Gene Eidson, PhD

Gene Eidson, Ph.D., is director of the restoration ecology focus area and the Center for Applied Ecology in the Restoration Institute. He is a professor in the biological sciences department at Clemson and serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology.

Eidson is founder, president, and CEO of Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational institute headquartered in Augusta, Georgia. He led restoration of a 6,000-acre floodplain swamp to establish the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park and the Center for Urban River Research in Augusta. He also is leading restoration of the 2,000-acre closed Kennecott-Ridgeway Gold Mine in Ridgeway, S.C., where the Center for Ecological Restoration is located. Both sites include education and research facilities that support K-12 education, undergraduate and graduate research, and public outreach.

Eidson earned a B.S. in biology from USC-Columbia and the M.S. and Ph.D. in zoology from Clemson University. He has received numerous awards for his work in restoration ecology and environmental education, including:

• 2005 Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Society, Environmental Educator of the Year
• 2004 North American Association of Environmental Educators, Environmental Educator of the Year (International Award)
• 2003 Conservation Fund/International Paper 2003 National Environmental Education Award Recipient
• 2000 Monsanto Global Award
• 1999 Clemson University Alumni Fellow
• 1999 Georgia Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Conservationist of the Year

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