GEORGIA Adopt-A-Stream Volume 22, Number 2 April - June 2015 Adopt-A-Stream Staff, Editors Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division Adopt-A-Stream Honors our 2014 Award Winners Georgia Adopt-A-Stream is incredibly grateful for all of our volunteers, trainers and partners who give their time and energy to protect Georgia's waterways. We would like to recognize the following individuals and groups who have exceeded the five goals of the program for their exceptional achievements in 2014 and for their continued dedication to the program. Congratulations 2014 Award Winners! Linda McBurney Volunteer of the Year Butler Creek, Savannah Watershed Chemical, Bacterial, and Macroinvertebrate Monitor Active Since Feb 2012 41 Monitoring Events in 2014 Richmond Hill Middle School Field Studies Extraordinary Volunteer Watershed Effort 6 Sites on the Ogeechee River Chemical and Bacterial Monitors Active Since March 2014 31 Monitoring Events In addition to her impressive number of monitoring events, Linda consistently goes beyond the call of duty, participating in cleanups, and recruiting and encouraging new Adopt-A-Stream volunteers in the Augusta area! The Richmond Hill Middle School Field Studies group consists of students, parents and staff who conduct AAS monitoring as well as participate in many other scientific studies. Horace "Smitty" Smith Adopt-A-Stream in Action Jackson Lake Homeowners Association Chemical and Bacterial Monitor Active Since April 2014 12 Monitoring Events David Fountain Excellence in Data Collection Long Island Creek Streams Alive! Chemical Monitor Active Since January 1995 In addition to monitoring Jackson Lake, Smitty is dedicated to removing trash and debris from along the lake's shore and waters. Other Jackson Lake Adopt-AStream volunteers know to call Smitty if they find debris while out on the lake and he will be out on his boat tracking down and removing the debris! In November of 2014, David Fountain celebrated his 20year anniversary as an Adopt-A-Stream monitor! David has discovered a sewage spill as well as captured the effects of the 2000 and 2008 droughts on Long Island Creek in Sandy Springs, GA. Adopt-A-Stream Recognizes 2014 Award Winners, continued... Yellow River Water Trail Outstanding Outreach and Partnerships Chemical Monitors Active Since December 2012 8 Monitoring Sites along the Yellow River Mark Patterson and Nancy Hoalst Pullen Adopt-A-Stream Multimedia Award Kennesaw State University Chemical and Bacterial Monitors 23 Monitoring Sites The Yellow River Water Trail is a valuable resource for recreation, education and stewardship, increasing and improving public access along a 53-mile stretch of the Yellow River. Four volunteers conduct Adopt-A-Stream monitoring on 8 sites in Newton and Gwinnett counties with plans of expanding the number of sites in 2015! Four years ago, Mark and Nancy created a Watershed Assessment course at Kennesaw State University. For 3 weeks, students collect water quality data along 2 streams in the Chattahoochee Watershed and produce a user-friendly wiki site to share their data. This experience provides a greater understanding of the impacts citizens have on their watershed. watershed2014.wikispaces.com Kane Mills Nymph Award Yellow River Water Trail Chemical Monitor 27 Monitoring Events Active Since May 2013 Denise Gadd and Joe Turner Excellence in Data Collection Fairfax Consulting Services Chemical and Bacterial Monitors Active Since February 2010 Kane has organized paddle trips, helped with streambank restoration and presented his AAS data to many community organizations. Kane understands that involving others in fun events at the river inspires them to be more aware and observant of the health of the river. Denise and her father, Joe, work as a competent team collecting accurate and precise data. They also have a keen understanding of the meaning of each parameter and how they relate to each other, and have a fantastic knowledge of their stream site and local watershed. Edward Enggasser Beyond Borders Lake Cunninghan SC Team & Tyger River Foundation Chemical, Bacterial and Macro Monitor Active Since Dec 2012 85 Monitoring Events In 2012, Edward coordinated a group of 9 upstate South Carolina volunteers and contacted Adopt-A-Stream for a training workshop. With his outreach assistance, there are over 50 volunteers in upstate SC actively monitor more than 24 sites! Edward continues to reach out to local government and businesses to grow a name for AAS in South Carolina. Lynn Cobb Friend of Adopt-A-Stream Adopt-A-Stream Board Member As a founding member of the Georgia AAS Board created in 1994, Lynn has provided 20 years and counting of support, guidance and leadership to the program. The self proclaimed "voice of the people," we can always count on Lynn to keep our feet on the ground and make sure Adopt-A-Stream remains relevant to Georgia citizens. Now that Lynn is retired, we're expecting another 20 years of sage advice to lead us well into the 21st century! 2014 Adopt-A-Stream Trainer Awards Kathleen Lemley New Trainer of the Year Cobb County Watershed Stewardship Program Trainer Since 2012 2014: 20 workshops 247 volunteers certified During the 2013-2014 school year, Kathleen went into more than half of the Cobb County middle and high school classrooms to teach environmental education programs such as Adopt-A-Stream, reaching thousands of students. She is also responsible for The Thalweg, a quarterly newsletter that shares current water news and resources with Cobb County citizens. Andrew Walter Trainer of the Year City of Atlanta Trainer since 2009 2014: 9 workshops 54 volunteers certified Andrew hosts AAS workshops as well as green infrastructure workshops, teaching citizens about water and methods to protect urban streams. If his volunteers find any issues while monitoring, he encourages them to contact him directly so he can follow up on the problem. The City of Atlanta has resolved a number of illicit discharges and sewer issues found by AAS volunteers. 2014 Legacy Trainers Adopt-A-Stream recognizes Chris Kodani and Dave Wenner for their 10+ years of active service as Trainers of Adopt-A-Stream workshops. Thank you for your continuing dedication, time and energy! 2014 Watershed Award Chattooga Conservancy Active Since June 2013 585 Monitoring Events 42 Monitoring Sites in the Stekoa Creek Watershed Chemical and Bacterial Monitors Since becoming active in the Adopt-A-Stream program in June 2013, the Chattooga Conservancy has adopted 42 monitoring sites in the Stekoa Creek watershed. The group monitored at least 30 of these sites every month in 2014 resulting in 462 water quality samples! In addition to Adopt-A-Stream monitoring, the Chattooga Conservancy has taught stream ecology workshops to 4th graders, conducted four Rivers Alive cleanups with Georgia Forest Watch during the summer of 2014 and raised awareness of water quality issues in the watershed. "Any river is really the summation of the whole valley. To think of it as nothing but water is to ignore the greater part." - Hal Borland, Author and Journalist Confluence 2015 in Your Words This year's conference engaged 200 volunteers and professionals from across the state and beyond with a keynote address from Dr. Bernard Sweeney, Confluence's first annual student poster competition, Adopt-A-Stream's volunteer awards celebration, informative water science and monitoring sessions, a silent auction, and educational booths. Here's what you had to say about this year's conference: "Confluence is such a wonderful event and this year's event was one of the best. The keynote speaker was superb and there were so many choices on workshops that I was disappointed to miss some of them. Great Job!" "It is great to be able to meet other people working on water conservation issues in your area that you might not meet otherwise." "I volunteer for the cause, not for the award, but it never hurts to recognize those who endeavor to provide the success." More photos from Confluence 2015 can be found on Georgia Adopt-A-Stream's Facebook page. We hope to see all of you next year at Confluence! Thanks to our 2015 Confluence Sponsors! For a complete list of event sponsors, visit the Confluence page at GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org. Upcoming Dates July 14-16: AAS Teacher Workshops, Newman Wetland Center, Hampton, GA (PLUs available) July 31: Rivers Alive Cleanup Registration Deadline to be eligible for free t-shirts www.RiversAlive.org August 22: Georgia River Network Hidden Gems Paddle South River www.garivers.org Sept. 18: National Water Quality Monitoring Conference Abstract Deadline. May 2-6, 2016 in Tampa, FL www.acwi.gov/monitoring Sept. 18: World Water Monitoring Day Sept. 19-20: Georgia River Network Weekend for Rivers Chattahoochee Nature Center, Roswell, GA www.garivers.org Visit our online calendar for monitoring workshops and AAS events! If you'd like to become an AAS trainer, please contact the State Office for workshop information. Website Updates! If you have been on our website recently, you may have noticed our new layout! As Confluence is such a big part of Adopt-A-Stream, bringing together volunteers, trainers and water professionals around the state, we want that to be directly visible from the homepage with its own tab. Don't worry, the data entry is the same and all of the educational and monitoring resources are still there! There is also a new Science & News section where we hope to share volunteer-written data reports and relevant AAS articles, in addition to our current and past newsletters. We will also highlight our Student Poster Competition winners here! www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org Congratulations to the 2015 Student Poster Competition Winners! Undergraduate Winners: Mary Freund, College of Coastal Georgia Water Quality and Plankton Communities of the Blackwater Satilla River. Susan Scrivner, Reinhardt University Investigation of Bisphenol A contamination in Sharp Mountain Creek from a construction waste disposal site. High School Winners: Paula Ruiz, Woodstock High School The Use of Vibrio fischeri as an Indicator of Water Quality. Aksal Vashi, Collins Hill High School Waste-Based Runoff Pollutant Biosorptive Permeable Barriers. Learn about these winning water science projects under Science & News on our website. There were many great submissions and poster presentations this year and we are looking forward to more next year! Now is the time to start thinking about your water science research project--check out the guidelines and resources on our website. Abstracts are due January 15th, 2016. SAVE THE DATE FOR CONFLUENCE 2016! Environmental & Heritage Center in Buford, GA We invite you to join us for classroom and field water quality workshops, exhibits, our annual awards celebration and student poster competition! Help design the conference! Keep a look out for the pre-conference survey later this summer. MARCH 11-12 Safety Tips for Summer Monitoring There are many safety considerations to take into account when you are monitoring. Here are a few to remember as we head into the summer months! Check the AAS monitoring manuals on our website for additional considerations. Bring a first aid kit, cell phone and drinking water with you to your site. Adopt-A-Stream recommends that you monitor with at least one other person. Check the radar and stream gages before heading to your site. Water levels can fluctuate quickly after summer thunderstorms. AAS methods are designed for streams that are wadeable or accessible from a bridge. Samples should be taken from a well mixed area of flowing water, which doesn't have to be mid-stream, mid-depth depending on your site. Be aware of your surroundings as many critters are on the move during the summer months. Learn how to identify harmful plants such as poison ivy and poison oak, and wear long pants and boots to protect yourself. Look for broken glass, exposed metal and other potential dangers. Wear gloves, boots and other personal protective equipment while monitoring. Remember that E.coli levels can be elevated in the summer as water temperatures rise. Maintain your monitoring equipment, replace expired reagents and properly dispose of used chemicals and bacterial plates. If at anytime you feel uncomfortable or unsafe about the condition of the waterbody or your surroundings, stop monitoring and leave the site! Take it slow, be safe and most of all -- have fun! Volume 22, Number 2 April - June 2015 The Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Newsletter is published quarterly. For more information about the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program or to contribute to the newsletter, contact: Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Environmental Protection Division 2 MLK Jr. Dr. SW, Suite 1462 East Atlanta, GA 30334 404.463.8512 / 404.463.8513 GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org AAS Staff Harold Harbert, Seira Baker and Chelsea Hopkins GO BLUE! Sign up for our e-newsletter by emailing us at chelsea.hopkins@dnr.ga.gov Dragonfly Riffle Beetle Dobsonfly Stonefly Net Spinning Caddisfly Welcome New Adopt-A-Stream State Coordinator, Chelsea Hopkins It is with great pleasure that I announce Chelsea Hopkins as the new Adopt-A -Stream State Coordinator! If that name sounds familiar it's because it should; Chelsea has provided valuable assistance over the past 2 years as our Outreach Program Assistant. Now we're very excited to have her on board as the new State Coordinator. Chelsea was selected because of her strong science background including a master's degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from Georgia Tech, and for the wonderful job she's done in the assistant position. Chelsea and Seira are already hard at work and have been on the go since her start date on April 16th. You can contact her at: chelsea.hopkins@dnr.ga.gov 404-651-8513 Chelsea, Seira and I have been plotting our schedules for the coming months and it includes travel to all parts of the state. Don't be surprised if you find us in your neck of the woods soon! We're looking forward to working with all of you as we continue to build our outstanding water monitoring program. AAS State Coordinators, Chelsea Hopkins (left) and Seira Baker (right), along the Savannah River in Augusta, GA Please help me in welcoming Chelsea to the Adopt-A-Stream program in her new role! Harold Harbert EPD Watershed Outreach Manager Please visit our online calendar at www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org for upcoming monitoring workshops and Adopt-A-Stream events!