Soque Bulletin - July 23rd, 2012

SOQUE BULLETIN

Monday July 23, 2012

It doesn't look like much now but where Mike Bramblett (the County's facilities director) is standing

will be a curbless main drive into the courthouse, with all the runoff directed into a vegetated swale located where he's staring.

We'll continue to photograph each phase of these new structures and describe them in upcoming newspaper columns, see below.

1) Support Local Farms - SHOP at Northeast Georgia LOCALLY GROWN

2) SRWA and Grace Calvary Church team up to maintain GREENWAYS bridge and boardwalk

3) SRWA staff to write monthly columns on conservation and sustainability topics

4) SRWA Radio and Podcasts now available on www.soque.org

5) Soque Camp for kids everyday this week

6) Upcoming Events - Rainbarrel / Raingarden Workshop - August 16th & Paddle Clean Up - September 29

1) Support Local Farms - SHOP at Northeast Georgia LOCALLY GROWN

It's the height of the growing season. We encourage you to support local farms and enjoy the fruits of the summer by shopping at the Northeast Georgia Locally Grown farmers market. If you haven't tried before it's an online market, with orders taken Sunday night from 9pm until Monday night at 9pm (so you still have plenty of time this week). You can order foods from dozens of farms across Northeast Georgia and they'll harvest fresh produce just for you. There's a plethora of other foods such as breads, milk, meats, eggs and more. Pick up is at Grace Calvary Chuch in Clarkesville on Wednesday from 5-7pm, or in Tiger, GA same times. Give it a try we think you'll enjoy it. (We also encourage you to visit the Clarkesville Farmers Market at the Garden of Wellness.) We'll be conducting a USER survey in a week or so to get your feedback. Thanks for supporting local foods and we hope you'll EAT WELL!

http://northeastgeorgia.locallygrown.net/welcome

Locally Grown is a project of the SRWA to promote sustainable land based businesses

in Habersham County and beyond

2) SRWA and Grace Calvary Church team up to maintain GREENWAYS bridge and boardwalk

If you've ever taken a walk along the Clarkesville Greenway you've noticed that two of the prettiest features are the boardwalk over the "Wetland that Built Itselt" and the bridge over Rocky Branch that takes you to Mary Street Park. Luckily both of these structures are going to get some needed maintenance thanks to a YOUTH GROUP all the way from Gainseville, FL and Grace Calvary Church. They were looking for a volunteer project, and offered to help us put fresh Wood Sealer which will lengthen the life of these structures by a decade or more. We'll have pictures of their work project which begins tomorrow morning around 10am. We encourage  you to head down to the Greenway sometime after Wednesday (both structures will be closed for 24 hours following the treatment) and see how nice they look. It's good to have support like this for our community resources. Big thanks to the City of Clarkesville as well who provided the materials needed for this project. If you have a group seeking a community project let us know. There are many opportunities to give something back.

3) SRWA staff to write monthly columns on conservation and sustainability topics

The Northeast Georgian recently graciously asked us to write two monthly articles for the newspaper about a range of conservation and sustainability topics. Every other week Duncan Hughes and Justin Ellis will alternate in submitting a story about a broad range of topics and projects. Big Thanks to the Northeast Georgian for this great opportunity. Here's a copy of last Friday's article. We hope you enjoy.

We received some very kind feedback to this article the following day:

"I just read your column in the Northeast Georgian explaining what a "watershed" is and how water "works" in the natural world. Thank you for the clearest explanation I've ever heard--particularly the description of groundwater, a mystery to many of us. I know you probably speak to school groups from time to time, but I think lots of other groups would benefit from hearing you give such explanations. I will be looking forward to this column from you and Duncan! Thanks!"

Thank You! We're looking forward to writing more!

4) SRWA Radio and Video Podcasts now available on www.soque.org

The digital age has really made it easier and easier to disseminate information in quick and useful ways. We're trying to catch up with these trends by making some of our pre-recorded Radio and Video stories readily available. We haven't mastered these techniques yet, but we do have a new Media Player on our website that allows you to listen to MP3 radio shows and watch videos directly from our website. You can also download the AUDIO mp3 and put them on your I-POD and other mp3 player to listen to while on the go. We have about 6 short programs available now and will be adding another half dozen in the weeks ahead.

One reason we were inspired to give this a try was a recent program with Candice Felice at WPPR, the NPR affiliate here in Demorest on July 20, 2012. During the program she interviews  Justin Ellis, the SRWA Director, and Ben Dockins the manager of the Clarkesville Farmers Market and asks some interesting questions about growing organic food, the linkages between agriculture and clean water, and the availability of local food across Northeast Georgia. To find this new feature click on the following link:

http://www.soque.org/audio.html

5) Soque Camp for kids everyday this week

Duncan Hughes is leading our kids camp this week during which they will get to climb to the headwaters, collect fish and macroinvertebrates, visit local farms, and canoe the Soque River. Ah, to be a kid again. We'll post photos to our Facebook page of the weeks activities.

6) Upcoming Events - Harvesting RAIN using Rainbarrel / Raingarden Workshop - August 16th & Paddle Clean Up - September 29

Mark your calendars for the SRWA's next two events. First is our annual RAINBARREL and RAINGARDEN Workshop coming up in about three weeks on August 16th. The workshop and LUNCH is once again held at the Visual Technology Building at North Georgia Technical College from 12-2pm.  Spread the word as this is one of our best attended workshops. We'll cover all the details on the benefits of Harvesting Rain using rainbarrels and raingardens. We'll also tour the rain garden built over 2 years ago on the college campus. Rainbarrels will be available for this day only at the discounted price of $35 (normally $45) as our way of saying thanks for learning about the importance of reusing rainwater in the environment. Last but not least we'll again have the tastiest Local Food Lunch in all Habersham County with Heriloom Tomates from Moonshadow Farms on locally baked bread, and blueberry cobbler from local blueberries for desert. A lunch donation of $5-$10 is encouraged.

Please help us spread the word by printing out the attached PDF Flier and putting one up in a public location!

Last year's workshop attendees observe and learn about the Rain Garden at NGTC.

Paddle Clean Up - September 29 - in conjunction with Rivers Alive.

You may want to make your reservations early for our only paddle clean-up of the year. The trip is limited to 40 total volunteers. Must have your own boat and be able to carry it. We'll have folks drop their boats off at Farm Hill just north of the City of Clarkesville. The paddle clean up will take out at Habersham Mills Lake. Trip should take no more than 2-3 hours. We'll start at 9am to meet at a location to be determined. We'll have several vehicles to drive folks back to their cars to come pick up their boats at the Lake. We expect to find some interesting accumulations in this area as we've not been here before. To reserve your spot e-mail Justin at soque@windstream.net. All participants will get a Rivers Alive t-shirt.

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - July 5th, 2012

SOQUE BULLETIN

July 5th, 2012

The SRWA is hosting a series of SEE THE SOQUE events where we'll take people to see

public areas of the SOQUE WATERSHED that not many people know are public.

Our first stop is a 1 mile section of the upper Soque at Jackson Bridge Road on 197.

1) SEE THE SOQUE EVENT - "SOQUE RIVER CLEANUP @ Jackson Bridge" - Saturday July 7th - 9am

2) Rainbarrels are back at the HABITAT RESTORE

3) GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR - over 150 attend first time event

1) SEE THE SOQUE EVENT - "SOQUE RIVER CLEANUP @ Jackson Bridge" - Saturday July 7th - 9am

If you are itching for an opportunity to see more of the SOQUE your next opportunity will be our SOQUE RIVER CLEANUP – Saturday July 7^th. The Jackson Bridge recreational area is a 1 mile stretch of the mainstem of the SOQUE RIVER all within National Forest Lands. The area is commonly known by fisherman and is the only signficant access site for Trout Fishing on the Soque River. It's located between Brigadoon Lodge and Blackhawk Flyfishing on 197. We haven't done a clean up here in over 4 years.

The Soque River Watershed Association is participating in American Rivers National River Cleanup event. We should have some free t-shirts for volunteers. Volunteers will meet at 9am at Old Clarkesville Mill (left parking lot) and carpool up to the bridge by 9:30 (you can meet us at the bridge if you're coming from the northend of the county). We'll provide all the garbage bags and gloves you'll need. The area around the 197 bridge is all within the National Forest and encompasses a one mile section of public access to the Soque. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's beautiful.

After the cleanup the group will enjoy a short hike on the opposite side of the road to explore another National Forest Land propety. For more details call 706-754-9382 or soque@windstream.net.

Here's a simple map of the National Forest Boundary line upstream of Jackson Bridge.

2) Rainbarrels are back at the HABITAT RESTORE

Our partnership with Habitat for Humanity to help distribute rainbarrels throughout Habersham County and North Georgia has been one of our most successful partnerships, getting bigger and stronger each year. Last year we introduced our new and improved rainbarrel designs that make hooking a rainbarrel up easier than ever. Everything comes with a Do-It-Yourself kit that takes about 15 minutes to assemble and only needs a power drill. You'll drill a spigot hole in the barrel (hole saws included), an inlet/outlet hole in the top of the barrel, and one small hole in your existing downspout.

Everyone who has used the new barrels agrees these designs are great as it keeps mosquitos out, and solves the problem of overflow from the barrel (it all goes right back into your downspout).

Barrels at the Habitat ReStore in Clarekesville are $45 and include everything you'll need to set up this very effective WATER CONSERVATION tool.

Rainbarrels are $45 and available now at Habitat for Humanity

We have a goal to sell 50 barrels through Habitat this year!

For more details on the new design for these rainbarrels click here to see our installation brochure.

3) GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR - over 150 attend first time event

We were amazed to see about 45-50 total carloads and somewhere around 150 total individuals attending the first ever GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR despite the 104°-109° heat (and hotter in some places).

The tour was designed to showcase the diversity and collaboration amongst local food farms that are growing sustainable and organic food to sell to local food eaters. This was a huge expansion of our Tour of Sustainable Farms event we've done the two years prior, with this event covering 14 total farms, two community gardens, and two local chefs serving fresh local dishes.

Here's some of the feedback we've received from attendees:

·         "One of the best weekends I've had in a long time."

·         "What a wonderful and wholesome way to spend a weekend with our family!"

·         "An enjoyable and educational way to meet great people involved in interesting farming techniques and to enjoy a day exploring the mountains."

·         "Absolutely fantastic! Getting to know just a few of the small farmers in the area was very motivating."

We're still trying to collect feedback from attendees so if you were there please take our survey and you'll receive a small gift as our thanks for attending and helping us improve for next year. Click for the SURVEY.

If you weren't able to attend this year but want to see what you missed, and get excited about next years event, go to the FACEBOOK page for the brand new FARMERS NETWORK that helped organize the event. Proceeds from the event will go towards future collaborative projects for this new FARMERS NETWORK.

We have a ton of photos from the weekends event. If you took photos please share them with us by e-mailing or posting to the FACEBOOK page.

Huge thanks to all the participating farmers for their extreme generosity and hospitality.

Be sure and support them by buying and eating their food all year round.

We also had some nice newspaper coverage.

the GAINSEVILLE TIMES - http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/69543/

the NORTHEAST GEORGIAN -  http://www.soque.org/pdfs/FARM_TOUR_2012_press.pdf

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - June 22, 2012

SOQUE BULLETIN

June 22, 2012

1) SOQUE RIVER FESTIVAL - Smashing Success

2) GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR - Just one week away

3) SOQUE RIVER CLEANUP - Saturday July 7th - 9am

"FIRST EVER" SOQUE RIVER FESTIVAL

SMASHING SUCCESS

Barbara Steinhous and Jerry Richmond enjoying their paddle during the 4th of 10 trips down the river on Saturday June 16th.

(photo by Lane Gresham - Northeast Georgian)

We have some great photos of the FESTIVAL on our FACEBOOK page and PICASA.

If you have photos from the festival we'd love for you to share them with us.

1) SOQUE RIVER FESTIVAL - Smashing Success

Last weekend's SOQUE RIVER FESTIVAL exceeded all our expectations. We had over 200 people come out for the event, including exactly 150 who floated down the river, and eight who toured the Proposed Greenway on bicycles. We're collecting feedback from everyone who attended and this is one of the comments we received.

"The whole thing was great! Loved the relaxed feel of the event - everyone seemed to have fun, and at the same time, there was a sense of ease....as if we were floating along the river even when on dry land......delightful!"

For those who attended, thanks for contributing to a successful day! We can't thank you enough for being a part of our "very first" SOQUE FESTIVAL!  We had PERFECT WEATHER, GREAT TURNOUT, DELCIOUS FOOD, LOTS OF HELPERS, AND VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ATTENDEES.

If you didn't make it this year, we hope you'll take a look at some of the photos from this year, and ask around, as we think you'll be hoping we host a similar event next year. Based on the community reaction, we certainly hope to do something similar again next year, that's why we'd really like to get YOUR FEEDBACK. Even if you didn't attend the event, but followed our publicity, your input for a similar event next year would be helpful to us. If YOU DID ATTEND this year's festival…….

PLEASE TAKE OUR QUICK SURVEY

ENTER TO WIN A FESTIVAL T-SHIRT

and ORGANIC SEED STARTING KIT

Congratulations to Mark Cross for winning our door prize of a FESTIVAL T-SHIRT

You could be the next to win if you take just 3-5 minutes to complete our survey.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS, VOLUNTEERS, AND SUPPORTERS

We could never have pulled this off without their help

Also special thanks to:

Tom Hensley and Springer Mountain Farms for providing Chicken, water and sponsorship, Matt Mixon for sponsoring our Laminated Maps for the Event, Doug Henry and Headwaters Realty for sponsoring our volunteer rewards, Cool River Tubing for loaning us Lifejackets, Habersham Bicycles for sponsoring the Greenway Bike Tour, Northeast Georgian for printing our registration form, Deana Brooksher and Garden of Wellness for preparing our local foods (and Jen Lynch, Marie Tannander and Liesel Potthast), Steven Patrick and Sheena (for Fish Frying), Andy Haygood (4H shuttle driver), John Mather for manning the grills. SERVERS - Deb Kilgore, Bob Kilgore, Teri Parker, Liesel Potthast, John Mather. REGISTRATION – Kimberly, Jean, Barbara Moser, Ching-Yu, Morning Washburn, and others. DRIVERS -Bob Bouchard, Dale Holmes, Randy Moser, David Budd, Andy Haygood ,Tom Pinion, Alex Smith. BOAT LOADERS -Stephen Giles, Charles Cunningham, Colt Martin, Jeffrey Turner, Blake Limbaugh, Jonathon Thacker and Brother and Dan Calhoun. GUIDES -Walter Matlock, Dan Calhoun, Bob Brooksher, Doug Henry, John Bigelow, Duncan Hughes, Scarlett Fuller, Ben Dockins, Justin Ellis, and Walter Matlock again. ARTWORK - Linda Anderson. DONATIONS - CERTUS bank – festival site, Marty Simmons and partners – put in site (and maintenance), City of Clarkesville and public works – mowing of site, CopperPot – Kitchen for food prep, Ice from Grace Calvary Church, Squash from Community Gardeners, Habersham County - Courthouse parking lot ,Bluegraphics - discounted t-shirts. BIKE TOUR –Walter, Scarlett, Joe Elam.  KIDS ZONE - Duncan Hughes – bug hunt, Janet Westervelt – bug hunt and id, Laura Turpen – rainbarrel painting, Julianne Wilson – face painting, Rocket Roy fly casting, Robert Sullivan - Fly tying, Bob Brooksher - games. SANITATION - Travis and Tammy Halbrook - Chase Sanitation. MUSIC - Richard & Lynda Averack, Walter Daves, Jeanie Daves, Jennie Inglis and Mark Baker. The Yonah Pickers Dulicimer Band, Lynn McCollum, Dee Petty.   LOANERS - Trucks from Scarlett Fuller and Duncan Hughes, Shuttles from Clarkesville United Methodist Church and Extension 4H, Trailers from Wildwood Outfitters and Bob Brooksher, Lifejackets from Cool River Tubing, Tables from Marty Simmons, Grills from Dan Calhoun, Brian Sandven, Justin Ellis. Boats loaned by: Duncan Hughes, Dudley Sisk, Doug Henry, Tom Hodges, Bob Brooksher, Dan Calhoun, Janet Westervelt, Anne Shirley, Wildwood Outfitters, Walter Matlock, Peter Bull, Tom Woods, Harold Kennedy, Justin Ellis. SITE PREP and SET UP - Dennis Clines, Marty Simmons, Randy Moser, Walter Matlock, Bob Brooksher, Duncan Hughes, Justin Ellis, Tom Pinion, Duncan Hughes, Harmony Fontaine, Debbie Bouchard, Barbara Steinhous and many others

There are probably many others that contributed to this event that we've failed to mention here. It was a great community effort. Thanks to each and every individual who attended and helped out!

Group #1 prepares for their trip with the most experienced guide on the Soque - Walter Matlock.

To stay connected to other great SOQUE EVENTS

send a reply e-mail and request to be added

to the SOQUE BULLETIN e-newsletter

or please JOIN the SRWA

Membership is what makes these events possible

2) GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR - Just one week away

For the last two years the SRWA has hosted a Tour of Sustainable Farms that has been one of our most well attended outings of the year. This year we decided to step it up a notch, and rather than have just 3 farms visited as a caravan on a Saturday, we expanded it to 18 total farm and food stops, spanning 5 counties all across North Georgia, and even touching into North and South Carolina. The reason is that the local sustainable food movement has exploded over the last three years and we wanted to showcase all of the farms and individual farmers that are making it possible. This year we're also including two optional MEAL STOPS by local chefs who know the value of local food (Jamie Alred at Lake Rabun Hotel and Jeff Morris at Copper Pot). To help raise money for a brand new Georgia Mountains Farmers Network, a portion of the proceeds will be used to help build farmer collaboratives throughout NE Georgia. Online advance ticket sales are over, but you can still purchase your weekend pass or brochure at the SRWA offices in downtown Clarkesville (call to arrange a time), at the Simply Homegrown market at Clayton, the Soque Lover Gardens! booth at the Clarkesville Farmers Market (we'll be there after 10am), Mountain Fresh Creamery in Clermont, The Root Cellar in Clayton, or you can show up the day of the event at the first featured farm of the day (LoganBerry Heritage Farm near Cleveland on Saturday) or Cedar Hill Enrichment Center (in Gainseville on Sunday).

To see the list of farms, the map of farm locations, and other details….click on the poster below to see the website and link to our brochure.

Fill up your car and bring family and friends on a weekend adventure to see local sustainable foods in action.

http://georgiamfn.blogspot.com/

3) SOQUE RIVER CLEANUP - Saturday July 7th - 9am

If you are itching for an opportunity to see more of the SOQUE your next opportunity will be our SOQUE RIVER CLEANUP – Saturday July 7^th . The Soque River Watershed Association is participating in American Rivers National River Cleanup event by leading a litter cleanup at Jackson Bridge on Hwy 197. Volunteers will meet at 9am at Old Clarkesville Mill (left parking lot) and carpool up to the bridge by 9:30 (you can meet us at the bridge if you're coming from the northend of the county. We'll provide all the garbage bags and gloves you'll need. The area around the 197 bridge is all withing the National Forest and encompasses a one mile section of public access to the Soque. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's beautiful.

After the cleanup the group will enjoy a short hike. Details call 706-754-9382 or soque@windstream.net.

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

SOQUE BULLETIN - June 11th, 2012 - FESTIVAL just 6 days away!

SOQUE BULLETIN

June 11th, 2012

We're just 5 days away from our "first ever" SOQUE FESTIVAL.

Register Now - WALK UP SPACE is limited!

You don't want to miss the "first ever" SOQUE RIVER FESTIVAL, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. this SATURDAY, JUNE 16th. This is the very first community river festival and paddle event on the Soque River. The highlight of the event is a 2-mile paddle trip on the Soque River right through the town of Clarkesville. With the rain this weekend (and today) the river should be nice and full. The paddle is only $10 and includes boats, paddles and lifejackets (small children need their own). Other FESTIVAL EVENTS open to all include a guided bicycle ride along the proposed Greenway (led by Habersham Bicycles…see our facebook page for route map), live music, fish and chicken tacos (about $7 for a full meal and drink), children's activities (water bug hunt, face painting, rainbarrel painting) and more. To sign up for the paddle, go to http://www.soque.org/paddlesignupsheet.pdf to download and print a form. Or call the office to find out what slots are still open. The event will be held at 173 LaPrade Street, Clarkesville GA 30523 (all parking at the County Courthouse). Bring a lawn chair and Hope to see you soon! Call (706) 754-9382 for more details or soque@windstream.net.

It's the best opportunity this year to GET WET on the SOQUE!

Space is limited for the float so sign up now.

http://www.soque.org/paddlesignupsheet.pdf

Here's a map of the whole paddle route and our festival site. Thanks to Matt Mixon for making this map possible. All paddlers will receive a free copy of this map and the Greenways Bike map for FREE when they arrive at the event.

Click on the map to access our Facebook page where you can see more maps and photos.

THE FESTIVAL ACTIVITES ARE FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE EVEN IF YOU DON'T PLAN TO PADDLE

So bring the whole family.

Bring a Blanket or Lawn Chair.

GET YOURSELF A FESTIVAL T-SHIRT

Standard shirts are $15  / Ladies and Kids slim cut $20

Available at the event or pre-order when you register to paddle

---

The GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR is less than 3 weeks away. Buy your weekend passes now.

This is the best opportunity of the year to get an inside look into Local Foods across Northeast Georgia.

And it supports local farmers.

GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR - JUNE 30 & JULY 1

Mark your calendars and buy your Weekend Pass now for the NE GA regions FIRST tour of sustainable farms. Choose from 14 farms in Habersham, Rabun, White, Stephens and beyond, visit community gardens, and eat local foods prepared by local chefs. It's the food and farm event of the summer hosted by SRWA and will help benefit a new Farmers Network. You can read details on all the farms featured by downloading the weekend guide and PDF here or click the photo above. You can buy tickets at www.soque.org (or direct link to https://donationpay.org/soqueriver/farmtour2012.php).

Our full press release is at http://georgiamfn.blogspot.com/

Thanks for making one of our SRWA activities a part of your 2012 SUMMER

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - May 1st, 2012 - SUMMER EVENTS PLANNER

SOQUE BULLETIN

May 1st, 2012

Plan Your Summer Now around Two Events we expect to be 2 of the best the SRWA has ever Hosted.

For detailed information on either event just click on the POSTER

1) SOQUE RIVER FESTIVAL - Saturday - June 16th - "First Ever" Paddle and Play on the Soque!

2) Boats needed for FESTIVAL

3) GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR - June 30th - July 1st - Choose from nearly 20 sustainable farms

4) Jackson Bridge Clean-Up - Saturday, July 7th

1) SOQUE RIVER FESTIVAL - Saturday - June 16th - "First Ever" Paddle and Play on the Soque!

Nothing makes the heat of Summer more enjoyable than a day getting wet and relaxed on your favorite River! That was our thinking when we started planning what could be the most exciting event of the SRWA's 14 year history …..the "FIRST EVER" Soque River Festival! Mark your calendars, call your friends and plan on a great day on Saturday, June 16th from 10am-3pm. The brand new festival is centered around a 2-mile paddle trip on the Soque River beginning just north of Clarkesville at Farm Hill and ending at Chatterton Place, a beautiful bottomland farm just downstream of Pitts Park. The float is open to individuals and families for just $10 per person. Registration for the float is open now and is limited to a total of 150 boaters for the day.

To make it easy for all to come….we're providing the boats (all of which are being loaned by local folks donating use of their boat for the day), we're providing the shuttle, life jackets, paddles, paddling lesson, and a guide. All you have to bring is $10 and a exuberant enthusiasm to be out on the water. The paddle trip will last about one hour and is rated for “beginners” so even those with little to no experience are encouraged to attend. Kids of all ages are welcome (though child size life-jackets must be provided for small children).

In addition to the PADDLE / FLOAT the FESTIVAL will feature many other fun activities for the whole family:

·         Bike Tour of the Proposed Greenway - register for the 11am free 6 mile tour of the entire proposed Greenway.

·         Lunch featuring Fish or Chicken Tacos and locally grown fruits and veggies (Lunches will be sold on-site)

·         Fresh Lemonade

·         Live Acoustic Music

·         Kids Zone featuring - outdoor games, face painting, rainbarrel painting, a place to splash in the river, and educational stream talk and water bug hunt.

·         Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs or blankets to enjoy the streamside atmosphere for the day.

To register for the paddle or bike ride you can direct link to our registration forms by clicking the logo.

Registration can also be found from the main page of our website, www.soque.org. Or you can drop by the office located on the Square above Natalie Jane’s. The other Festival activities (including the Bike Tour) are free and open to the public and no registration is required. The Festival site will be located at Chatterton Place at the end of LaPrade Street, with parking at the County Courthouse. The Festival is proudly sponsored by Springer Mountain Farms, Certus Bank, Matt Mixon and State Farm Insurance, Wildwood Outfitters, and Habersham Bicycles. Additional support from Garden for Wellness, and Chase Sanitation. For information about sponsorship, volunteering for the event, or general questions call 706-754-9382.

2) Boats needed for FESTIVAL

"Hey, Where's my Paddle?"

If you have canoes, kayaks and paddles that you'd be willing to loan for use during the festival we're still trying to scrounge up a small handful. For 150 people on the river, we only need 30 boats and we already have 24. If demand is high and we wanted to exceed 150 boaters, it would be great to have 40 total boats. All that's needed is an ability for boat loaners to drop off their boats on the Friday before the event and pick them up on Saturday after the event or Sunday am. No aluminum boats please. If your interested in loaning your boat or boats, the boat loan form is on the SRWA website or can be accessed HERE. Fill it out, save it to your computer under a new name and then e-mail it back to us. We'll immediately give your boat a name and throw it into our rotation schedule, and yes, you can sign up to use your own boat during the tour.

3) GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR - June 30th - July 1st - Choose from nearly 20 sustainable farms

If Sustainable Local Food and Farms have piqued your interest recently then 2012 is going to be a good year for you. There's a brand new farmers market starting in Clarkesville (contact Ben Dockins for details), the NE Georgia Locally Grown Market is off to a bustling start, and there's more farms growing more food than ever before in the local area.

Perhaps most exciting has been the increased collaboration amongst local farmers to exchange information, visit each others farms, and collaborate on projects. And that's what has led to this years GEORGIA MOUNTAINS FARM TOUR, a weekend event featuring 18 different farms or food venues, demonstrating to the public that North Georgia is rapidly building a vibrant and organized local food scene. The TOUR to be held June 30th - July 1st features small farms that sell sustainable foods locally. After two very succesful Tour of Sustainable Farms events, the SRWA has helped local farmers convene this much larger, more ambitious regional event. And we're pretty excited about it.

The way it works is you gather a group of friends and buy one WEEKEND PASS for all of you to visit all farms, all weekend for an entire carload of people. As many people as can fit in your car can come for one price. WEEKEND PASSES ARE $30 if purchased before June 16th, and $35 the day of the event. You'll also be able to purchase passes beginning next Wednesday, June 9th on the www.soque.org website, at SRWA offices, through Locally Grown, at Simply Homegrown in Clayton, at the Root Cellar in Clayton, and at Mountain Fresh Creamery in Clermont. The weekend passes will be these sharp little bumper stickers currently being printed for us (by our friends at North GA Label). If you'd like to flip through the detailed guide to the Tour just click on the Bumber Sticker below.

4) Jackson Bridge Clean-Up - Saturday, July 7th

It's been quite some time since the SRWA has led an excursion to Jackson Bridge. For those of you who don't know, Jackson Bridge marks the beginning of a one-mile public stretch of the Soque River that's is an excellent fishing location and one of the prettiest areas of the whole river. It's also an area that receives a little bit of litter resulting from the heavy foot traffic. If you haven't seen this area before, or would like to see it again, this will be a great opportunity to do a little service for the river while taking in it's natural beauty.

We'll meet at 9am, Saturday, July 7th at Old Clarkesville Mill and arrange a few carpools to save on gas.

Let us know if you plan to come. You can e-mail Kimberly at srwa@windstream.net. We might just schedule something else special for that day if conditions are right.

PS - Justin will be travelling out of the country for the first 3 weeks in May. If you have any urgent inquiries during that time please contact Kimberly Brown at srwa@windstream.net or Duncan Hughes at dhughes@northgatech.edu. Thank You!

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382

Soque Bulletin - April 9, 2012

SOQUE BULLETIN

April 9th, 2012

The 3rd Season of the SRWA's Locally Grown Market starts this week.

Featuring for the first time, mik from Mountain Fresh Creamery.

You can still order through 9pm tonight (Monday). Just click on the flier above to access the website.

1) Clarkesville Greenways PUBLIC MEETING - Announcing Greenway Expansion! - This Thursday, April 12th 

2) SRWA in the news - newpsaper stories since January

3) Two Green Way Community Garden Plots Available

1) Clarkesville Greenways PUBLIC MEETING - Announcing Greenway Expansion! - This Thursday, April 12th 

Come out and support your enthusiasm for the Clarkesville Greenways, and also get a tour of the proposed half mile expansion into Mary Street Park that should begin sometime this summer. It's been nearly three years (June of 2009) since we've had a Greenways Public Meeting and there's cause to celebrate. Last month the City of Clarkesville received word that they had been approved for a $100,000 grant from the Georgia Recreational Trails Program to extend the existing Greenway trail into the adjacent Mary Street Park.

This new trail section will greatly enhance the use and enjoyment of the Greenway and also improve Mary Street Park which just happens to be in a revisioning process this year. The city has also applied for funding to build a grassed amphitheater that would join with the Greenways. Other features of this new trail section will include: two trailheads, concrete ramps, a restrooom and access to picnic tables for individuals with disabilities. It will also feature a second bridge across Rocky Branch, and improved signage. The grant will also allow us to assess ways to improve the overall trail system so come out and give your ideas.

Part of the public meeting will be soliciting input from citizens who use the Greenway and looking at volunteer opportunities such as: improving use of the kiosk for posting community announcements, management of pet friendly features, signage explaining special features of the Greenway, how to promote the Greenway to visitors to the area, special events, maintenance of the trail and trail features such as the boardwalk and natural areas.

Come and enjoy a walk around the new trail section and discussions of how to make the Greenway even more used and loved in the City of Clarkesville. Meeting is at 6pm at the Mary Street Park picnic pavillions this Thursday, April 11th. If you're interested in us addressing a particular issue go ahead and let us know at soque@windstream.net.

Concept Map for the Mary Street Park Greenway Expansion.

The details of how the trail will be designed have changed, but this gives a general outline.

Come to the meeting on April 12th to walk the proposed trail and see for yourself.

2) SRWA in the news - newpsaper stories since January

We just added a new link to our website called SRWA NEWS that will feature newspaper and magazine articles featuring the SRWA and our related projects. Special thanks to the Northeast Georgian who does a great job of covering our many projects and events. Here's a quick list of the articles published since January (we still need to add our stormwater tour of the judicial center). Hope you enjoy this new link:

2-1-12 Georgia Power helps remove invasive privet

3-9-12 Duncan Hughes' watershed update to Clarkesville council

3-28-12 Clarkesville receives $100,000 greenway grant

4-6-12 NEGA Locally Grown resumes regular season

Also, now is a great time to join the SRWA and receive our latest SPRING / SUMMER newsletter that will be getting mailed out later this week. If you've been thinking of joining and just haven't gotten around to it yet, sign up today through our website and you'll have a full update on all our activities in your mailbox by this time next week. Just click the donate leaf. And thanks for your support.

3) Two Green Way Community Garden Plots still Available

The Green Way Community Garden just kicked off it's 3rd season and there's still room for two energetic and fired up gardeners who'd like to get engaged in growing organic fruits and vegetables. Some of the exciting new activities for this year's garden are:

·         Greenhouse completed - thanks to a generous gift from Georgia Power we were able to complete construction of a 30x16 greenhouse adjacent to the garden which will be used to extend the season into the cooler months and also for growing transplants, and to propogate rain garden and riparian plants. We hope to have a dedication at some point to show it off.

·         New Composting Bins - our garden leaders helped to assemble two pallet composting bins made from pallets that came from our rainbarrel program.

·         Blueberries will produce fruit this year - Our blueberries are entering their third season this year and they'll finally begin bearing fruit.

·         Flower and Herb gardens - We'll have two community plots where we'll be experimenting with a combination of perrenial and annual flowers and herbs to give our garden some permanent beautiful and edible patches.

·         Farm rows for sale and donations - We've added two 100 foot rows this year to plant more crops that we can both sell for income to the garden and to donate to the local soup kitchen, and other locations.

But the core purpose of the garden is to give each participant their own 10x20 foot plot to learn to grow organic vegetables from April 1st - August 30th without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We do require gardeners to keep plots well groomed and harvested every week of the season, so be certain you're able to dedicate several hours every week to your plot, and are willing to volunteer to do community projects. That's the fun of the Green Way Garden, it's a great place to build friendships and develop your own skills and projects that benefit the broader community. New ideas and individuals are highly welcome. For more information call Walter Matlock (706) 754-5290

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

Soque River Watershed Association

www.soque.org

706-754-9382