Georgia Water Coalition releases annual Clean 13 report

The Georgia Water Coalition disclosed its Clean document for on Nov The statement highlights individuals businesses non-profit organizations and governmental agencies whose efforts have led to cleaner rivers stronger communities and a more sustainable future for Georgians according to a press release From sustaining flows for farmers and mussels in the Flint River to stemming plastic garbage from urban streams the entities highlighted in this record are advancing innovative solutions to address specific of Georgia s largest part pressing conservation challenges Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman executive director with the Rome-based Coosa River Basin Initiative announced in a comment People all across Georgia are doing their part Our hope is that by telling their stories we can inspire others to follow their lead The work highlighted in the summary includes Paddle The next morning Fulton County Paddle The following morning a non-profit based in Alpharetta introduces youth to hiking and kayaking experiences in local and state parks operating on the philosophy that in order for future generations to take action to protect nature they must first know appreciate and understand it The all-volunteer group introduced specific children to Georgia s natural world in Park Creek Elementary School Whitfield County When federally-protected fish were discovered in creeks on Park Creek Elementary School s -acre campus in Dalton educators in conjunction with multiple partners embarked on an effort to use the rare fish not only to teach children about wildlife habitat but to restore portions of the campus to better protect the charismatically colorful fish known as the tri-spot darter Students have transformed lawns into blooming meadows removed litter from area creeks and propagated native plant seeds Nearby Mill Creek is thus healthier for their efforts Baggett Elementary School Gwinnett County The outdoor classroom at this Lawrenceville elementary school has transformed learning The students there raise trout chickens rabbits herbs and vegetables and review the workings of an on-site solar array to understand science device engineering arts and math The goal is to create the next generation of trouble solvers Partnership for Innovation Fulton County At the college level the Partnership for Innovation housed at Georgia Tech connects summer interns and university-level researchers with non-profit organizations working to protect Georgia s water The scheme creates more robust water protection programs in local communities and introduces students to careers in water pool and advocacy fields In the initiative placed interns representing colleges at organizations across the Southeast Lake Burton Civic Association Rabun County At one of North Georgia s greater part iconic reservoirs the Lake Burton Civic Association maintains an ongoing water quality and bacteria monitoring activity to track and identify toxicity on their beloved Rabun County reservoir The work has propelled them into advocacy fighting developments that might harm the lake and implementing educational efforts to encourage lake-front property owners to manage their land with lake strength in mind Upson County Environmental and Governmental Transparency Upson County In an example of citizens stepping up to fight for their society residents of Upson County have coalesced around a battle to stop a proposed plastics recycling facility near Thomaston Opponents argue that the controversial process to be employed at the plant does more harm than good in the effort to reduce plastics garbage Led by a former Upson County commissioner the Upson Environmental and Governmental Transparency group aims to stop the plastics plant and amendment how local bureaucrats broker deals with prospective industrial developments Don t Spray McIntosh County McIntosh County On the Georgia coast citizens of McIntosh County triumphed in ending the practice of spraying herbicides to manage vegetation along the county s road right of options Working with the county commission advocates with Don t Spray McIntosh County developed a right of way management plan that protects the county s countless streams and wetlands and has resulted in a blossoming of roadsides with wildflowers and teeming with pivotal bee and butterfly pollinators City Serve Augusta Augusta-Richmond County In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene contributors with City Serve Augusta became heroes by assisting dozens of families in Augusta-Richmond County with hurricane cleanup efforts The work was a continuation of more than a decade of function projects that have benefitted the society and the Savannah River which flows through the heart of Georgia s second largest city Georgia Flow Incentive Trust In Southwest Georgia where the farming group relies on irrigation from surface and groundwater and where water scarcity has threatened both farms and federally-protected aquatic species the Georgia Flow Incentive Trust is finding solutions Advances in water conservation rise of new water sources and extensive research into the area s water guidance is leaving more water in area creeks and rivers for both farmers and protected mussel species University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant Chatham County On the Georgia coast the University of Georgia Shellfish Research Lab on Skidaway Island is bringing oysters back Thanks to the work of the lab natural oyster beds along Georgia s marshes are being restored while commercial oyster farming operations are thriving More of the mollusks means cleaner water in estuaries and more delicious seafood Arcadis Cobb County Arcadis a multinational environmental engineering firm with offices in Atlanta partnered with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper to develop a computer model that could be used to identify the best locations to place trash traps These devices typically placed in small urban streams collect floating trash and prevent plastic and other litter from reaching rivers and oceans The model is now being used in multiple locations across the country to strategically place trash traps REI Co-op DeKalb Cobb Fulton Athens-Clarke counties A major athlete in the outdoor recreation retail scene in Georgia since REI Co-op supports local non-profits with grants product donations and a product loaner effort that helps get first-time campers in the woods Since REI has provided more than to Georgia groups working to promote diversity among outdoor recreation participants and protect the state s natural tools Okefenokee Protectors Charlton Clinch Ware counties Eventually this year s statement recognizes Okefenokee Protectors who scored one of the state s biggest environmental advocacy triumphs in latest years In June the Conservation Fund brokered a deal with Twin Pines Minerals to purchase the company s landholdings adjacent to the Okefenokee Swamp thus ending a seven-year battle to protect the swamp from a dangerous heavy minerals sands mine The million deal was funded by philanthropists but the collective efforts of dozens of advocacy groups key legislators and thought leaders and hundreds of thousands of citizens made the deal a possibility The Georgia Water Coalition publishes this list not only to recognize these positive efforts on behalf of Georgia s water but also to call on state leaders and citizens to review these success stories borrow from them and emulate them the press release disclosed The Georgia Water Coalition is a consortium of more than conservation and environmental organizations hunting and fishing groups businesses and faith-based organizations that have been working to protect Georgia s water since Collectively these organizations represent thousands of Georgians The full record can be viewed online at https www gawater org clean- -reports The post Georgia Water Coalition releases annual Clean document appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta