MANTUA, Ohio – Atlantic Water Gardens announced that Rick Bartel has joined the Atlantic team as international sales manager and educator. Bartel holds a Master of Science degree in Wildlife Biology, with an emphasis in habitat design management. As a 30 year veteran water feature designer, Bartel has been internationally published more than 350 times for his articles on the subject of quality water feature design and installation.

Bartel and his water features have been featured on the DIY Networks Waterscapes Workshop, Animal Planet, and NBC News, as well as HGTV’s Extreme Landscapes. He is most notably recognized throughout the industry for his development of The R.I.S.E. Method; a natural approach to rock and boulder placement techniques resulting in more than 1,800 national and international awards and recognitions for his phenomenal work.

He is also a design consultant for the National Wildlife Federation’s Habitat Program, with more than 450 certified wildlife refuges centered on his water creations.

Bartel’s work with Atlantic will focus on expanding Atlantic’s distribution and education efforts around the globe. Bartel’s knowledge and experience will bring another level of excellence to Atlantic’s team of water gardening educators.