Managed by the Cities of Alpharetta, Milton, and Roswell; Keep Johns Creek Beautiful; and Fulton County

Volume 15 Issue 1• August 2015

VINEgrapeUpCoMINg EVENts

8.15.15Free Document shredding for

Johns Creek ResidentsPanera Bread

11715 Medlock Bridge road

9aM-1PM

8.19.15UgA Healthy soil-Healthy Communities Composting

WorkshopalPharetta city hall,

2 Park Plaza

6:30-8:30PM

To Register: 678.297.6200

8.29.15Free Document shredding for

sandy springs ResidentsSandy SPringS recycling center

470 Morgan FallS road

1-4PM

9.12.15Bulky trash Amnesty Day

for Roswell and Milton ResidentsroSwell PuBlic workS,1810 heMBree road

8aM-12PM

Visit keeproswellbeautiful.org for more information.

9.26.15Alpharetta’s Rivers Alive

Volunteer CleanupJoin hundreds of volunteers in a community project to keep

our waterways clean. For more information call Terry

Porter at 678.297.6200.

9.26.15Milton’s Hazardous Household

Chemicals and paint CollectioncaMBridge high School,

2845 Bethany road

Pre-registration required at 678.242.2509.

Follow us on Twitter@EverGreen_NF

The City of Milton recently hired new Sustainability Coordinator Teresa Stickels. Teresa will be the EverGreen contact for Milton schools. Here, she shares a little about herself and her passion for the environment.

Hello! My name is Teresa Stickels and I am the new Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Milton. I received my Masters in Public Administration from North Carolina State University and began my career at the Centers for Disease Control here in Atlanta, but ultimately stayed home for a number of years to raise my son and daughter. Several years ago, I became involved with Milton Grows Green, a citizen’s volunteer committee dedicated to issues of environmental sustainability.

In keeping with the rural character of Milton, I live on a mini-farm with 3 donkeys and 7 chickens (as well as 2 dogs and a cat). I rise before dawn to open the coop and find that spending time outside each day keeps me in touch with the seasonal rhythms of the Earth. There’s nothing I love more than hearing the birds’ dawn chorus at the start of the day!

I have a lifelong love of nature and enjoy sharing that love with others. Last year, after seeing my first Monarch Butterfly on my property, I installed a pollinator garden using native host and nectar plants to meet the needs of the butterflies that visit Georgia. I believe that hands-on interactions with our environment promote feelings of respect and stewardship for the Earth, and look forward to working with the Evergreen Schools Program.

Welcome, Teresa, and we look forward to working with you!

Evergreen welcomes teresa stickels

pAge 2

UpCoMINg EVENts A Bag’s Life CompetitionCalling all North Fulton schools!9.26.15

the City of Roswell’s Annual Rivers Alive! Cleanup

riverSide Park,575 riverSide road

Join over 200 other volunteers to cleanup the Chattahoochee

and surrounding areas! Registration opens August 24 at keeproswellbeautiful.org.

10.17.15Milton’s Rivers Alive Cleanup

Bailey FarMS and gardenS,255 hickory Flat road

9aM-12PM

The following workshops will all be held at the Alpharetta Public Works Department at 1790 Hembree Road. Call

678.297.6200 to register.

8.15.15Rain Barrel Workshop

10-11aM

Cost: $35. Space is limited; pre-pay by August 12th.

8.26.15Fall Vegetable gardening

Workshop7-8:30PM

9.2.15Honey, I shrunk the Lawn!

7-8PM

Have the yard of your dreams with less maintenance,

watering, chemicals, & cost.

9.9.15Lawn Care for Fall & Winter

Workshop7-8:30PM

9.16.15planting for Wildlife - pollinators and More

7-8:30PM

9.19.15Composting Workshop

9-10:30aM

Congratulations 2014-2015 evergreen Schools!

GREEN StatusOcee Elementary School

SILVER StatusWilson Creek Elementary School

GOLD StatusMountain Park Elementary School

Northview High School Environmental ClubState Bridge Crossing Elementary Eco-Ambassadors

Please join us in a special contest that teaches North Fulton elementary school students about recycling plastic bags and also awards prizes.

Plastic bag recycling is not included in our residential curbside program, so many are discarded as trash and end up in a landfill. To teach the public about plastic bag and plastic film recycling, A Bag’s Life and 10 other environmental partners are bringing a recycling contest to North Fulton elementary schools.

From September 10 to November 12, schools will collect plastic bags and film.Trex, a company that manufactures materials out of recycled plastic bags, will donate a collection box and poster to each participating school. The elementary school collecting the most bags per student will be announced as the overall winner and receive a Trex park bench, made from 1,500 recycled plastic bags! Schools that reach a benchmark for bag collection will receive prizes, too.

If you would like to compete against the other North Fulton Elementary Schools, please fill out the form on page 6 and send it to info@abagslife.com.

pAgE 3

opportunities for Educators and students

2016 Calendar Art Contest

Fulton County K-12 students are invited to submit their original artwork showing how they save water or keep pollution out of our rivers, lakes and streams. From the submitted drawings 13 pieces will be featured in Fulton County’s 2016 Water Art Calendar. The deadline is Friday, October 9, 2015.

One grand prize cover winner and 12 monthly winners will be selected from among submissions. Each winner will receive a prize and 5 copies of the calendar. The teacher of the cover winner and the teacher of the class submitting the most artwork will also receive a prize and a copy of the calendar.

Artwork must comply with several guidelines:• Drawings must show ways in which we use, conserve, waste or misuse water.• Drawings must be original and created by students. No computerized art.• Drawings must be “landscape” orientation on 81/2 x 11 white paper.• Artists should fill the entire page with a bright and colorful drawing.• Drawings must include a title.• Artists should write their name, grade, and school on the back of the drawing.• Artists should use a paperclip to attach the student entry form to the drawing.• All artwork remains the property of Fulton County Water Resources.• Winners will be notified by phone or email.

Student artists may submit their work to: Fulton County Water Resources Division, Attention: Gwen Brinkley, 141 Pryor Street, SW., Suite 6001, Atlanta, GA 30303. For a copy of the entry form or for more information, call 404-612-6379 or email gwen.brinkley@fultoncountyga.gov.

Metro Water District Essay Contest

The Water Essay Contest is one of many initiatives conducted by the Metro Water District to raise awareness for conservation efforts and the preservation of water quality in metro Atlanta. Over the years, the contest has engaged thousands of middle school students and challenged them to think critically about water and our region’s water resources.

2015 marks the 14th year of the Metro Water District Essay Contest. Sixth, seventh and eighth graders in Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale counties are invited to participate in the contest. North Fulton students have submitted winning entries in the past!

This Year’s Topic:Students should write a 300-500 word essay that addresses the following: Why is stormwater pollution a problem and what can you do to prevent it? Visit the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District webpage for more information. The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2015.

Outdoor Learning Symposium for Teachers!

Join the Council of Outdoor Learning (a committee of the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia) on Friday, November 13, 2015 for a fun-filled day of hands-on learning! The Symposium will take place at Fortson 4-H Center in Hampton, Georgia.

The 2015 theme is Lucky STEM! Session themes include: Taking STEM Outdoors, Techniques & Strategies for Outdoor Learning, and Creating Sustainable Outdoor Learning Areas. For more information including schedule, session descriptions, or to register, visit the Outdoor Learning Symposium webpage. The Symposium is $35 for EEA members and $60 for non-members (and includes a 1-year membership)!

pAge 4

The CounCil of ouTdoor learning presents

at the 2015 ouTdoor learning SympoSiumFriday, November 13 • Fortson 4-H Center, Hampton

S T e mLucky

regiSTer Today!$35 Members

$60 New Members

w w w . e e a l l i a n c e . o r g

Three TraCkS:

Taking STEM Outdoors

Techniques & Strategies for Outdoor Learning

Creating Sustainable Outdoor Learning Areas

gardening Workshops

Are your students gardening as part of their outdoor classroom activities? Three workshops are being offered that you might enjoy attending (students are welcome). Classes on composting, fall vegetable gardening, and planting for wildlife will be in August and September. Check the event listings in this newsletter for info on how to register.

EverGreen Schools accomplish an amazing array of projects and you get points towards your EverGreen Awards for implementing them. If you need additional resources to accomplish your projects now is the time to begin looking. Grant opportunites can be found on Georgia’s environmental education clearinghouse website, EE in Georgia.

Here are some examples of grants for schools that are currently accepting applications:

Captain Planet Foundation Grant - up to $2,500PLT Greenworks! Grant - up to $1,000 Home Depot Community Grant - up to $5,000Target Field Trip Grant - $700Toshiba K-5 Math & Science Grants - $1,000Monarch Watch - FREE milkweed seedlings!

grants Available!

pAgE 5

support the Monarch Health program and

Motivate Scientific Discovery!

MonarchHealth is a citizen science project based at the University of Georgia. Volunteers of all ages across North America sample wild monarch butterflies to help track the spread of a protozoan parasite called OE. The sampling consists of pressing clear tape on the abdomen of the butterfly and does not hurt them. The samples are then sent to UGA to be examined. Children are especially adept at this technique because they have small fingers!

This program is especially important in light of the recent monarch population decline. Monarchs are now being considered for federal protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Over 400 citizen scientists have contributed data since the project began nine years ago. Federal funding for this project ended in 2013, so MonarchHealth is embarking on a crowdfunding project that will allow them to continue distributing sampling kits free of charge, processing, analyzing, and sharing results, and developing education and outreach materials.

Please visit MonarchHealth’s crowdfunding page. Or, visit their webpage for more information and to find out how you and your students can participate!

Journey North:track the Monarch Migration!

Monarch butterflies embark on one of the most amazing migrations in the animal kingdom. These insects travel each fall nearly 5000 miles, from the east coast of North America to the mountains of central Mexico. Amazingly, it’s only every fourth generation that undertakes the migration and spends the winter roosting in oyamel fir trees before returning north again.

A great way to involve students in this phenomenon is to participate in Journey North. Volunteers are asked to report monarch sightings online each fall in order to accurately track the annual migration. If you have a pollinator garden on your school campus, this would be a wonderful way to get your students involved in citizen science! Check out Journey North’s website for more information.

To bring a social studies component into your study, students can create paper butterflies as a part of the Symbolic Migration. They are then sent to school children who live near the monarchs’ winter sanctuaries in Mexico, who keep them through the winter and return them in the spring. Through the Symbolic Migration, children are united by the monarch butterfly and celebrate its spectacular migration. They learn authentic lessons of conservation and international cooperation. The deadline for Symbolic Migration submissions is October 9, 2015.

the Million pollinator garden ChallengeThe Million Pollinator Garden Challenge (MPGC) is a nationwide call to action to preserve and create gardens and landscapes that help revive the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators across America. We will move millions of individuals, kids and families outdoors and make a connection between pollinators and the healthy food people eat.

Will you BEE One in a Million? Register your garden through the Pollinator Partnership and be added to the map in support of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge.

pAge 6

pAge 6

Return completed form to info@abagslife.com

ABagsLife.com

School Name:

Contact Name:

Email Address:

Street Address:

City, State and Zip:

# of Students Attending School:

North Fulton Schools Plastic Bag ChallengeSeptember 10, 2015 to November 12, 2015

The Georgia Recycling Coalition • Fulton County • Keep Johns Creek Beautiful • Keep Roswell Beautiful • Sandy Springs Recycling CenterCity of Alpharetta • A Bag’s Life • Trex Company • North Fulton Evergreen Schools • Keep North Fulton Beautiful

RECYCLINGCHALLENGE

DON’T TREAT ME LIKE TRASH!

School Registration Form

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