectations that the team looks forward and ventures forth with the Wetlands Estonoa Learning Center Project. Seeing how enthusiastic and dedicated students are year after year, the Town of St. Paul is honored to be a partner in a project to preserve and protect the wetlands.  

St. Paul High School is the smallest of Wise County’s six high schools with 204 students that includes grades 8-12.  St. Paul High School is approximately in the center of the town. Wetlands Estonoa, our project’s focus, is immediately adjacent to the school complex and acts as a buffer zone for the town’s water source – the Clinch River. According to the Nature Conservancy, the Clinch River is the number one river for biodiversity in the United States. Although the Clinch has been recognized for its diversity, the river is in dire need of protection.

During the past five years, Team Estonoa has built partnerships, pursued grant opportunities, performed hours of public outreach and maintained the outdoor classroom itself. To date the team has removed MANY truck loads of trash and brush from Wetlands Estonoa. Constructed a crusher run walk path, built and installed bridges, picnic tables, a floating dock, benches, AND this past year has constructed a beautiful learning center building. The building’s stunning log exterior is complimented by the native stone on the basement and highlighted by the green metal roof. Inside, the walls are a textured bleached Spanish lace and the hardwood floors match the kitchen cabinets. Team Estonoa has hosted 21 groups in their newly completed center conducting environmental workshops and participating in several watershed meetings. 

The grounds around the center have been landscaped and serve as a learning lab for area schools and citizens. The lab contains native Appalachian flora, interpretive signs, an observation area with a seating area and a rain garden. The rain garden controls storm water and serve as a teaching tool illustrating its value as a low impact method of storm water management. Throughout the past five years the team has conducted wetlands workshops for area teachers and students, college groups, and two weeklong environmental institutes. To date the team has presented to/hosted over 100 groups, looks forward to hosting many more, and is excited about working with local watershed groups for the improvement of our environment.