The when and where of what’s happening
You’re invited! So read below to find out more about upcoming events. Check back here often so you don’t miss a great opportunity.
Where can you find Pristine Wilderness, Incredible Old-Growth Forests,
Beautiful Streams and Waterfalls?
In the Chattahoochee National Forest!!
Why is it there? …Because Georgia ForestWatch is protecting it!
Come help us celebrate our forest treasures.
And learn how you can help protect them!
Join us for the Georgia ForestWatch Annual Fall Retreat
Saturday, September 25, 2010 • Vogel State Park
Our theme this year is: PROTECTING FOREST TREASURES
2009 ForestWatch Retreat presenter Charley
Seabrook talks about birds to the group.
Photo by Ted Doll
Georgia ForestWatch will return to Vogel State Park in Blairsville for our annual Fall Retreat on September 25th. Join us for speakers, hikes, presentations, art, great food, music around the campfire, and more!
For our morning program, we are proud to present a talented group of environmental leaders, who will examine the history, current status and opportunities for building an expanded Wilderness future for Georgia.
We welcome Brent Martin of The Wilderness Society (and past executive director of ForestWatch); Sally Bethea of Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper; Will Wingate of the Georgia Conservancy; Bob Kerr, former executive director of the Georgia Conservancy who has played a pivotal role in the environmental affairs of the southeast for many years; and others to share their knowledge and experience on permanent land protection.
Executive Director Wayne Jenkins leads a hike
on the 2009 Georgia ForestWatch Retreat.
Photo by Ted Doll
We are very excited to announce the addition of Doug Scott to our retreat program! Doug is the policy director of The Campaign for America’s Wilderness and has authored The Enduring Wilderness: Protecting Our Natural Heritage through the Wilderness Act and Our Wilderness: America’s Common Ground. In the forefront of many important national wilderness preservation campaigns as a strategist and lobbyist, he will discuss the history, values, and politics of forest conservation and wilderness.
The afternoon will bring an offering of hikes and non-hike programs, with plenty of time for enjoying the scenery and socializing with new and old friends. We will enjoy great food, including a full barbecue dinner with all the fixins! Music around the campfire will round out the evening—bring your instruments and join in! An RSVP is required!
Come for Saturday or join us for the whole weekend. We have a number of campsites and cabins still available. We will host a potluck dinner on Friday and a hike on Sunday for those who are not quite ready to leave the mountains!
This year we are offering a children’s program concurrent with the morning and afternoon events. These two sessions, led by Lori Jenkins, middle school art teacher, naturalist and artist, will have our younger ForestWatchers creating primitive charcoal leaf prints, journaling books, watercolor art, sun-prints, and tie-dye bandanas! Program fee is $10 for the morning session and $15 for the afternoon, and each session is limited to 18 participants. Families with more than one child participating receive half-price discounts for each additional child.
Jim Sullivan and friends entertain the 2009
ForestWatch Retreat participants.
Photo by Ted Doll
COST: $20 per person (kids 12 and under FREE) includes all programming, light breakfast, hearty lunch, and full barbecue dinner! There is an additional $5 parking fee for the park. Arts in nature youth program and weekend camping/cabin accommodations are available at additional costs.
We look forward to seeing you in September!
We are limited to 75 persons because of the shelter size at Vogel—so don’t miss out! Sign up now and reserve a campsite or cabin! Call Lisa at 706-635-8733 or click to send an email.
ForestWatch Outings
ForestWatch Outings are so popular they fill up fast, often within 24 hours! For this reason, you will not often see outings listed here on the calendar. To find out about upcoming outings, simply sign up for ForestWatch Alerts which we send via e-mail about once per week. You can click here to see the current outing email, or click here to contact us and sign up for our emails.
