Saint Mary’s NSSLHA Club is partnering with Flourish Boutique and Gallery to raise money for Sertoma, a national service organization focused on hearing health, this Friday.The fundraiser is part of the annual nationwide “NSSLHA Loves” campaign, club president and senior Taylor Ellerbrock said.“NSSLHA stands for ‘National Student Speech Language Hearing Association’ and is a club for anyone interested in the professional world of speech pathology and audiology.” Ellerbrock said. “Saint Mary’s is just one chapter of the national organization contributing to the NSSLHA Loves campaign.”According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website, NSSLHA has approximately 13,000 members and 300 student-managed campus chapters in the United States and abroad.“Every year [NSSLHA Loves] picks a foundation to raise awareness and funds for, and this year they picked Sertoma,” Ellerbrock said. “Sertoma is a hearing loss-hearing health foundation. … They advocate for healthy hearing.”According to the Sertoma website, the organization has a mission to improve the quality of life through education and support for those impacted by hearing loss.In order to achieve ‘gold level’ honors within NSSLHA, the Saint Mary’s club must donate at least $500 to Sertoma, Ellerbrock said. The upcoming event with Flourish Boutique and Gallery is one of the main fundraisers for their contribution, she said.“Five percent of purchases at Flourish from the whole day [on Nov. 13] is going to Sertoma alone. Our club is not taking any of it,” Ellerbrock said.The event will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and shoppers are encouraged to look for hidden gift cards in the store ranging from $10 to $100, Ellerbrock said. NSSLHA officers will be at Flourish from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. handing out ‘swag bags,’ and if people bring the event flyer, they will get 50 percent off their purchase and free pair of earrings, she said.“Even if you don’t bring that flyer and you’re a random shopper from, say, Granger, five percent of your purchase money still goes to NSSLHA, which in turn goes to Sertoma,” Ellerbrock said.This is the first time the club has worked with Flourish, Ellerbrock said. Planning for the event began after fall break, when the club decided to do a fundraiser that was different than the Eddy Street Give Back Nights. They also wanted to reach people beyond the Saint Mary’s-Notre Dame community, she said.Ellerbrock said everyone they worked with at Flourish was helpful and supportive. The club enjoys working with a company that promotes positive self-image and self-confidence, she said.“Not only can you get a great deal, but this also helps NSSLHA raise awareness about hearing health in general,” Ellerbrock said. “We’re really passionate our major and about hearing health. It’s going to be a fun time.”Tags: Flourish Boutique and Gallery, hearing health, NSSLHA, saint mary’s
Ponds fulfill a lot of roles in Georgia. They provide water for thirsty crops andlivestock. They offer a cooling dunk for people and animals. And they (sometimesreluctantly) give up their fish for a summer fish fry. It’s nowonder they run short of something. “During the dog days of summer, we see many ponds become oxygen-depleted,”said George Lewis, an aquaculture and fisheries specialist with the University of GeorgiaExtension Service. “Pond owners may need to aerate (add oxygen to) their ponds toensure the pond stays healthy.”Most bodies of water that cover less than 15 acres are ponds, Lewis said. Anythinglarger is a lake. Both can become oxygen depleted, but smaller ponds are more at risk.”Ponds tend to be warm through their entire depth. Lakes probably have a layer ofcooler water near the bottom that can hold enough oxygen to support the life in it.”Ponds likely to become oxygen-starved include those near areas where a lot of organicmaterial is on or in the ground or where fertilizer is used heavily.This includes not only pastures with livestock and many farm fields, but areas aroundgolf courses or manicured suburbs, too.”Animals that graze around a pond add a huge amount of organic waste to thewater,” he said. That waste can deplete the oxygen faster.Ponds with lots of fish are good candidates for oxygen depletion, too. Fish use asurprisingly large amount of oxygen.Lewis said the oxygen isn’t depleted in just one or two days. Hot, hazy days in lateJuly and August are the most likely time the problem will start. The water is warm, so itholds less oxygen. The sun isn’t shining directly into the pond so phytoplankton aren’t producing as much oxygen.And the bacteria and fish in the water need more oxygen.”Everything is right for less oxygen to be produced,” Lewis said, “whenin fact, the pond needs more oxygen.”Oxygen depletion usually happens slowly over four or five days before obvious symptomsappear. The first symptom is usually the water changing color to a bright green. Anothersign is a fairly sudden increase in fish deaths.Whatever symptoms appear, Lewis said, the visibility in the water shows the oxygenlevel. Put something white or shiny under the water. The oxygen is probably about right ifyou can see the item 12 to 18 inches deep.”Visibility of less than 12 inches points to potential oxygen depletion,” hesaid. “You may need to aerate the water before your fish start dying.”Lewis said night aeration provides the best oxygen source for ponds. During the dayphytoplankton, microscopic plants in the water, produce oxygen through photosynthesis.At night, the sun isn’t providing the light the plants need to make oxygen, so the animals inthe water slowly use it up.”That’swhy you’ll findthe lowest oxygen levels in a pond just before sunrise,” he said. “When theproblem is getting serious, you’ll see fish at the surface literally gulping air.”Pond owners use many methods to aerate their ponds. Lewis follows a rule of thumb foraerators of one horsepower per surface acre. Anyÿsystem that breaks up a water streaminto small droplets falling into the pond should oxygenate well.It’simpossible to aerate a pond too much, he said. The oxygen dissolves in the water. When thewater is holding as much as it can, no more will dissolve into it.”Not all ponds will need aeration during the summer,” Lewis said. “Butif a pond needs oxygen, it needs it quickly.”