Georgia Southern biology professor takes on environmental solutions in local community
Dedication to sustainability extends beyond the backyard of Georgia Southern University biology professor Lissa Leege, Ph.D., where she’s restoring 11 acres of wetlands. Since 2021, she’s been helping Trinity Episcopal Church identify and achieve sustainability goals while instigating additional environmental solutions in the Statesboro community and on Georgia Southern’s campus. Within her professional role, she focuses her research on sand dune ecology and restoration on Tybee Island and the impacts of non-native species invasions in wetlands. Read on to learn more about Leege’s sustainability initiatives and volunteer opportunities in the Statesboro community.
Question: Tell us about the restoration of the wetlands in your backyard.
Answer: Our wetland restoration project has become a living laboratory where students can learn about ecology, gain research skills and implement restoration practices without having to worry about the permits and regulations required for public land. To that end, students have investigated growth rates of native and invasive species, deer impacts, effects of competition with stiltgrass, stiltgrass management strategies, taro distribution, allelopathic effects of privet and more, and I have a team of three students that have been plotting research questions and collecting data this semester.
Q: How have you assisted Trinity Episcopal Church in their environmental projects?
A: At my first vestry retreat, I suggested we make environmental stewardship our focus for the year, with a goal of becoming environmental leaders in the faith community in our region. We landed some funding from Georgia Interfaith Power and Light that helped us chip away at reducing our carbon footprint by upgrading to LED lighting and improving insulation. We also built a community garden at the church, growing food and offering gardening-related workshops to the community. We invited sustainability speakers, hosted a Creation Care Sunday, started composting coffee grounds from the church’s coffee hour and shared green tips in the church newsletter. We even created an origami crane display out of used bulletins for the church foyer.
By 2023, the solar landscape had changed so much that I proposed we evaluate a solar installation which would provide more than 75% of our energy needs, save us $60,000 over the life of the panels and require no upfront cost. The church vestry voted to proceed in March 2024, and the rest is history. One of the more thrilling outcomes of our solar success is the spark it has lit in faith communities near and far. Our team at Trinity Episcopal regularly corresponds with church leaders from Brunswick to Savannah to Statesboro to Atlanta, sharing our experience and encouraging others in their solar journey.
Q: Tell us more about your community projects. What inspires your local sustainability efforts?
A: I have chaired the City of Statesboro’s Greener Boro Commission since its inception in 2022. This all-volunteer city commission helps provide feedback and guidance on a host of sustainability topics, including waste, transportation, green space, energy, water and more. To encourage innovation and reuse as an alternative to trashing items, we teamed up with Georgia Southern’s Business Innovation Group Digital Fabrication Laboratory to create a series of Fix-It Friday events, to which community members can bring broken lamps, chairs, garden hoses, small appliances, bikes, textiles, jewelry and more to be fixed by experts, free of charge. Our next event will likely be this spring. We are always looking for experts willing to volunteer their time and repairs!
We are also developing maps of existing bicycle routes for the city - and will be seeking input on new routes this spring - and evaluating herbicide and pesticide use.
Working toward sustainability solutions gives me energy and purpose. As an ecologist and former sustainability director at Georgia Southern University, I have academic knowledge and practical experience in guiding a community in its sustainability efforts as well as passion for these efforts. For me, much of the joy in this work is in building the community; working with others who have great ideas and a different perspective always makes the outcome stronger. I am so grateful for my fellow community members and so many students who have participated along the way in the initiatives that have made our community a better place.
Q: Why is it important to involve students in environmental projects?
A: Through service-learning projects in most of my courses, I encourage students to spend time in the community, experiencing the course content outside of the classroom and actually contributing to environmental solutions. Students volunteer at local preserves such as Kennedy Pond Conservancy, work with local organic farms, plant trees, monitor sand dune restoration on Tybee Island, work in local food banks and more.
Last semester, with assistance from the Sustain Southern team, my Global Sustainability class created and hosted a campus-wide clothing drive for a sustainable fashion show at Georgia Southern where they collected 500 gallons of clothing, provided educational information about textile waste, put on a fabulous fashion show with the items they collected and then donated all of the clothing to local charities. The skills and teamwork they gained in the process were invaluable, and they know they made a positive difference in the world with this class project. Collective action is powerful!
Q: Do you have any upcoming projects in which students or community members could participate?
A: I’m working with a team at Georgia Southern on an exhibit examining environmental changes, funded by the Student Sustainability Fee, to take place in the Interdisciplinary Academic Building gallery space this semester. We are seeking feedback on the exhibit to develop it for future production at the Georgia Southern Museum and would encourage the community to come and see it!
Kennedy Pond Conservancy, for which I serve on an advisory committee, hosts volunteer mornings on the first Saturday of each month, and I would encourage students to participate in the regular waterway cleanups hosted by Ogeechee RiverKeeper and Keep Statesboro-Bulloch Beautiful at Little Lotts Creek.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
A: Every one of us has the power to make a difference in the world. It may take a while to see the results, but get started by planting the seed. Engage partners with different perspectives. Be persistent. Work another angle if the first effort does not succeed. Celebrate small wins and keep moving ahead. When you look back, you’ll be amazed at how far you have come.
