The Soque River Watershed Association and Upper Chattahoochee River Soil and Water Conservation District have been awarded a $5,000 environmental education grant from the University of North Georgia.
The funds, from the university's Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis, will be used to support a grant project for educating middle school students and teachers in Habersham County on stream and streambank health in the Soque Watershed.
This project is expected to reach approximately 375 students in grades 4-9 with emphasis on grade 7. The purpose of this project is to help students understand how to manage landscapes and access stream and streambank health. Both SRWA and Upper Chattahoochee River SWCD will accomplish this by teaching in the classrooms, having a teach-the-teacher field day, and allowing teachers to rent steam monitoring tools for their classrooms.
The Upper Chattahoochee River SWCD serves Habersham, White, Lumpkin, Dawson, and Forsyth counties. This is done through supporting community partners with outreach, providing educational support to K-12 students, reviewing erosion and sediment control plans, interacting with state government officials and promoting conservation efforts in partnership with local and federal governments.
SRWA serves Habersham County and the surrounding area by implementing projects to protect and improve water quality and to educate the public about the Soque River and its importance to north Georgia. The two entities are collaborating in their efforts to ensure the importance of environmental education and why streams are vital to overall environmental health in Habersham County.
For more information about the Soque River Watershed Association, visit https://www.soque.org/. For more information about the Upper Chattahoochee River SWCD, visit https://www.gacd.us/upperchattahoocheeriver.
Contact LeAnn Rutledge/Upper Chattahoochee River SWCD at (706)779-2134 or [email protected] and Becca Risser/SRWA at (706)754-9382 or [email protected] to request outreach for your school, non-profit organization, or business.
