Adopt-a-stream, Vol. 16, no. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 2009)

GEORGIA
Adopt-A-Stream
Volume 16, Number 6 November/December 2009
Editor: Allison Hughes, Andrea Sproul, Tara Muenz

Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division

See You at the Confluence! February 27, 2010
Stone Mountain Park
The Confluence Conference 2010 continues to gain momentum and excitement levels are on the rise. Adopt-A-Stream volunteers are the focus of this conference and we will create an atmosphere for you to share experiences, knowledge and advice with other volunteers from the headwater streams to the coastal estuaries.

Volunteer Efforts in the Spotlight The conference will highlight volunteer efforts through the Adopt-A-Stream Awards Program, poster presentations and an award winner panel discussion. We encourage you to nominate your group for one of our awards and to design a poster to share your experiences with conference attendees. All award winners and poster presenters will receive free registration for the conference. Your effort will help make this conference a success.
Support Your Conference We are seeking conference sponsors and in-kind donations to help support our conference and to keep the registration fees low. If you or your organization would like to become a sponsor or would like to provide an in-kind donation or goodie bag item, please contact the State Office. Thank you to our supporters: Jordan Jones & Goulding, Caf Campesino, Chick-fil-A, Keep Georgia Beautiful and the Stone Mountain Memorial Association.
Registration Conference registration materials will be available in January 2010. Registration fees will include all conference presentations, panel discussions and hands-on sessions as well as a conference t-shirts, door prizes, meals and much more.
Pre-Conference Survey To better understand what you would like to experience, we have created a pre-conference survey so you can share your thoughts with us. Help us design the Confluence by selecting topics (see column to the right) that serve your program or that address questions that your monitoring group may have. Tell us your ideas by completing our on-line survey at GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org. Those who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing for an Adopt-AStream prize pack.

Hands-On Sessions
Visual stream survey Bacterial monitoring Amphibian monitoring Mapping your watershed Nutrient testing Working with your data
Panel Discussions
State Coordinators panel Award winner tips Ask the experts Watershed-wide events AAS in the Classroom
Presentations
Advanced parameters Watershed-wide surveys Who to call Developing a QAPP Toxins in our waterways Funding opportunities

Bacterial Monitoring Supplies Available
In order to encourage registered Georgia Adopt-A-Stream groups to participate in the Bacterial Monitoring program, Stone Mountain Memorial Association is offering an at cost bacterial monitoring package.
The six-month bacterial monitoring package includes PetrifilmTM Plates, Whirl-pak bags, sterile pipette tips which will cover six sampling events. The cost for this package is $45. To purchase this package, please contact Susan Meyers at (404) 388-8228 or smmeyers@gmail.com.
Volunteers will need to purchase additional equipment including an incubator, a VWR Pipette Pump Pipettor, and a thermometer (see equipment list in the Bacteria Monitoring Manual). Your local Adopt-A-Stream coordinator may have this equipment available for check out.
If you are interested in becoming certified in bacterial monitoring, contact your local coordinator or the Adopt-AStream state office at (404) 675-6240 to schedule a workshop.
Adopt-A-Stream Welcomes Our New Groups
Atlanta Woman's Club, Fulton County Bucks Pond, Cobb County
Clayton State University SEEDS Chapter, Clayton County New Echota River Alliance, Gordon County Boy Scout Pack 629, Fulton County
Kennesaw State University Geography Club, Cobb County Lindsey Lieb, Cobb County JVH, Cobb County Charles' Group, Cobb County
Oxbow Meadows, Muscogee County

Replacement Reagents Available
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream has a limited supply of replacement reagents available for Adopt-A-Stream monitoring groups. If your monitoring group is in need of replacement reagents for dissolved oxygen and pH, please contact Allison at 404.675.1636 or allison.hughes@gaepd.org.

Monitoring Tip: Dissolved Oxygen
When measuring for dissolved oxygen, remember that you need to take two separate samples per monitoring event. For each sample, you must complete the steps listed in your kit's directions in order to obtain two separate readings. Please remember this tip for your next monitoring event.

Outreach Unit is Fully Staffed

Did you know that the Outreach Unit of the NonPoint Source Program which houses Adopt-A-Stream also includes Project WET, Rivers Alive and River of Words in Georgia? Our Outreach Unit has grown throughout the last year and recently welcomed Allison Hughes, who has returned as an Adopt-AStream State Coordinator, and Sue Sturges, who joined the Outreach Unit as a Project WET State Coordinator.

These new staff members completed our now fully staffed unit including our Outreach Unit Manager, Harold Harbert, Adopt-A-Stream State Coordinators Tara Muenz and Allison Hughes, Project WET coordinators Sue Sturges, Monica Kilpatrick and Jo Adang and Program Assistants Anne Stahley and Andrea Sproul.

The Outreach Unit (L-R Allison Hughes, Harold Harbert, Anne Stahley, Tara Muenz, Sue Sturges, and Jo Adang)

These four outreach programs serve as great resources for those interested in water education in Georgia. Please contact us if you would like further information at (404) 675-6240, and we look forward to working with you!

Georgia River Network Conference
Each year, Georgia River Network (GRN) hosts a conference for water advocates from all over the state of Georgia. GRN is committed to providing water lovers with an interesting and compelling annual conference, full of useful information, interesting speakers and lots of time to talk to one another about the issues that affect us all.
We are pleased to announce that February 19-20, 2010, GRN's 10th Annual Conference will be held on Jekyll Island, Georgia at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. So wax up your surfboards and join us on the Jewel of the Georgia Coast this February!
In conjunction with this conference, Georgia AdoptA-Stream will be hosting a pre-conference Bacterial Monitoring QA/QC workshop as well as leading the "Understanding Your Watershed" track. This track will feature topics such as creating water trails, pharmaceuticals in our waterways, and highlights from our Coastal Adopt-A-Wetland program. For conference details and registration materials please visit www.garivers.org or call (706) 549-4508.

Save the Date for Paddle Georgia 2010 June 20th-26th
Broad & Savannah Rivers

Mark Your Calendars!
Rivers Alive 2009 data is due by January 15, 2010. If you held a waterway cleanup, final tally data can be turned in at www.riversalive.org by clicking on "Register and Submit Data." Pictures can also be uploaded through the website. Let us know about all of the great work our Rivers Alive volunteers have been up to!
The Georgia Conservancy's Youth Environmental Symposium (YES) is designed for middle and high school classes, student clubs and organizations to submit projects that identify environmental factors affecting their communities or schools and create and implement solutions to the problem. Adopt-A-Stream groups fit perfectly into this program. Prizes are up to $1,000. The deadline is January 20, 2010. For more information visit www.georgiaconservancy.org.
Don't forget to enter your data for World Water Monitoring Day 2009. Data will be accepted until December 31, 2009. All data collected by the deadline will be included in the annual report, on the WWMD interactive map and your group will receive an official certificate. Thank you to the fourteen Adopt-A-Stream groups that have already entered their data. Visit www.worldwatermonitoringday.org to enter your water quality data.
Please visit our calendar of events at www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org for upcoming monitoring workshops and Adopt-A-Stream events.
The Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Newsletter is published six times per year. For more information about the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program or to contribute to the newsletter, call or write to:
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Environmental Protection Division 4220 International Parkway, Suite 101 Atlanta, GA 30354 404.675.6240 www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org

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