River Rendezvous

North Georgia College & State University is hosting the second annual River Rendezvous, Saturday, October 3rd.

We had a very successful event last year, sampling over 30 sites on the Chestatee River and its adjoining tributaries. During the following month, NG students returned to three sites with abnormally high levels of bacteria in attempt to determine pollutant sources. We were able to delineate the areas of pollution; however, cooler temperatures caused all bacteria levels to plumate before we determined any specific sources.

We need volunteers to sample sites, and a few more energetic folks to help us lead teams. Team leaders need to be certified by an Adopt-A-Stream training program. NGCSU will host a training session the weekend before the Rendezvous (training session – Sept. 26th 9:00am-1:00pm). Anyone interested in leading a team should contact us (see information below) before Sept 22nd.

Sampling volunteers need only register at the River Rendezvous link on the NG Biology webpage: http://www.ngcsu.edu/academic/Sciences/Biology/index.shtml Registration will close Sept. 30th (to give us a couple of days to form teams).

On October 3rd, we will meet again at Yahoola Creek Park (near the restrooms/gardens/walking trails). Folks can begin gathering at 8:30 for refreshments and to meet team leaders, with the hope that everyone can leave for the sites by 9:00am. Most teams returned before 1:00pm last year.

Pass this information on to anyone you think may be interested in helping. We sincerely hope this community-wide effort will help us monitor one of the watersheds in our county and raise awareness about water quality and related issues.

Karrie Ann Fadroski
North Georgia College and State University
Health and Natural Science Building
Biology Department
32 Georgia Circle
Dahlonega, GA 30597
(706) 867 – 2948
kafadroski@ngcsu.edu