Saturday, September 23, 2023, is National Public Lands Day. As part of commemorating this day, Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites (Friends) hosts Your State Parks Day, a day when volunteers arrive at Parks throughout the state to participate in park projects and give back to the places that offer us a wonderful setting in which to enjoy nature. Friends is a Conservation Partner with GNPA and would love to have a photographer on hand at each park to record the efforts of the volunteers.
This year, Friends are launching a state-wide project to help park guests and volunteers learn about birds, bats, and bees, and the crucial role these and other pollinators provide in our day-to-day world. Projects will include trail clean up, installing bat boxes, beautifying areas around park offices and entrances, sprucing up or planting pollinator gardens, and a variety of other tasks depending on individual Park needs.
Photo Credit: Lisa Westberry
Times may vary from park to park, but most participate from 9 AM to 2 PM. No problem if you have an afternoon commitment and need to leave a bit early. At some parks drinks and lunch will be provided and work usually stops between 12 and 1 when everyone gathers to eat. Entry into the Parks will be free for anyone volunteering and all volunteers will receive a free t-shirt.
Friends is asking for GNPA photographers to take photos of the volunteers at work. Photos will be used on social media, in Friends publications and mailings, and may be archived to promote Your State Parks Day in future years. Our partners at Friends provide full photo credit to both the photographer and to GNPA whenever an image is used.
Photo Credit: Lisa Westberry
GNPA members are mostly nature photographers, not event or portrait photographers. However, Your State Parks Day is an easy event to shoot. Volunteers are glad to be there and love being photographed while they work. No special equipment is needed, just a camera. If you’re not there, someone will be taking photos with a cell phone – great for social media, but not so great for print purposes. Photographing this event is much like taking candid photos of your own family, including the group shots where someone is invariably looking in the wrong direction!
Photo Credit: Lisa Westberry
It’s a no-stress event. Interested?? Please email Lisa Westberry at cons_dnr@gnpa.org to get more information and/or sign up. She can provide more details on how to shoot the event, which park is near you, answer any questions, etc. Mark September 23 on your calendar and bring your camera to a state park for a fun morning!
Have you heard the buzz? On August 18th and 19th, citizens of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina residents will be venturing out to count all of the pollinators that we can find for the 2023 Great Southeast Pollinator Census! The census is a citizen science research project created by the University of Georgia that launched in 2019 inviting all Georgians to come together for two days to document pollinator populations. It further encourages everyone to create sustainable pollinator habitats and to learn about the many types of pollinators throughout the year. This project is designed for everyone to participate and make a difference for pollinator conservation! Watch the video to learn more about how to join the count by clicking here. The program also offers a no-cost STEM program for educators, with teaching resources available through the program website.
Buzzing with excitement, the citizens of South Carolina joined in 2022, and North Carolina citizens will be joining the Great Southeast Pollinator Census for the 2023 count, expanding the reach of the pioneering project in the Southeast!
It may sound un-bee-lievable, but did you know bees and butterflies aren’t the only pollinators out there. Learn more about all of the different types of pollinators, catch all the buzz about this year’s census and…
Join the count and share your photos!
Here’s how: Visit the official website at www.gsepc.org where you can:
Join and share your pollinator photos during the count on Georgia Pollinator Census Facebook page and on instagram @GaPollinators. “Bee” sure to follow both social media pages!
REMEMBER: Please know that the most important part of the project is YOU. YOU can make a difference! YOU promote the project, YOU count the insects, and YOU ensure that the data YOU collected is uploaded to the website. This project only works because of YOU.
One of the most amazing conservation events in our community happens every year and the GNPA is a part of it. The event is called Sweep the Hooch and it will be happening on March 25th of 2023 in a large variety of venues all along the Chattahoochee River and in other locations in the vicinity of the Chattahoochee. Last year approximately 2,300 volunteers collected 60 tons of garbage across the Chattahoochee. GNPA has supported this event for 6 years now providing volunteers who donate their time and the use of their photographs to document and promote the event. Photographers are needed to capture pictures in as many venues as possible. These images help tell the story of this wonderful event and generate community support which is vital to its success. This is a voluntary opportunity, our time is volunteer and the photos are donated for the use of publicizing this and future Sweep the Hooch events. We receive a T-shirt and the knowledge that we part of a very important volunteer effort. Please email Tom Wilson at trwbsa@bellsouth.net if you would like to volunteer as a photographer for the 2023 Sweep the Hooch event. You must be a dues paying member of GNPA to volunteer and while you do not need to be registered as one of our Conservation Photographer Team, you are certainly welcomed to join if you would like to. This can also be done by contacting Tom Wilson by the above email address.
Saturday, September 24, 2022, is National Public Lands Day. As part of commemorating this day, Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites (Friends) hosts Your State Parks Day, a day when volunteers arrive at Parks throughout the state to participate in park projects and give back to the places that offer us a wonderful setting in which to enjoy nature. Friends is a Conservation Partner with GNPA and would love to have a photographer on hand at each park to record the efforts of the volunteers.
This year, Friends will launch a state-wide project, Project Blaze a Trail, where volunteers will remap all of the trails in Georgia’s State Parks to update the trail maps. Volunteers will track the mileage, log the terrain and difficulty of each trail, and re-blaze trails to make them easier to follow. Additionally, volunteers will perform trail maintenance and collect trash along the trails.
Along with Blaze a Trail, Friends chapters at many parks will also have other projects. Volunteers will help beautify areas around park offices and entrances, restore picnic tables, plant pollinator gardens, and a perform a variety of other tasks depending on individual Park needs.
Times may vary from park to park, but most participate from 9 AM to 2 PM. No problem if you have an afternoon commitment and need to leave a bit early. At some parks drinks and lunch will be provided and work usually stops between 12 and 1 when everyone gathers to eat. Entry into the Parks will be free for anyone volunteering, and there is usually a free t-shirt involved.
Friends is asking for photographers to take photos of the volunteers at work. Photos will be used on social media, in Friends publications and mailings, and may be archived to promote Your State Parks Day in future years. Our partners at Friends provide full photo credit to both the photographer and to GNPA whenever an image is used.
GNPA members are mostly nature photographers, not event or portrait photographers. However, Your State Parks Day is an easy event to shoot. Volunteers are glad to be there and love being photographed while they work. No special equipment is needed, just a camera. If you’re not there, someone will be taking photos with a cell phone – great for social media, but not so great for print purposes. Photographing this event is much like taking candid photos of your own family, including the group shots where someone is invariably looking in the wrong direction!
It’s a no-stress event.
Interested?? Please email Jenny Burdette at cons_friends@gnpa.org to get more information and/or sign up. She can provide more details on how to shoot the event, which park is near you, answer any questions, etc. Mark September 24 on your calendar and bring your camera to a state park for a fun morning!
Nesting season of our protected and vulnerable shore birds and sea turtles is in full swing, and so are summer beach vacations. With the Independence Day holiday weekend marking the height of beach vacation time, states in the southeast along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts reminds beachgoers how to “share the shore.” Help shore-nesting birds and turtles survive while enjoying beach time in their coastal habitats during this holiday weekend and beyond. Typically from April through August, shorebirds, seabirds, and turtles rely on the sandy beaches for critical nesting habitats. Everyone headed to the beach can make a big difference in their nesting success. Be a hero for beach-nesting birds and turtles this Independence Day weekend and beyond by following these simple tips:
Stay off the dunes. Walk below the high tide lines or on the wet-sand. The dry sand and dunes above the high tide, also called the wrack line are where shorebirds and sea turtles are nesting.
Do the “flock walk” and observe from a distance. Keep at least 300 feet from nesting birds and walk around flocks of birds. Getting too close to nesting shorebirds, seabirds and wading birds can cause them to flush from their breeding sites, leaving vulnerable eggs and chicks exposed to the elements and predators. Egg temperatures can increase to lethal levels after just a few minutes of direct sun exposure. Birds and turtles lay eggs in shallow scrapes in the sand where the nests, eggs and chicks are camouflaged to blend with its surroundings. This makes makes them difficult to be seen and vulnerable of being stepped by beachgoers. Also, watch where you set up camp. Pay attention, if a bird acts aggressively towards you, it’s likely that you are too close to its nest.
Look for Critical Wildlife Area closures. Be on the lookout for signs designating nesting and critical areas on the beach or coastal islands – avoid these posted areas as they are closed to public access to protect high concentrations of wading birds, shorebirds and turtles while they nest and raise their offspring. Boaters and beachgoers can help by keeping distance and noise volumes low near these critical areas.
Keep Fido at home or on a leash. Even fun-loving, well-behaved dogs can frighten shorebirds, causing them to abandon their eggs and chicks. If you bring your dog with you to the shore, go to a beach where they’re allowed and follow all leash laws.
Properly stash the trash, fill the holes, and leave no trace. Trash and food scraps attract predators, such as raccoons and crows that prey on bird/turtle eggs and chicks. Litter on beaches and in the water can entangle birds, turtles and other wildlife. Beachgoers can help beach-nesting birds and other wildlife by properly disposing of all trash, filling in human-made holes in the sand, and removing all personal gear from the beach before sunset. Fishing line can be deadly to birds, sea turtles and other wildlife, so be sure to dispose of it properly. Search for a monofilament recycling station near you.
Leave the fireworks to the professionals. Keep personal fireworks off the beach and at home; attend an official event instead that has been properly authorized for beach areas. The loud sounds and bright lights of personal fireworks on the beaches and waterways can have catastrophic effects on nesting birds and their chicks, as well as nesting sea turtles.
Currently all seven species of our sea turtles are listed as federally threatened or endangered. Some of the cause(s) of their decline include loss of habitat, boat strikes, capture and drowning in commercial fishing nets, and many other human-caused dangers. It is believed that as a result of these detrimental threats only about one in four thousand sea turtles will survive to reproductive maturity, exact estimates vary.
Tips while visiting turtle nesting beaches:
LIGHTS OFF! Leave your bright lights at home (or carry red “turtle-friendly” lights). White lights can deter nesters and cause hatchlings to crawl the wrong way. If you’re staying the beach that is home for nesting turtles, turn off exterior lighting and draw your shades at night during turtle season (May-October).
Take your beach chairs and gear home with you – discarded gear causes unnecessary obstacles for turtles and may cause them to false crawl. Fill in sandcastles and holes, which create roadblocks for nesting mothers and hatchlings.
Never litter. Ensure all trash, including plastic bags and six-pack rings, are properly disposed of or recycled.
Slowdown in the water! Boat strikes account for a significant number of sea turtle deaths annually.
If you’re ever lucky enough to encounter a nesting sea turtle or hatchling, please watch from a safe and quiet distance and never disturb a nest. All species of sea turtles are protected by state and federal laws.
To report a dead or injured sea turtle, please call 1-800-2-SAVE-ME.
Some of our near-threatened, threatened and/or endangered feathered friends that nest on the southeastern U.S. beaches are the snowy plover, least tern, black skimmer, and American oystercatcher. The sea turtles that lay eggs in the southeast are loggerheads, leatherbacks, green turtles. All of these species and others are facing conservation challenges and need help from people to survive.
Pass the information on to your family and friends; let them know how to be a hero for our shore birds and turtles!
Resources for information about sharing the shore with beach-nesting birds and turtles:
In Georgia:
Beach-nesting bird tips and video are available at com/conservation/birds, click “Share the Beach”.
Sign up for updates on the Georgia Shorebird Alliance Facebook page.
If you see people disturbing nesting birds, respectfully tell them how their actions can affect the birds. If the people continue, contact DNR’s Law Enforcement hotline, (800) 241-4113 or rangerhotline@dnr.ga.gov.
To report any dead, sick or injured sea turtles to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Marine Resources Division at 912-280-6892. You can also call the Stranding Hotline at 1-800-2-Save-Me (1-800-272-8363).
June 20 – 26 is National Pollinator Week 2022! Sponsored by Pollinator Partnership, Pollinator Week hopes to raise awareness of pollinators and encourage action to protect them. For some ideas on how to celebrate, check out https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week Go to the Resources tab for suggestions on planting for pollinators, whether it’s a single plant or an entire pollinator garden. They also offer the opportunity to purchase a really cool t-shirt!!
In Georgia, the Great Pollinator Census through UGA is asking citizens to observe National Pollinator Week by learning more about ONE new pollinator. Maybe learn the name of a new butterfly (like the official name of that sort of light green butterfly with the big spot). Or learn about how the stinging insects that most of us have feared since an unfortunate encounter in childhood actually serve extremely useful roles as pollinators. You can download a butterfly identification guide from Georgia Wildlife by clicking https://georgiawildlife.com/sites/default/files/wrd/pdf/Georgia%20Butterflies%20Brochure.pdf The guide also contains useful information about planting to attract butterflies to your own yard.
The Great Georgia Pollinator Census (ggapc.org) will take place on August 19 and 20, 2022. A Citizen Science project created by UGA, the project generates a snapshot of pollinator populations, educates gardeners about the importance of pollinators and other beneficial insects, and generates a baseline from which to measure the growth or decline of pollinator populations. Census data is used to identify areas that need more pollinator habitat, and researchers use the data in pollination economic valuation studies.
(Image by Jenny Burdette)
Project goals include increasing pollinator habitat across Georgia, improving entomological literacy through participation, and generating useful data on pollinator populations.
Stay tuned for more info on how GNPA will offer opportunities to participate in the Great Georgia Pollinator Census on August 19th and 20th. We hope to have several small groups in a variety of locations. Please contact Jenny Burdette if you are interested in leading a small group.
Example of a few pollinators: Birds, Butterflies and Bees. Images By: Jimmy Cash
