The VCU Rice Rivers Center, VCU's river campus, supports scholarship and student instruction across diverse disciplines, including water resources, climate science, wildlife conservation and wetlands restoration.
Located midway between Richmond and Williamsburg, Virginia along the historic James River, our 360 acres of riparian marshes, tidal creeks and mature forests represent a unique outdoor laboratory for important applied research and innovative, experiential classes. The center’s modern facilities offer offices, classrooms, laboratories and overnight lodging for students, faculty, visiting scholars and community groups. State-of-the-art technologies are deployed onsite to collect information on air and water quality, fish and avian migrations, changing sea levels and a host of other critical data sources. Our ongoing partnerships with state and federal natural resource and earth science agencies provide significant training opportunities for student scholars.
Student interns with the Rice Rivers Center are counting trees, and the comprehensive inventory could highlight the environmental and financial impact of the urban forest.
From dam removal to a thriving wetland, Kimages Creek is now teeming with life. Dr. Ed Crawford of VCU's Rice Rivers Center told the story on VPM PBS's Virginia Home Grown - and showed how wetlands shape our ecosystems and future.
VCU researchers and partners study the breeding biology of the prothonotary warbler along the lower James River using the project and its data to explore population genetics, disease and migration ecology, the role of song and plumage in reproductive fitness, and the impact of climate change on diet and timing of breeding.
VCU Rice Rivers Center is at the center of the Virginia Sturgeon Restoration Team's effort to restore the Atlantic sturgeon to its native range and historical stature within state waters. Our discoveries of baby sturgeon in the James River have proven to be milestones for restoration efforts.
Since 2013, the Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program has facilitated the collection of waste oyster shells from restaurants and returned them to the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay to help restore wild oyster populations, improve water quality and provide new fish habitat.
Wetlands research and restoration at the Rice Rivers Center represent an unprecedented opportunity for research, education and community outreach with in the James River watershed, and improve wetlands management and restoration practices through the mid-Atlantic region.
