Soque Bulletin- Party INVITE! - December 11, 2014

SOQUE BULLETIN December 11, 2014   COMING UP TOMOROW! SOQUE Christmas Party - BEER TASTING - December 12th We hope you will attend our Christmas Beer Tasting tomorrow night! See all the details at the bottom of this e-mail.       12 REASONS to CONSIDER AN END OF YEAR  GIFT TO THE SRWA We know that most people only support a small handful of organizations with their charitable donations each year. We want to be respectful of your time and resources and simply share with you 12 simple reasons we think that your END OF YEAR GIFT TO THE SRWA will make a difference in your life, and your community.    37 Farm Projects have fenced 16.5 miles, excluding 1,220 cows from streams (since 2008), resulting in both the upper and lower Soque River being removed from the state's impaired waters list for fecal coliform bacteria by EPD. That's a tremendous success. Sediment and nutrient pollutants are our next targets for cleanup.    Since 2012 the SRWA has planted over 3,000 Trees, stabilizing 2 schools, and 3 farm streambanks, reducing sediment runoff. We also have sold over 1,200 native trees to the public. You can purchase TREES HERE NOW    Innovative Stormwater Features constructed at the new County Courthouse improve stormwater treatment and infiltration, and serves as a model for green development. As a result, Piedmont College is including similar innovations in their new Student Village construction. The City of Clarkesville likewise seeks funding to allow the reconstruction of the downtown to include green infrastructure.  Read this brochure for details   The Clarkesville Greenway expansion into Mary Street Park is almost completed, adding another half mile of scenic walking and biking trails.    An eroding streambank on Rocky Branch was Restored using a natural channel design technique. City of Clarkesville staff assisted by donating labor and resources to complete the project.    The Northeast Georgia Locally Grown farmers market has sold $211,280 of locally produced food since April 2010. With a recent addition of a third pickup in Gainesville and a small grant, 2015 is likely to be a record year for local food sales from sustainable farms. EAT WELL, BUY LOCAL!     Our 28 plot - quarter acre Community Garden on the Greenway continues to produce an abundance of fresh organic food. We are also nearing completion of a Greenhouse that should allow us to propagate and sell rare streamside plants unavailable from local nurseries.     Numberous volunteers help to remove trash from area streams during River Clean-Ups.   Rebuilt an Eroding Dirt Road using a technique called water bars that reduces erosion and long-term maintenance costs.     We’ve collected over 50 submissions for a BOOK about people’s EXPERIENCES on the SOQUE called “Soquee River Days”, in honor of John Kollock who inspired all of us to appreciate our unique and beautiful surroundings. Please share with us your story and photos before December 31st. See other entries at http://soqueriverdays.blogspot.com   Through our Keep Habersham Beautiful program we planted 75 fruit trees in public areas including 4 schools and the Clarkesville greenway. The City of Cornelia is planting additional fruit trees accessible to the public. We THROW REALLY GOOD PARTIES and EVENTS - this year’s events included: our Fall Party featuring the restored Historic Habersham Mills, a regional Farm Tour attended by over 500, and coming up tomorrow a BEER TASTING Christmas Party on Friday, December 12th. We’d love for you to attend! Check below for details.        SOQUE Christmas Party - BEER TASTING - December 12th YOU are invited to ATTEND the 5th annual Soque Christmas Party,  BEER TASTING and POTLUCK. The SRWA hosts the biggest and best beer tasting in Habersham County each year and we're continuing the tradition at a new location. If you haven't attended before here's what you need to know: The new LOCATION is 333 Old Clarkesville Mill Road. Located in the Soque Village subdivision behind Old Clarkesville Mill. Just drive through the gates and look for the signs. Thanks to Walter and Laura for being our hosts! EVERYONE is INVITED - We do encourage all attendees to join the SRWA as a member if you are not already. However, everyone is invited, especially friends and loved ones who love good beer. Don't be shy. Never been to an SRWA event? What are you waiting for? RSVP to soque@windstream.net, since we may have to cap the party at 50.  BRING A DISH - If you'd like to munch on something please bring a tasty dish for the potluck. Healthy alternatives encouraged. Cakes, cookies, cheeses, soups, meatballs, whole roasted chicken, and drinks are all good too. BRING TWO BEERS - To enter the tasting you must bring at least 2x 12ounce bottles or cans of beer per person or one 22 ounce bomber sized beer. They should be the same beer so that once the first one is gone it can be replaced with the second one.  BRING YOUR OWN GLASS - We'll have plastic cups but who wants to drink beer from one of those? HOW IT WORKS - Since we're trying to discover wonderful beers, do some research and travel if needed to find something really special to enter in the TASTING CONTEST. Fortunately the selection is getting better and better all the time (Betty's up in Helen has good choices including Growlers). Your beers will be competing with all other beers entered. The best beer of the night will win a prize. All beers will be placed in a paper bag with a number on it. By using the blind taste test method we're forced to overcome our biases against breweries we think stink. Everyone will have a scorecard, and you'll score each beer tasted. At the end of the night we'll have everyone vote on their top 3 beers, then fill in the board showing the names of every beer. It's fun! Party starts at 6pm and will end around 9pm....maybe. RSVP if you can to soque@windstream.net and let us know what you might bring for the potluck too. Hope to see you there! Justin Ellis Executive Director Soque River Watershed Association www.soque.org 706-754-9382   Donations to the Soque River Watershed Association (SRWA) are tax deductible.   You can JOIN the SRWA or make a Donation by clicking HERE

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