Research Requests

Interested in conducting research at the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park?

Research activity requests must be made at least 60 days before the intended start date of the research. All research requests are evaluated by the Research Coordinator and the Leadership Committee. You are strongly encouraged to seek approval prior to the submission of grant proposals requiring use of the facility, as availability of facilities is not guaranteed. Please fill out the research request form and email it to our Research Coordinator, Krystal Pocock (pocock.20@osu.edu), and the ORWRP (water@osu.edu).

Contact Krystal Pocock directly or email the ORWRP staff at water@osu.edu with any questions and for a current fee schedule.

Available Facilities

Facilities available for research use include:

  • Heffner Building
    • Analytical lab (Room 104)
  •  Olentangy River
    • Access to about 0.9km reach of Olentangy River (non-wadeable) between two lowhead
      dams and access to 0.2km reach of Olentangy River (wadeable) below one of
      the low-head dams. Manual boat launch is available in the larger reach; however, the
      location does not have a formal boat launch for motorized boat access.
  • Tributary stream to Olentangy River
    • Small stream with shrub and grass riparian area. Begins at outflow of experimental
      wetlands and travels to the Olentangy River. Receives inputs from bioreserve pond
      and oxbow wetland.
  • Bioreserve Pond
    • Small pond surrounded by grassy vegetation that is connected to a tributary of the
      Olentangy River
  • Constructed, experimental wetlands
    • Two, 1-ha experimental wetlands with elevated boardwalks for observation and
      sampling.
  • Oxbow wetland (I.e., Billabong)
    • Experimental wetland, no formal structures
  • Experimental mesocosm facility
    • 60, 100-gallon Rubbermaid Tubs for controlled experiments using either well or river
      water
  • Other unique habitats on-site include:
    • Bottomland hardwood forest, stormwater wetland, Odum Pond (ephemeral)

Additional Information

Experimental Mesocosm Facility 

Our experimental mesocosm facility is equipped with 64, 210-gallon tanks organized in clusters of 4. Researchers have the option of filling mesocosm tanks with river or groundwater, and there is shade cloth for the entire complex.
Pricing is as follows:
$300 turnover/set-up fee + $37 per tank per week + $300 take-down/turnover fee
Please note that this facility is in high demand from May-September and we cannot guarantee availability. If you are interested in using the mesocosm facility for research, we recommend you submit a research request as soon as possible.