Soque Bulletin - TOUR OF SUSTAINABLE STORMWATER - saturday, february 11th

SOQUE BULLETIN

February 8, 2012

Be the first to see plans for the new County Courthouse

including 3 first of their kind innovative stormwater features!

Like this constructed wetland.

TOUR OF SUSTAINABLE STORMWATER

Saturday, February 11th

10am - 12:30

meet at Old Clarkesville Mill

In 2012, the Soque River Watershed Association (SRWA) will once again host four seasonal sustainability tours, each highlighting the unique ways that community partners are working hard to make Habersham County more sustainable. Our quarterly schedule of tours will include:

·         WINTER Stormwater Tour on February 11^th

·         SPRING Farm Tour on April 21^st

·         SUMMER Water Conservation Tour on July 21^st

·         FALL Grist Mill Tour on October 20^th

The series begins on Saturday, February 11^th with a Tour to learn about Sustainable Stormwater and includes visits to three different sites in and around Clarkesville, including the site of the new County Courthouse.  Stormwater is basically rainwater that isn’t able to soak into the ground and becomes runoff. Since runoff is the 3^rd leading cause of water quality problems alongside bacteria and sediment, this tour will highlight how to transform rainwater into groundwater and prevent it from ever becoming stormwater runoff, very much like nature does.

The first stop of the tour will highlight the County’s plans to incorporate innovative stormwater management practices at the new Courthouse site. Officials from the County and the City of Clarkesville toured sites in Athens back in September, and many of the practices observed such as bioswales and constructed wetlands are now planned for the new courthouse site. The tour will walk the entire pre-construction property and discuss specific features designed to capture and filter stormwater and allow large volumes of water to soak back into the groundwater table.

Once constructed, the County Courthouse will be one of the best demonstrations in the county of a new way of managing water runoff that we can all be proud of, and strive to emulate. The tour will also include stops to look at opportunities for better stormwater practices, and a visit to the Clarkesville Greenway to learn the history of “the wetland that built itself,” which is currently the only constructed wetland in the county (but not for long), and one of the largest in the state.

The tour begins at Old Clarkesville Mill (left side parking lot) at 10am. For more information call 706-754-9382.

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - January 12, 2012 - SURVEY

SOQUE BULLETIN

January 12, 2012

Here's a sneak peak at Habersham County's first formal bioretention cell or pocket wetland

to be built at the County Courthouse. Designed to allow infiltration of stormwater of everything below a 100 year flood.

Tour scheduled February 11 (see below).

1) Take this SURVEY - & you could win a SRWA SWEATSHIRT!

2) End of Year Campaign GOAL EXCEEDED!

3) Calendar Announcements - Privet Removal and Tour of Sustainable Stormwater

1) Take this SURVEY - & you could win a SRWA SWEATSHIRT!

The SRWA is working on a strategic plan this month that will guide all our projects for the next 3 years…and WE NEED YOU and your ideas and suggestions of what you think are some of the top priorities for the SRWA to focus on. We've drafted a simple 10 question survey that should take less than 10 minutes to fill out. To reward you for sharing your ideas we'll enter everyone who completes the survey in a drawing to receive a FREE SRWA sweatshirt (S,M, L, and 2XL - sorry no XLs). You can make a significant contribution towards the future of the SRWA by giving us your feedback on this SURVEY and it will greatly improve our planning process coming up the end of this month.

Click Here Now

Here's what the survey looks like. Takes less than 10 mins.

You don't have to be a member to respond.

Anyone in our community is encouraged to give us feedback.

Just click here or on any of the photos above.

The survey can also be reached from our website www.soque.org

2) End of Year Campaign GOAL EXCEEDED!

Thanks to all who contributed to our End of Year campaign. We we're overwhelmed with the generous responses at the end of the year, which took us up right over our goal of $3,000. If you'd still like to make a contribution it's not too late. Just click below to reach our donation page on our website and if you click OTHER we'll add your gift to our End Of Year totals. Thanks again for everyone's significant support!

3) Calendar Announcements - Privet Removal and Tour of Sustainable Stormwater

Privet Removal - Monday, January the 16th  - 9am-12pm

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is this Monday the 16th and this Federal and State holiday is now known by many as the MLK Day of Service, a day when willing volunteers serve their neighbors and communities. This year employees from the Georgia Power Company have once again offered to work on a project on the Clarkesville Greenways (back in 2009, they planted 50 blueberry bushes at our community garden).

This year the team will be removing Invasive Chinese Privet. If you're not familiar with Privet take a look at this great website and video that thoroughly describes the plant, its appearance, impacts on native plants, and methods for removal. We'll get started at 9am at the Old Clarkesvillle Mill parking lot. All other willing volunteers are invited to attend as there are plenty of plants to pull and cut.

If you have the following bring Gloves, Loppers, and a Bucket (for the seeds).

Looking forward to making a big difference in the look and sustainability of our community Greenway.

Tour of Sustainable Stormwater - Saturday February 11th

As part of our on-going quarterly sustainability tour series on Saturday, February 11, the SRWA will sponsor a tour of sustainable stormwater practices at four different urban sites in and around Clarkesville. Tour will include innovative practices to be installed at the new County Courthouse site. Tour begins at Old Clarkesville Mill (left side parking lot) at 10am.

During the tour we'll walk the entire County Courthouse site and discuss the upcoming construction of a bioretention cell (pocket wetland), swale and bioswale that combined will allow the majority of stormwater from the courthouse to re-infiltrate back into the ground, treating water pollution, and reducing damage to streams. This will be the first time these innovative stormwater structures have been seen in Habersham County. We'll also visit a few other sites for comparison.

Don't forget our SURVEY. Please complete one TODAY. And thanks for your ideas.

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - December 9, 2011 - Holiday UPDATES!

Soque Bulletin

December 9, 2011

YOU'RE INVITED…..

Mark your Calendars! Friday December 16th is the 3rd annual Soque Christmas Party and this year we have a BEER TASTING theme. To participate just bring a craft beer (defined as a beer made by a brewer that is small, independent, and traditional) at least one large 24 oz bottle, or two 12oz bottles and a potluck dish (veggies, meats, snacks or sweets). We'll do blind taste tests of beers to see which one's you like and help you navigate the wonderful world of craft beer. If you like the taste of beer in a glass rather than a plastic cup, please bring your favorite mug to show off. We'll also be selling SRWA Holiday Packs (see below) and signing up any new folks to our Soque Bulletin or maybe even as Members. Support your local river loving group.
Excellent selections of craft beers can be found at Betty's in Helen, that beer store on 129 south in Cleveland, Hillside Beverage in Gainseville, and Beverage Superstore in Suwanee. Very limited selections are of course at Ingles but try and surprise us (and let us know of other good selections nearby). RSVP if you can and let us know how many and what you're bringing so we can tempt everyone - soque@windstream.net

END OF YEAR CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Thank you recent donors! We're off to a great start in meeting our $3,000 END OF YEAR goal thanks to some very generous donations this past week. We're 1/3 of the way there with $1,075. We know that many of you just received our letter in the mail this week and we hope you'll send it back to us. For those of you who may not yet be on our mailing list, please print a copy of the letter attached as a PDF and consider us during your end of year giving.

The Soque River Watershed Association and our hardworking community of supporters is tyring to create a GREENER TOMORROW…..TODAY through our Conservation, Restoration and Sustainabiltiy programs. And you can help by making an End of Year Donation and raising that green bar both literally and figuratively. We want to give that ladybug over there a neck ache.

If you aspire to a GREENER TOMORROW……TODAY please help us make our $3,000 goal by making a contribution. Just click on this leaf right here…..

If you're not already a member, now's a great time to join. Or click on the OTHER category and add the amount of your one time donation. You can also find our donation page from our website www.soque.org.

Or…..Purchase a Soque Lovers Holiday Pack! These purchases go towards our goal as well and are an attractive way to give a local gift. There's two options:

·         THE BITTY PACK - for $10 get a  5oz. jar of the Webb's sourwood honey "best honey in the world", Soque photo card, SRWA flashlight keychain, Soque Watershed Map and Soque Lover sticker.

·         THE WHOPPING PACK - for $20 get the same thing but upsize to a 16oz jar of honey, and a beautiful bees wax candle. All Packs are gift wrapped in bags with an attractive ribbon for easy gifting. Makes a great gift for Soque Lovers.

The Bitty Pack on left is just $10 - The Whopping Pack on right is just $20.

Includes map, photo card/envelope, honey, key light, Lovers sticker and candle (whopping only)

We'll also provide shipping for just $5 if you'd like to surprise someone for the holidays.

Ordering Options

Call 706-754-9382

E-mail Kimberly at srwa@windstream.net

Order Online at

https://www.donationpay.org/soqueriver/

Pick Other and add amount   

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Justin Ellis

Executive Director
Soque River Watershed Association

PO Box 1901

Clarkesville, GA 30523

telephone 706.499.2261
soque@windstream.net

www.soque.org

Please Forward this E-mail to a Friend - we recently signed up our 1,000th person to the Soque Bulletin.

and LIKE US on Facebook

Soque Bulletin - December 2, 2011 - Special Holiday Announcements!

Dear Soque River Lover,

We know that your mailbox will soon be overflowing with holiday cards, so we wanted to let you know that many of you will receive a special letter from the Soque River Watershed Association soon.  

In the spirit of the season we want to thank all of you who have been so generous to the SRWA this year. Please consider helping us end the year on a high note and strengthen our efforts to create a GREENER TOMORROW…..TODAY. By making an End of Year Donation towards our Conservation, Restoration and Sustainabiltiy programs you'll be helping us raise the green bar. We've set a very attainable goal to raise $3,000 before year's end.

Our dedicated Board of Directors and staff have offered to donate the lead gift totaling $250 so far.  That's already 8% of the way to successfully meeting our challenge!

Local Sources of Support are by far our most important funding source, accounting for over 50% of our budget. The best thing about funding from the community is we can then focus these funds towards projects that are most important to you. That's why we're increasing on-the-ground vegetation projects like rain gardens, tree plantings, and restoration; investing time in expanding our Greenway Trails; and supporting sustainable land based businesses like our Locally Grown farmers market, our community garden; and a new cannery/community kitchen.

If you aspire to a GREENER TOMORROW……TODAY in 2012, please help us meet our challenge of raising $3,000 by the end of the year. This funding will support our work and ensure that Habersham County and a community of Soque River Lovers continues to raise the bar for Conservation, Restoration and Sustainability!

Here's how you can help:

Help us make our $3,000 goal by making a donation by clicking on the leaf.

If you're not already a member, now's a great time to join. Or click on the OTHER category and add the amount of your one time donation. You can also find our donation page from our website www.soque.org.

Here's 4 other ways you can get involved or support us this month

• Buy sustainable local foods, wreaths, and other holiday goodies at Northeast Georgia Locally Grown by visiting http://northeastgeorgia.locallygrown.net. Every dollar spent stays in the local community, supports local farmers, and a portion of each sale benefits the SRWA. Last orders of the year will be this Sunday and Monday.
• Attend the SRWA annual Christmas Party at Justin's house Friday, December 16th - 6pm @ 237 Wilson Street. Mark your calendars or RSVP early at soque@windstream.net.
• Attend SRWA Tree Planting and Stream Restoration on Tuesday, December 13th. Contact Duncan if you're interested. dhughes@northgatech.edu.
• Purchase a Soque Lovers Holiday Pack (Bitty Pack - for $10 get a  5oz. jar of the Webb's sourwood honey "best honey in the world", Soque photo card, SRWA flashlight keychain, Soque Watershed Map and Soque Lover sticker. Whopping Pack - for $20 get the same thing but upsize to a 16oz jar of honey, and a beautiful bees wax candle). All Packs are gift wrapped in bags for easy gifting. Makes a great gift for Soque Lovers.

The Bitty Pack on left is just $10 - The Whopping Pack on right is just $20.

Includes map, photo card/envelope, honey, key light, Lovers sticker and candle (whopping only)

We'll also provide shipping for just $5 if you'd like to surprise someone for the holidays.

Ordering Options

Call 706-754-9382

E-mail Kimberly at srwa@windstream.net

Order Online at

https://www.donationpay.org/soqueriver/

Pick Other and add amount   

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Justin Ellis

Executive Director
Soque River Watershed Association

PO Box 1901

Clarkesville, GA 30523

telephone 706.499.2261
soque@windstream.net

www.soque.org

Please Forward this E-mail to a Friend - we recently signed up our 1,000th person to the Soque Bulletin.

and LIKE US on Facebook

Soque Bulletin - October 14, 2011

SOQUE BULLETIN

October 14, 2011

Our Tour of Sustainable Farms last weekend was a great way to see sustainability in action.

Thanks to our hosts Sid Blalock, Steve Whiteman and Sharon Mauney and to the 25 folks who attended.

For more info on what you can do to support local food see the last entry in this bulletin

1) Soque River Ramble next Saturday October 22nd

2) Support Greenways expansion to Mary Street Park by attending visioning meetings Oct. 17 and 27. Tour at 5pm.

3) Guide to Local Foods in Northeast Georgia

1) Soque River Ramble next Saturday October 22nd

Come on out next weekend and enjoy the fall colors in the gorgeous Goshen Valley and get some exercise while you're at it. There's a 6k run/walk or a 1 mile fun run. You can register online by visiting www.soqueriverramble.com. If you'd like to volunteer e-mail Jean Holmes at jeanholmes@windstream.net. Thanks to Dale and Jean for organizing this great event to benefit the SRWA and the Batesville Fire Dept.

2) Support Greenways expansion to Mary Street Park by attending visioning meetings Oct. 17 and 27. Tour at 5pm.

After several years of enjoying the first Phase of the Clarkesville Greenways, the SRWA, the Clarkesville Greenways INC. and the City of Clarkesville are preparing to apply for our second grant to construct Phase 2 of the Greenway. The proposal calls for the existing trail to extend over into Mary Street Park (the site of the swimming pool, and soccer fields). The grant is due November 30th.

The timing couldn't be better as the City is holding 3 visioning meetings in October and November to get input from the community on what type of park to rebuild. Our understanding is that they have committed up to $100,000 for park improvements. In order for a Greenways expansion to be supported, we need all the community members that enjoy the Greenway to come to at least one of these meetings and offer your support.

The meetings will be at City Hall at 6pm on Oct. 17, Oct. 27 and Nov. 16. The SRWA will host a Mary Street Park walk at 5pm on each of those nights prior to the meetings. You can meet us for this walk in the parking area in front of the swimming pool. E-mail soque@windstream.net if you think you can attend. This is a great opportunity to show your support for the Greenway and will also help ensure that Phase 2 is well planned. Here's a quick map of what the proposed expansion could look like.

3) Guide to Local Foods in Northeast Georgia

Looking to improve the nutrition and quality of the foods you eat? Would you also like to help the environment? Would you like more of your dollars to remain in our community? Then you should probably be eating local foods. The availability of local foods is expanding all the time.

Please help us spread the word that Local Food is increasingly available throughout the NE GA region. Here are the options we're currently aware of, starting with our very own market sponsored by SRWA the NE GA Locally Grown. If there are others we're missing please let us know and EAT WELL!

http://northeastgeorgia.locallygrown.net/welcome

Order on Sunday and Monday

Pickups in Clarkesville and Tiger

Wednesdays 5-7 pm

The So Called Farmers Market

Sautee, GA - Saturday Mornings at the Sautee Center

LoganBerry Heritage Farm Market

Cleveland, GA - Saturday Mornings on the Farm - Adair Mill Road

http://loganberryheritagefarm.com/

Simply Homegrown Market

Clayton, GA - Saturday Mornings at Clayton City Hall

http://www.simplyhomegrown.org/

Lake Rabun Hotel

Featured Farmer Dinners every Thursday

and lots of local fresh food all the time

http://www.lakerabunhotel.com/

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - October 5th, 2011

SOQUE BULLETIN

October 5th, 2011

SRWA Board Member Brenda Hunt escorts Coach Vince Dooley into the SOQUE ROAST 2011 event.

1) SOQUE ROAST - Fantastic Event

2) Tour of Sustainable Farms - Sunday, October 9th

1) SOQUE ROAST - Fantastic Event

The 2011 SOQUE ROAST featuring Vince Dooley turned out to be a fantastic event. With over 100 attendees the fundraiser netted over $4,000 for the SRWA's programs. With delicious food from Hawg Wild, including Springer Mtn Farm donated chicken and local foods of tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and sweet potatoes from Mtn Earth Farms and LoganBerry Heritage Farms, the food was excellent. Thanks to Yonah Mtn, Habersham Vineyards and Tiger Mtn for donating wine to the event, Doug Henry for donating a keg of Terrapin, and especially Greg Singer and Jeff Ferguson for providing the outstanding locally crafted beers (IPAs, Honeybrown, Heffeweizen, etc.)

Thanks to Carl and Virginia Webb who once again gave a gift of award winning honey to every attendee. WCHM - the voice of Habersham generously provided the sound system for the evening. Bob and Deanna Brookshear loaned us their tents as did Community Bank and Trust. HEMC hooked up our power. Marlan Wilbanks, family and friends once again graciously hosted us on their beautiful property. Thanks to all of our volunteers this year who really made sure the event went smoothly and professionally. And especially Coach Vince Dooley who was a truly special guest and had us laughing out loud about his stories of "Uga" the bulldog passing out when he exited his air-conditioned dog house on game day.

More photos of the event will be posted to our FACEBOOK page.

Huge Thanks to our 2011 Auction Donors

Marty and Glad Simmons

John and Nancy Kollock

Turner Enterprises

Chief Anonymous

Wenn's Once Upon A Time, Co.

Randy Moser

Walter and Jeanie Daves

Tiger Mountain Vineyards

Carl and Virginia Webb

Richard and Lynda Averack

Woods Furniture

Marjorie Waters

Karol Martin

Soque Artworks

Becky Sandven

Foothills Chapter Trout Unlimited

Ray Belford

Burton Gallery - Marlene Eck and Jim Richards

Mark of the Potter

Jack Loveless

Steven Patrick

2) Tour of Sustainable Farms - Sunday, October 9th

This Sunday the SRWA and the farmers market we sponsor Northeast Georgia Locally Grown will co-host our 2nd annual Tour of Sustainable Farms. The event is part of the Soque River Watershed Association’s quarterly sustainability tours series. The tour begins at the Clarkesville extension office and will last from 11-4 pm.

On the tour this year are Sharon Mauney's LoganBerry Heritage Farm north of Cleveland, Sid Blalock's Burton Mountain Farms near Lake Burton, and Steve Whiteman's Trillium Farms just outside of Clarkesville. Each of these farms produce an array of delicious, local, and sustainably produced fruits and vegetables, many of which are available through the Locally Grown market at www.northeastgeorgia.locallygrown.net.

Steve Whiteman of Trillium Farms describes how he built and uses his homemade greenhouses

All farms on the tour follow sustainable practices, meaning no chemicals, and a focus on practices that nurture the soil and environment. This year’s tour emphasizes the importance of season extension structures such as greenhouses to increase the availability of local foods during the colder months.

A simple local food lunch will be featured during the tour for a small donation of $8-$10. Lunch will consist of fresh whole corn, cubanelle peppers, pork sausage, sweet potatoes, microgreens and cornbread.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a hat and water. The tour meets at 11 am at the Habersham County Extension office, 555 Monroe Street, behind the courthouse. There is no fee for the tour.

To confirm a spot for lunch call 706-754-9382, or e-mail soque@windstream.net.

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

706-754-9382

SOQUE ROAST special bulletin - September 30th with Vince Dooley

SOQUE BULLETIN

September 29th, 2011



The 3rd annual SOQUE ROAST with legendary UGA football coach Vince Dooley is
coming up tomorrow and it's not too late to buy tickets online at
www.soque.org. Here's a quick rundown of all the reasons you'll have a great
time at this year's ROAST:



* Local Wines from Habersham Winery, Yonah Mountain and Tiger
Mountain Vineyards

* 3 small kegs of Local Crafted Beer from Greg Singer & 1 keg of
Terrapin beer

* Pulled Pork and Smoked whole chickens from Hawg Wild BBQ

* Chicken wing appetizers & side dishes made with locally grown food
- sweet potato soufle, tomato cucumber salad, & delicious red beets

* Tour of a mature Streambank Restoration project and auto slideshow
from the past 12 years

* Speech by our guest Coach Vince Dooley

* Silent auction items featuring - tons of fishing gear, fishing
trips, reclaimed wood furniture, original one of a kind art of the Soque
River, Disney Ice Capade tickets, and much, much more.



TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE

CLICK HERE



The SOQUE ROAST has additional sponsorship from:







FOR SUPER LATE PLANNERS tickets will be available at the door but if you can
send us an e-mail (srwa@windstream.net) of the names of each person in your
party so we can have nametags waiting for you for speedy entry to the event.
Directions are below.







TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE

CLICK HERE <https://www.donationpay.org/soqueriver/>

then select OTHER donation amount and check SOQUE ROAST

tickets are $75 each and benefit the SRWA

online ticket sales will end after 2pm on Friday

Tickets can be purchased at the door





Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

706-754-9382