SOQUE - Support Tree Planting PROJECTS

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." -Ralph Waldo Emerson   November 25, 2013 Dear Justin, Last year the Soque River Watershed Association began what we believe is one of the best projects we've ever worked on. Simply stated we started PLANTING and SELLING TREES. All together 2,500 trees were planted in January of 2013! Volunteers helped to plant 1,500 trees to restore a barren school grounds at Fairview Elementary, another 350 trees along a streamside farm, 660 trees were sold to the public, and 60 fruit trees were planted at 5 schools and 2 public parks.  It was a surprise to us how much FUN planting all these trees was for us, our volunteers, our project partners, and the wider community. Perhaps it was a sense that one day, maybe 5, maybe 10 years from now we'll re-visit these areas and be amazed at what they have become... an emerging forest helping to restore the soil, the riverbanks, and rainwater able to soak into the earth!   Based on the success of those projects we decided to be EVEN MORE AMBITIOUS with a goal to double the number of trees planted this winter to 5,000. In order to achieve this goal WE NEED YOUR HELP! One of this year's projects is at Level Grove Elementary School. This photo shows how before tree planting leaf mulch is applied (big thanks to City of Cornelia and the School System Maintenance Dept) to stabilize the soil and allow more rain to soak into the ground. For other details of the site check out this SLIDE SHOW We'd like to ask for your help this year. We are essentially seeking sponsors for each tree that we plant.  Since we are able to order bulk trees at a discount the average price per planted tree is only about $2.00. That means that for every $20 gift we can plant 10 bareroot maple trees. A $50 gift will help us plant up to six 3-gallon trees of river birch or winged elm. A $100 gift actually plants 5,000 square feet of trees or a quarter acre. These are tangible differences you can see and watch grow in the years ahead!     We're about half way to our goal so far ($5,300 raised of our $10,000 goal). Please help us plant a new generation of trees and forests that will contribute to our communiy's beauty and environmental stability for decades to come. There's 3 ways to get involved. For the super ambitious you can do all three: 1) DONATE - Perhaps the most vital contribution you can make, and insures we meet our project goals is to make a small donation. You can donate ONLINE or mail a check to PO Box 1901, Clarkesville, GA 30523. A gift of $10, $20, $50, or $100 will make a huge difference. 2) VOLUNTEER - There are several PLANTING DAYS that we need volunteers to help with. The first two are coming up in just one week. On Monday, December 2nd we'll plant 50 container trees at Level Grove Road starting at 10:30am. The next day on Tuesday, December 3rd we'll plant 50 more container trees at Alley's Farm on Glade Creek Road at 9am. To volunteer for these send an e-mail to soque@windstream.net. There will be additional planting days in January. Stay tuned. 3) ORDER TREES - We'd also love for you to order trees to plant at your own home or business. Our annual tree sale will be on Friday, January 10th at the Mauldin House parking lot in Clarkesville (gravel parking lot across from library) from 3-6pm. To see our selection and place an order visit the ONLINE ORDERING SITE   YOU CAN HELP TO PLANT THE FORESTS OF TOMORROW by MAKING A SMALL GIFT TODAY Thank your for your interest and support, Justin Ellis Executive Director   You can also simply print out this e-mail and mail in this bottom section here.  ____ Yes, I'd like to make an extra gift of ___________ to support the SRWA's winter tree campaign. TOTAL ENCLOSED _______________ Mail check to: SRWA PO Box 1901  Clarkesville, GA 30523   a Huge THANK YOU to those who have already made a contribution to the  TREE CAMPAIGN   Milton Watson, Ralph Singer, Helen Norton, Cheryl Lusnia, Sarah Lanier, Anne and Alan Hall, JD Wellons, Jim Toler, Doug Henry, Ben Maxwell, Richard Hagler, Harold Smith, Fieldale Farms, Bruce Keenan, Zeke Williams, Dennis Clines, Winnie Hicks, Audrey Moylan and Ted Doll All business donors of $100 or more will also receive recognition on all our web media, Facebook, etc. The Soque River Watershed Association (SRWA) is a tax-exempt corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the United State Internal Revenue Code. Our Federal ID number is 31-1608576. Contributions to SRWA are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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Soque Bulletin - October 4th, 2013

SOQUE BULLETIN October 4, 2013   YOU are Inivted to Attend the FALL SOQUE CELEBRATION at Blackhawk Fly Fishing on Friday, October 18th, 6:30-9:30pm registration begins at 6pm tickets just $15 ORDER ONLINE NOW   A few reasons we think you might enjoy attending our 2013 SOQUE FALL CELEBRATION Ever since 2009 the SRWA has held a FALL PARTY next to a river or stream in the Soque Watershed. You may recall our 3 ROASTS (featuring special guests Vince Dooley, Gov. Sonny Perdue, and Ted Turner). The last several years we've partied Carribean style at historic Sutton Mill.  This year we're excited to give folks a chance to see Blackhawk Fly Fishing one of the premiere trophy trout outfitters in all of North Georgia. This section of the upper Soque River is highly regarded as one of the prettiest in the County. Here's a quick list of what you'll get to see and experience:   Take a Tour of the RIVER - walk through hemlock groves and experience the Peace and Tranquility of the SOQUE. Watch a Fly Fishing Demo by one of Blackhawk's expert guides (never seen a trout? now you can!) Enjoy a Local Food Dinner including veggies/herbs grown locally (some right on the farm) and some of Abby J's very hot selling SALSAS! Hang out at the Fishing Lodge with porch seating or sofas in front of the fireplace. Bid on Auction Items of local art, fishing and other river related goodies from our very supportive business partners Eat, drink and be merry - We'll have a bar featuring really good beer and wine. PIE POTLUCK contest - Got a cooking bug? Bring a seasonal pie (pecans, apples, pumpkins, butternut squash, etc.) and you could win a SWEET PRIZE!  Sneak Peak of the SRWAs 2020 Vision - see what we plan to accomplish over the next 6 years, and 3 months....including countywide recreational trails, increased River and Farm tourism events, and more miles of restored streams Win the RAFFLE - every ticket purchased is also a raffle ticket SUPPORT THE SRWA and the SOQUE!   3 WAYS TO SUPPORT   Buy Tickets / Raffle Tickets for just $15 each (includes dinner) - The great thing about this years event is even if you can't attend, each ticket purchased enters your name for a RIVER RAFFLE PRIZE PACKAGE for TWO. You can purchase tickets at our office in downtown Clarkesville (above Edward Jones), from any board member, or ONLINE.   Donate a SILENT AUCTION ITEM - Last year $2,500 of the $6,200 we raised at our Fall Party came from donations to our silent auction. These gifts make a tremendous difference in our capacity towards our mission, and its a great way to promote a business as we can put your business cards next to your item. E-mail soque@windstream.net Volunteer at the Event - We need about 10 volunteers for the event to put in two-three hours of time in exchange for a free ticket. We'll have an early shift and a late shift so you can still enjoy being part of the party. E-mail soque@windstream.net Can't make the event but still want to SUPPORT - All donations to the SRWA between now and the end of the year will be counted towards our goal to raise $10,000 in order to plant 5,000 trees in 2014. This is part of our new  SOQUE 2020 CAMPAIGN that we're rolling out this month. You can Support Online Now If you know of others who might be interested in attending you can forward this e-mail with the link below or print out this FLIER and share with friends and family. Hope you can attend and Big Thanks, Justin Ellis Executive Director soque@windstream.net www.soque.org 706-754-9382 The Soque River Watershed Association (SRWA) is a tax-exempt corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the United State Internal Revenue Code. Our Federal ID number is 31-1608576. Contributions to SRWA are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. If you receive a free gift with your membership or donation please deduct its value from the total gift.

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Soque Bulletin - September 13, 2013

SOQUE BULLETIN

September 13, 2013

If you love the Fall, Rivers, and Parties you'll LOVE this year's FALL SOQUE CELEBRATION

This year's event will feature an incredible new venue, theme, hosts and ambiance.

If you'd like to come enjoy one of the prettiest and rarely seen spots on the river

mark your calendars and put in your ticket requests now!

1) FALL SOQUE CELEBRATION- October 18th @ Blackhawk Fly Fishing

2) SOQUE RIVER CLEAN UP  - Next Saturday September 21

3) SUMMER PROJECTS wrap up

4) UPCOMING PROJECTS & EVENTS

1) FALL SOQUE CELEBRATION- October 18th @ Blackhawk Fly Fishing

Fall is in the air, which means we're ready to have another incredible party! And this year everything is brand spanking new. Thanks to the generosity of our hosts John and Abby Jackson of Blackhawk Fly Fishing, this event will feature a RARE opportunity to see and hang out at one of the most famous trophy rainbow and brown trout fishing venues in the Southeast. Here's a quick list of what you'll get to see and experience:

·         Take a Tour of the RIVER - walk through hemlock groves and experience the Peace and Tranquility of the SOQUE

·         Watch a fly-fishing demo by one of Blackhawk's expert guides (never seen a trout? now you can!)

·         Enjoy a Local Food Dinner including veggies/herbs grown right on the farm and some of Abby J's very hot selling SALSAS!

·         Hang out at the Fishing Lodge with porch seating or sofas in front of the fireplace

·         Eat, drink and be merry - We'll have a bar featuring really good beer, wine and a few spirits

·         Bid on Auction Items of local art, fishing and other river related goodies from our very supportive business partners

·         Experience the SRWAs 2020 Vision - including countywide recreational trails, increased Soque and Farm tourism events, and more miles of restored streams

·         Stick around to see if you win the RAFFLE - every ticket purchased is also a raffle ticket

·         SUPPORT THE SOQUE!

Tickets to the event are just $15 each and include dinner….AND each ticket purchased enters your name for a RIVER RAFFLE PRIZE PACKAGE for TWO. One lucky couple (or family) will win:

·         A one night stay at GLEN ELLA SPRINGS INN (includes breakfast) (donated by Glen-Ella Springs Inn)

·         A canoe or kayak PADDLE FOR TWO on the SOQUE RIVER (donated by Wildwood Outfitters)

·         LUNCH OR DINNER for two at the ATTIC $50 value (donated by the Attic)

·         Lunch Certificate for two at Sweetbreads  (donated Sweetbreads)

You can purchase tickets and win the RAFFLE even if you are unable to attend the event (a great way to support the cause- and presence not required to win). Then feel free to give the tickets to a friend. We do ask for RSVPs to the event by October 15th.

Mark your calendars! Tell your friends! Make plans! Tickets are on sale now at the SRWA office, or from any SRWA board member. In another week we may have an online ordering option, but we'd ove to see you in person. So send us an e-mail of interest and we'll walk 'em over to you! soque@windstream.net

2) SOQUE RIVER CLEAN UP  - Next Saturday September 21

Our annual RIVERS ALIVE CLEAN UP is coming up in just one more week and this year we're headed to an interesting new area in the City of Clarkesville. After meeting at Pitts Park at 9am we'll walk over to a small stormwater stream where we can really talk about how stormwater carves and erodes streams due to all the extra runoff from impervious surface. There will also be plenty of trash to clean that's been swept into stormwater grates. We should have free t-shirts for all volunteers and once we're done sometime just before or around noon, we'll head back to Pitts Park for a picnic. Please RSVP if you can to soque@windstream.net.

3) SUMMER PROJECTS wrap up

Even though we've been fairly quiet after our huge summer events, the SOQUE FESTIVAL and the GA MTNS FARM TOUR back in June, that doesn't mean we haven't been busy behind the scenes completing long planned projects. Two that we're quite proud of were our very first Dirt Road Maintenance Project in the Deep Creek Watershed and a Bioretention Rain Garden at North Georgia Floors in the City of Clarkesville.

A picture is worth a 1,000 words, and these two almost speak for themselves. After identifying this sediment problem in the Deep Creek Watershed we approached the landowner about experimenting with a new technique in road design. The approach is commonly called COWEETA DIPS as it was developed at the National Forest Service's Coweeta Hydrologic Research Lab just across the GA state line on 441 in NC. We'll be providing in-depth workshops and publications on this technique in the near future, but basically it allows water to be diverted off of the road using essentially swales or speed bumps that shed water on steep slopes. The landowner put a considerable cost share into this project and in exchange we got our first model of an excellent way to redesign eroding roads. Great appreciation to Ms. Warren (the owner) and Mitchell Hardy (formerly of the Forest Service) who helped us implement the project.

The next time you drive into Clarkesville via Highway 17 from Cleveland keep your eyes peeled for a unique beautification effort at the entrance of North Georgia Floors. When the City of Clarkesville removed a large section of asphalt for a water main repair, city staff, the Soque River Watershed Association, and Dan and Teresa Barry the owners of North Georgia Floors saw an opportunity for beautification of the city's northwestern entrance and seized it this summer with construction of a "biorentention area" otherwise known as a "rain garden."

 

The Habersham Chamber of Commerce awarded this project and the numerous parties that collaborated on its completion a Beautification Award. Thanks to collaboration between the City of Clarkesville, the Soque River Watershed Association, North Georgia Floors, engineer James Irvin, a sod donation from North Georgia Turf and funding from the Georgia EPD's 319 program this project was able to take that one step further by demonstrating a technique for reducing urban stormwater. Special appreciation to Duncan Hughes and Charle Statler who envisioned the initial idea and did a ton of work to make it happen.

 

Rainfall that lands on 3,000 square feet of street and parking lot adjacent to North Georgia Floors is now directed into the 200 square foot rain garden that is engineered so that water will percolate back into the water table after being filtered by vegetation and organic soils. Over the course of a year between 75,000 and 100,000 gallons of stormwater will be diverted into the structure.

 

The North Georgia Floors rain garden demonstrates how with good planning cities like Clarkesville can use less asphalt and more greenery while making our region more attractive for tourism and commerce and also teaching how to reduce the environmental impacts of development. The garden is planted with vegetation native to Georgia accustomed to periods of saturated soils.

 

One aspect that makes this Beautification Award unique is the collaborative partnership involved. The Barry's and North Georgia Floors were the willing property owners, the SRWA provided grant funding and technical assistance, the City of Clarkesville's public works staff performed all the labor during construction, with gardens and grounds staff performing the plantings. The Clarkesville Better Hometown provided a façade grant, James Irvin engineering plans, and North Georgia Turf donated sod. These efforts combined contribute to an aesthetically pleasing and environmentally beneficial new feature to downtown Clarkesville that can be enjoyed and appreciated by all.

 

4) UPCOMING PROJECTS & EVENTS

Coming up real soon we'll be announcing the formation of our SOQUE LEGACY BOARD. Amongst other things this group of leaders will help us build an even wider partnership with businesses and individuals in the years ahead, as well as help to manage some very significant gifts that were recently made to us by a very wonderful and generous donor. More on that very soon!

Mark your calendars for the SOQUE RIVER RAMBLE 6K fun run and walk in the headwaters of the Soque up in Batesville. That is Saturday October 26th. Registration and details are at http://soqueriverramble.com/

We'll be completing construction of the Community Garden Greenhouse over the next several months in partnership with the City of Clarkesville, with help from a LOWE's grant. This will be a powerful resource for plants used for restoration purposes, among others. More details to come.

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - SPECIAL Soque Festival EDITION

 

Time to get your feet wet!

 

2nd Annual

 

THIS WEEKEND!

Here's all the details you need to know

When:            Saturday, June 1st, 9am until 3pm

What: The Soque River Festival details:

•          2-mile paddle trip (canoes and kayaks provided) - $15 each

•          Chicken and Fish Tacos (and more – see below)- $7 each

•          Festival Attendance and all other activities are FREE 

•          Kids Zone – see below for details

•          Live Music from 10:30 until 2:30 

Where:          ALL Parking for the event is located at the Habersham County Courthouse parking lot - 555 Monroe Avenue, Clarkesville, GA

The Festival site is on a beautiful bottomland farm on the Soque River at 173 LaPrade Street –PARKING IS NOT ALLOWED AT THE SITE!  To reach the site, park at the County Courthouse parking lot and there will be a short 5-minute walk, 1/8 mile. 

Find the wooden STAIRWELL at the back corner of the Courthouse Parking Lot. Descend stairs to the Garden of Wellness (blue building). Walk to front of Garden of Wellness and follow LaPrade Street to the right. LaPrade Street will dead end to the RIVER FESTIVAL SITE. Once you reach our award winning Parade Float you’re there! 

If you are handicapped or have other special needs to get to the site, please contact us in advance. Call Teresa at 706-754-9382 or e-mail srwa@windstream.net.

PADDLE TRIP DETAILS:

We provide boats, paddles, life jackets, a guide and a laminated map of the paddle route. Cost is $15 per person. Limited to 200 boaters. We have canoes or kayaks on a first available basis. Trips leave every half hour (more or less). 

The paddle trip is 2 miles long and takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to float (the water is high this year so may be a faster trip).

There are no age limits. All small children who cannot fit in adult sized life jackets must provide their own life jackets to float. An adult must accompany all children under 16.

FOOD DETAILS        

The Festival features a delicious lunch of chicken and fish tacos with fresh local veggies, salsa, beans and rice, ice tea, cookies and watermelon. Chicken donated by Springer Mountain Farms. Fish are fried flounder filets.  Lunch is $7 per person.

KIDS ZONE DETAILS

The Festival is a kid friendly event and features the following FREE activities:

•          Rainbarrel Painting – express your artistic side by painting on a rainbarrel

•          Face Painting – Everything from butterflies to wild animals on your FACE!

•          Aquatic Bug Hunt – learn about the amazing critters living in our streams

•          Outdoor Games – Bean Bag Toss, Bocce Ball and more

MUSIC DETAILS

10:00-11:15 - Walter and Jeannie Daves;  Richie and Linda Averack

11:15-12:30 - Steve Taylor

12:30-1:45 - Riverdog (Rob Brooksher, Ethan Smith, Andrew Linker)

1:45-3:00 - Matthew Ballard

HOW TO REGISTER

Advance registration is encouraged. Registration forms are at www.soque.org. Mail or bring cash or check payment by the SRWA office. Call 706-754-9382 to find out what slots are available. The last days before the event we will hold a reservation with a credit card number, but ask that you pay cash or check upon arrival.

WHAT TO BRING / NOT TO BRING 

We highly encourage you to bring folding chairs and blankets to enjoy the beauty of the festival site. Water bottles are also encouraged. Unfortunately no animals are allowed at the festival. Alcohol and tobacco use are also not permitted during the festival. No exceptions.

    

SPACE IS FILLING UP FAST SO BRING YOUR REGISTRATION BY THE SRWA OFFICE THIS WEEK

TO RESERVE A TIME SLOT

We are located at 1418 Washington Street

That's on the Square in Clarkesville above Edward Jones

You can leave your completed registrtation in our milk box on the front porch after hours

or give us a call 706-754-9382

We're also attaching all the FESTIVAL details as a PDF so you can print them out and give to a friend

And a map of the paddle route and festival location map (with thanks to our sponsors)

DON'T MISS THE BEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR

TO BECOME A SOQUE RIVER LOVER!

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - February 4th, 2013 - Bluegrass Jam Edition

SOQUE BULLETIN

BLUEGRASS JAM EDITION

We're pleased to announce that the SRWA will be a beneficiary of a new bluegrass festival hosted by the Grant Street Music Room later this month. Mark your calendars or buy tickets now.

FIRST NORTH GEORGIA

WINTER BLUEGRASS JAM

FEBRUARY 22nd and 23rd

Benefitting Chattahoocheee Riverkeeper and Soque River Watershed Association

The first North Georgia Winter Bluegrass Jam and festival brings an unprecedented all-star lineup of artists from across the Americana music spectrum to the banks of the Soque River. Scorching acoustic guitars, blazing banjos and the melodic friction of bows on strings should make for a warm melodic glow in the midst of the Appalachian winter in this new two-day festival that will benefit both the Soque River Watershed Association and the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

The festival will reach a feverish crescendo Saturday night with internationally acclaimed guitar virtuoso Larry Keel taking the stage around 8 p.m., followed by the must-be-seen-to-be-believed sensory spectacle that is the Snake Oil Medicine Show. Friday night’s headliner is The Mosier Brothers Band, featuring the Rev. Jeff Mosier on banjo and Johnny Mosier on guitar.

Friday February 22nd - tickets $15 (or $30 for Fri/Sat)

7:00pm   Chattahoochee Chain Gang

8:30pm   Packway Handle Band

10:00pm Mosier Brothers Band

Saturday February 23rd - tickets $20 (or $30 for Fri/Sat)

5:00pm   Stop Drop and Roll

7:00 pm  Bluebilly Grit

8:00pm   Larry Keel

10:00pm  Snake Oil Medicine Show

In other news….

It's time to start preparing for a new GROWING SEASON. If you are interested in becoming a new GARDENER at the GREEN WAY COMMUNITY GARDEN you should read our GUIDELINES FOR GROWERS and submit an application soon (http://www.soque.org/pdfs/GREEN_WAY_GUIDELINES_2013.pdf). There are only a few new spots available in 2013 so act now. New and Returning Gardeners should plan to attend our KICKOFF MEETING Thursday, March 7th at 6pm at the County Ag Center (behind the courthouse).

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

SOQUE BULLETIN- January 14th, 2013

SOQUE BULLETIN
January 14th, 2013
1) SOQUE PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC MEETING - Tuesday, January 15th - Aquatic Center 6pm
2) TREE PROJECTS – huge success!
3) END OF YEAR CAMPAIGN - goal achieved!

18+ volunteers planted 1,700 trees at Fairview Elementary in just over two hours on Thursday January 10th. It was a lot of fun.
Then Friday we planted 350 more (a little more challenging in the rain).
That afternoon we distributed 660 trees that were purchased by the general public.
All in all a pretty awesome week of TREES!
For photos see our FACEBOOK page by pasting this in your browser.
https://www.facebook.com/soqueriverlover

1) SOQUE PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC MEETING - Tuesday, January 15th - Aquatic Center 6pmSo what the the heck is the Soque Partnership anyway? Those of you familiar with the SRWA, may see references to the SOQUE PARTNERSHIP from time to time in the newspaper and other places and may assume its the same thing as the Soque River Watershed Association. That would be a mistake because the Soque Partnership is much, much bigger than our little nonprofit.

Back in 2004 the SRWA started to try and partner with other organizations, agencies, muncipal governments, and perhaps most importantly individual landowners to identify and implement projects that would reduce and eliminate water quality pollution problems in the Soque. It's taken a long while but over the last 9 years we've found dozens and dozens of individuals and groups to partner with on projects (the tree planting above is a great example). For the last 2 or 3 years we've called this collaborative the SOQUE PARTNERSHIP and it's a strong group who have accomplished more than most people know towards Clean Water over the last few years.

The PARTNERSHIP has completed dozens of projects, and achieved some note worthy successes. Most notably a 29-mile section of the upper Soque River is expected to be removed from the state's impaired waters list for fecal coliform bacteria in early 2013 as a result of water quality improvement projects on cattle farms. 22 total farm projects have been completed since 2008, 500 feet of eroding streambank were repaired and replanted into forest, and 3 innovative stormwater features are being installed at the county courthouse. The Partnership has also installed numerous demonstration projects including raingardens at North Georgia Technical College and the City of Cornelia's community center, and rainwater cisterns at Fairview Elementary and Habitat for Humanity.

These are just the highlights, and the PARTNERSHIP has big plans over the next several years. Here's a few example of future and expanding projects:

• If funded the PARTNERSHIP will expand its projects into the Chattahoochee Basin in 2014 requiring a new name. The SOQUE / CHATTAHOOCHEE PARTNERSHIP
• More Streamside Forest Plantings - we hope to expand the number of tree plantings next to streams from 1-2 per year to 3-5 per year.
• Spot Streambank Restoration - many failing streambanks don't need a re-engineered channel, but they could benefit from resloped and vegetated banks.
• Dirt Road Maintenance Workshops - water on steep dirt roads is hard to manage, these programs would show a how-to on constructing a dirt road that lasts and erodes the least amount possible.
• Increasing Rainwater Infilration - nobody likes to talk about stormwater, but if you capture rainwater and put it back into the ground making it groundwater, poof, stormwater is no more. We have many more plans to expand projects like the one at the courthouse, and Fairview elementary that reduces stormwater by taking rainwater and getting it back where it belongs… into the ground.

The Partnership is holding our ANNUAL Public Meeting on Tuesday, January  15th at 6pm at the Habersham County Aquatic Center meeting room. Everyone is invited to attend. During the meeting members of the Partnership will discuss the many successes achieved during the last two years, and new projects and grants that if funded will begin in 2014. You'll get to see photos and hear about the details of past and on-going projects from the PARTNERS who implemented them. We'll have guests from many, many of our past projects.

Come show your support for all the PARTNERS that are working to improve water quality in the SOQUE RIVER. You may be a future PARTNER yourself in these very worthwhile efforts.



2) TREE PROJECTS – huge success!You may have heard that the SRWA and our Soque Partners tried to start the year off right by planting almost 3,000 trees over the last several days. Here's a quick snapshot of the three projects:

1. FAIRVIEW ELEMENTARY-  1,600 trees PLANTED - THURSDAY - January 10th (10am-2pm) - We had upwards of 15 volunteers help us plant 1,500 pine and 100 persimmon and oaks to help stabilize soils at Fairview Elementary and to improve rainwater infiltration. We used dibble bars that allowed each volunteer to plant almost a tree per minute. You can see a video of someone using a dibble bar here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUzeruQT8xE. We had a lot of help to make this project happen and we want to acknowledge their effort:

• Denise Gunn (maintenance director) and Darlene Hudson (principal Fairview Elementary) have been the key supporters from the beginning. Special thanks to Darlene for feeding us pizza!
• The Board of Education and maintenance staff for supporting the idea and providing labor, equipment, and enthusiam
• Tony Strickland and Georgia Forestry Commission for helping us develop a plan, loaning dibble bars, and providing trees.
• David Barnes for providing tractor work to help subsoil making it easy for us to plant.
• Lowe's for donating buckets, cow manure, flags and ground staples, and providing volunteers.
• City of Cornelia (specifically Gary Worley) for providing leaf mulch and wood chips.
• Melissa Maughon who got the girl scouts involved (and they planted 30 trees themselves- very cool)
• All the hardworking volunteers who made it happen so fast! We have the best volunteers!

There was a lot of bare ground to cover, but by Thursday afternoon about 2.5 acres was planted in new trees

2. PROJECT 2 - ELLER FARM - 350 trees PLANTED  - FRIDAY - January 11th (9am-12pm) - We had about 12 volunteers this day and planted 75 white oaks, 25 persimmons, 100 red maples, and 100 river birch, in addition to 50 assorted container trees including yellow poplar, green ash, and sycamore. After planting each tree got geotextile weed mats to give them a headstart on the grass and weeds.The purpose this project was to replant a streamside forest which as it matures will help to hold the streambank in place reducing erosion, increasing stream stability, and serving as a buffer and nutrient sponge. Big thanks to the following folks who made this project possible:

• Thanks to Chris Eller and Joe Barron who farm the property
• Steven Patrick, who helped get this project started.
• Vernon Mintz and North Georgia Converting who donated Geotextile Fabric for the weed mats
• Lowe's who donated ground staples to hold the weed mats down.
• North Georgia Technical College ROTERACT club who provided volunteers   
• These volunteers stuck with it until 1pm in nonstop rain and mud. They is tough!

3. PROJECT 3 - $1 TREE SALE - Sold 661 TREES - January 11th (3-6pm) -   During the planning phases for these first two tree planting projects, we realized we should just make all these trees available to the whole community to purchase and plant….so that's what we did and we can't believe how popular it's been. With 661 trees sold (515 bareroot and 146 container trees), we practically ran out of trees to sell. Individuals came from as far as Cleveland, Gainseville, Clayton, Toccoa, and Dahlonega so this project is having a regional impact. The purpose of this sale is to encourage individuals to think about planting inexpensive bare root trees, and in the process learn about different trees and where they like to grow. We focused on just four trees this year red maple, river birch, persimmon and white oak. Many folks to thank for this effort:

• Steven Patrick and the County Extension office helped print all the brochures and fliers promoting the sale
• The Northeast Georgian ran an ad for us promoting the event and also wrote a front page newstory. The White County News and other area papers also picked up the story.
• City of Clarkesville allowed us to use the Maulding House parking lot as our pickup location (a perfect location for a tree sale I might add).
• Southern Roots Tree Nursery out of Blairsville for providing the container trees.
• Georgia Forestry Commission for bringing out our extra trees (special delivery)

And HUGE thanks to all of you who have shown your interest through purchasing trees
or volunteering to plant them!
We hope to do this again and even bigger next year so please share your feedback.

3) END OF YEAR CAMPAIGN - goal achieved!In the next bulletin we plan to give a proper thank you for every single contributor who helped us meet our END of YEAR campaign goals. We still need to make sure each and every last person is properly included so we'll hold off as we complete our thank letters to them all. But we did want to let you know that the very generous outpourings were successful in meeting and exceeding our goal to raise $4,000 in the last two months of the year. We received a total of $4,600 in end of year gifts! Fantastic.

We greatly appreciate each and every one of you. If you like what we do but just didn't quite get your gift in before the end of the year, you can start 2013 out with a bang, and help us plant even more trees this year by considering a membership or donation. You can be on your way to becoming a SOQUE RIVER LOVER with one simple click on the maple tree  .


Justin Ellis
Executive Director
Soque River Watershed Association
www.soque.org
706-754-9382



ps. - For you beer lovers who are still wondering what we all tasted at the SRWA Christmas Beer Tasting Party you can see all the beers if you post this address in your browser. Happy TASTING.
http://www.soque.org/pdfs/BEER_TASTING_BEERS-2012_improved.pdf