The Georgia Department of Natural Resources awarded $30,000 to Ron Carroll, professor emeritus, and John Schmidt, assistant research scientist, respectively, in the Odum School of Ecology. They will assess the economic value of the environmental services provided by salt marsh and sand-sharing systems of the Georgia coast. The researchers will look at various contributions made there, including water purification and storm protection. The Atlanta Botanical Garden also awarded Schmidt $5,678 to monitor population trends of the endangered small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides), a member of the orchid family, based on data collected over the last 20 years in the Chattahoochee National Forest.