Adopt-a-stream, Vol. 18, no. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 2011)

GEORGIA
Adopt-A-Stream

Volume 18, Number 6 November/December 2011 Allison Hughes and Tara Muenz, Editors

Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division

Save the Date for Confluence March 17, 2012
Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center

Confluence is a one-day event designed to support and educate our volunteers. As the word implies, volunteers will come together from the headwater streams, the coastal estuaries and everywhere between to further educate themselves about our waterways and nonpoint source pollution. This will be a great opportunity to share experiences, knowledge and advice, as well as honor the collective efforts that have positively influenced water quality within the State of Georgia over the past couple of decades.
Highlights For Confluence 2012
Keynote Speaker We are very excited to announce that Eric Eckl with ,,Water Words that Work will be presenting the keynote address as well as two sessions at Confluence. Erics message of water words that work will help the AAS community make a splash with communication techniques to help us better connect with everyday citizens and motivate them into action. You will not want to miss this unique opportunity!
Awards Banquet & Luncheon Award winners for 2011 will be recognized at the Awards Luncheon held in conjunction with the Confluence. Registration fees will be waived for award winners. Nominate yourself or your group for an award on-line at www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org or submit it to the State Office. Deadline: January 10, 2012.
Travel Stipends Again this year we will be awarding travel stipends for active volunteers. Travel stipends are funded through the silent auction and support of our sponsors. Applications will be available in January 2012.
Registration Opens in January With support of our sponsors and in-kind supporters, we are again able to keep the registration fee at only $20.
Sponsors We would like to thank Templeton & Associates and Jasons Deli for being a sponsor of Confluence 2012. All donations are tax deductible through our fiscal partner, the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, and can be made by contacting us at AAS@gaepd or by phone at 404.675.6240. Thank you!
Confluence Sessions & Topics
Mapping Your Watershed * Streambank Restoration * Rain Garden Demonstrations
Reducing Your Water Footprint * AAS New Visual Stream Assessments * State of Georgias Waterways
For more information visit www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org and click on the Confluence link.

Coastal Adopt-A-Wetland Updates by Shelly Krueger, Program Coordinator
The University of Georgia Marine Extension Service (UGA-MAREX), Savannah State University Marsh Vegetation Research Laboratory, and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream sponsored the ,,Coastal Adopt-A-Wetland (AAW) Volunteer
Appreciation Night and Oyster Roast in September on Skidaway Island. Over 60 volunteers attended the event, with Steve Kipp and his students from the Brunswick High School Science Club traveling the farthest. The day was filled with workshops, great food, music, awards and guest speakers.
The winner of the 2010 AAS Excellence in Data Collection award, Mary Lambright, was presented with a gift basket from Latitude 32. Mrs. Lambright is a teacher from Johnson High School in Chatham County and has been a dedicated AAW volunteer for ten years, with over 164 volunteering events!
Jan Mackinnon from the Coastal Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources spoke about coastal wetland issues. Dr. Franklin from Savannah State University discussed new research regarding marsh dieback. Tara and Allison travelled from Atlanta and gave program updates, extending their gratitude to the coastal volunteers for their dedicated efforts to improve water quality in this region of the State. Coastal groups make up 10% of all active sites being monitored in Georgia, with 40 sites monitored by 36 different AAW coastal groups!
After the presentations, it was time to enjoy the oyster roast feast. Daniel Harris (pictured left) from UGA-MAREX continuously served the steaming hot oysters all night, while Jimmy James & The Robert Benton Band played against the backdrop of the Skidaway River. What a perfect night! The event was a great success, and thank you to everyone for a wonderful time thanks to our coastal volunteers! Many thanks to Dr. Chandra Franklin for his contributions to the event and for the awesome t-shirts! Thank you also to Moon River whose donated items for the raffle were awarded to Linda Daniels and Beverly English.

Become a Coastal Trainer!

Pictured above (top), coastal volunteers enjoying oysters roasted by Skidaway's very own Daniel Harris (middle). Tara and Allison enjoyed the night in the company of the volunteers and Adopt-A-Stream board member, Venetia Butler (bottom).

On December 15th and 16th, Tara, Allison, and Shelly Krueger Hosted a ,,Train the Trainer workshop for coastal chemical and bacterial trainers. Thank you to these dedicated volunteers who are helping to sustain the coastal AAW program into the future! If you are interested in becoming a Coastal Adopt-AWetland trainer, please contact us at: AAS@gaepd.org.

Mark Your Calendars!
2011 Rivers Alive Cleanup Not all of the data is in, but the 2011 RA cleanup was a big success. Look for an update in the next newsletter!
World Water Day: March 22, 2012 How will you celebrate World Water Day? By writing an article about your AAS project, organizing a river cleanup or simply inviting others to sample with you? We encourage you to get the word out about the great work that you are doing in honor of World Water Day. For more ideas visit www.worldwaterday.org.
Georgia River Network's Weekend for Rivers: March 31-April 1, 2012 Join GRN on March 31st for a day of inspiration, education and connections with folks who are as passionate about Georgias rivers as you are. Then, campout that night and wakeup for a 9-mile paddle of the beautiful Chattahoochee River and get ,,on the water monitoring training from the AAS program! All this takes place at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, GA. For more information visit www.garivers.org.
Environmental Education Alliance Conference: March 30-31, 2012 The theme of next years conference is ,,The Art and Science of Environmental Education. The conference, to be held at the Southwest Arts Center in Fulton County, will include presentations, exhibits and workshops for formal and non-formal environmental educators. The Call for Proposals is now open. For more information visit www.eealliance.org.
Please visit our calendar of events at www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org for upcoming monitoring workshops and Adopt-A-Stream events.
New Graphing Features in the Database
The Adopt-A-Stream database was designed to display statewide volunteer water quality data, and since its inception it has continued to evolve. We have some new features we would like to share with you. Below is a snapshot of graphs available on our website. If you would like to delve deeper, we have created a "Did you Know?" section on our website to guide visitors through the new functions of the database. Visit www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org and click on "Did you Know?" in the announcement section for more information.
This figure shows two parameters graphed together, dissolved oxygen and water temperature. Through this depiction you can clearly see the inverse relationship between the two parameters. To use this capability in the data views section, click ,,ctrl and select two parameters.
This figure shows dissolved oxygen and the State water quality standard of 5 mg/L (straight line). Using this graph, volunteers can easily determine if their data does or does not meet the State standards. State threshold lines are also available for water temperature and pH.

AAS Welcomes our New Groups
(Groups registered from 9/13/2011 12/04/2011)
RaAS, Gwinnett County Arbor Stream Team, DeKalb County Keep Jackson County Beautiful AAS, Jackson County Chattahoochee River Warden, Muscogee County Vaughan Elementary School, Cobb County Georgia Sierra Club, DeKalb County
Braselton AAS, Jackson County Murdock Elementary School, Cobb County
Oxbow Meadows, Muscogee County Honey Fern School, Cobb County
Georgia Gwinnett College, Gwinnett County High Shoals Elementary, Oconee County Tabs or Spaces, Rockdale County
Thank you for joining the Adopt-A-Stream & Coastal Adopt-A-Wetland programs. Your data is very important to our goal of protecting and improving
water quality within the State of Georgia.
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
GEo-nBelwAuesA!lSeSt@tieggrnabeuyppdefm.oorargioliunrg

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