Our programs
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Green Way Garden
With 26 plots, the Green Way Garden (formerly the Clarkesville Community Garden) is a way for residents to grow their own organic vegetables. Soon, the garden will be expanded to include a greenhouse for the propagation of rain garden plants, streamside plants and organic vegetable and fruit seedlings. The garden is also a demonstration site for rainwater capture and re-use for irrigation, and to encourage sustainable farm and food-based businesses that protect the natural environment.
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Northeast Georgia Locally Grown
Northeast Georgia Locally Grown provides an opportunity for local farmers to sell their produce to local buyers who want fresh vegetables and other locally-produced products. See the Northeast Georgia Locally Grown website for more information.
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Grow Something Green
The “Grow Something Green” Campaign will identify areas blighted by unstable soils and launch community projects to amend the soils, then plant grass and native and flowering plants to stabilize the soil, increase rainwater infiltration and beautify the community one site at a time.
Rain Garden Project
The Rain Garden Project will identify at least one residential and one small business site for Stormwater Infiltration systems or Rain Gardens. We will propagate rain garden plants from cuttings from the existing North Georgia Technical College garden to reduce costs for future rain garden projects. -
Rainwater Capture and Reuse
In partnership with Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, North Georgia Tech and Habitat for Humanity, we sell residential rain barrels to capture rainwater for use in irrigation. We hope to distribute 500 barrels this year.
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Upland Site Stabilization Project at Fairview Elementary
The 4-acre Upland Site Stabilization project at Fairview Elementary,in partnership with the Habersham County Board of Education and other Soque Partners, will demonstrate how to utilize lime, compost and grass seed to eliminate erosion and increase stormwater infiltration at eight school grounds with unstable soils.
River Awareness Program
To enhance awareness of the Soque River and its watershed, we'll install Watershed Signs in collaboration with the Habersham County Road Department at bridge crossings that name the stream beneath and the sub-basin the stream flows within. We’re currently raising $1,000 specifically for this project, as a means to increase awareness of Soque Watershed geography. This program also includes educational programs such as the annual Soque Camp which gives middle school age kids an in-depth understanding of the watershed from ecology to drinking water.-
Policy and Compliance Program
The Policy and Compliance Program will push for a continuous process of advancing local policies that protect water quality, while ensuring that existing water quality protection policies are rigorously enforced through effective compliance programs.
Protection and Restoration Program
The goal of this program is to protect existing water quality and to restore impaired water quality through “on the ground projects” that address the central causes of impairment to the Soque Watershed (bacteria, sediment and stormwater). Specifics include Water Quality Sampling to identify and prioritize strategic sites for protection and restoration activities, Cattle Exclusion Projects to reduce both bacteria and sediment pollution, Riparian Revegetation to plant woody vegetation in the 5-15 ft recommended “undisturbed riparian zone”, Natural Channel Design Streambank Restoration to teach residents about streamside management, and using Sediment Source Assessment to locate sediment hotspots in the Hazel Creek sub-basin
