Former Brunswick Plant, GA

About the Program
Ashland Inc.'s Former Hercules Brunswick Plant is located on a 120-acre site in Brunswick, Georgia. Groundwater monitoring and remediation have occurred at the site for over a decade, and the team continues to implement remedial actions. The site includes a 2.85-acre native wildflower field, which is located on remediated land, and nesting boxes are in place to promote avian activity in the wildflower field. The team collaborates with a consultant, the Antea Group, and the Coastal College of Georgia to monitor the site on a bi-weekly basis to identify any signs of invasive vegetation so it can be removed and to monitor the nesting boxes for bird activity. An all-encompassing plant inventory was conducted in 2016 by the Coastal College of Georgia to identify grass and wildflower species in the field. The team also worked with the Wildlife Habitat Council to design a wildlife management plan and develop the best strategy for the managing the site.

Practices and Impacts

• The project team create a landscaped habitat of 2.85 acres in 2013 to create a wildflower area to attract pollinators and support other wildlife. While monitoring in 2022, team members identified 13 species of plants, 11 of them native species and two invasive species. The area has 100% coverage, which shows an increase of flowering plants from the 2020 monitoring event. In 2020, a pollinator bee nesting box was added, and each year it has been used. 
• The team expanded the vegetated areas with trees and shrubs for a forested area totaling 6.2 acres that began in 2020 and consists of 15 different species of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.
• Starting in 2020, the avian project targets cavity-nesting birds such as eastern bluebirds and Carolina wrens. There is evidence of the nest boxes being used, but no confirmation yet of any fledglings.