South Fork Conservancy 2018 Creek Rising

Last night, I was fortunate enough to attend the South Fork Conservancy’s 2018 Creek Rising event with my dad at Zonolite Park. This is an annual event held to thank the sponsors and to show the future plans for the trails/parks along the creek. My dad helped design the amazing pedestrian bridge and outlooks that will be constructed over the creek and riparian zone. It was awesome to see how many people support such an amazing cause: getting people back down to the local stream through parks and trails.

“…the creek itself is currently mostly inaccessible to those who live or work along its banks and practically invisible to the seven million people in the Atlanta metropolitan region. Suppressed by pavement, overburdened by record volumes of stormwater forced into culverts, polluted and ravaged by invading exotic plants like kudzu, the steep banks of the South Fork, its sandy beaches and stately canopy are hiding in plain sight. To repair the damage inflicted slowly over the last 150 years and to return this historic waterway to its rightful place as a respected asset of the region’s natural resources, an inspired group of engaged neighbors began working for its restoration, conservation and protection. They formed the South Fork Conservancy.” (southforkconservancy.org)

The South Fork Conservancy is a non profit organization that is focused on restoring both the north and south fork of Peachtree Creek. Peachtree Creek has been flowing through the heart of Atlanta, long before Atlanta existed. The south fork of the creek used to be home to the Muscogee Indians and it was the creek that helped them thrive, trade, and explore.

Not only does the creek have a rich history, it’s also teaming with wildlife native to Georgia. Yesterday at the event, they announced that now 90 species of birds have been recorded along the trail. I was really hoping the rain wouldn’t have washed out the creek too much because I was going to volunteer to help the Georgia Aquarium seine for some native fishes, but unfortunately it poured all day prior to the event. The Aquarium did have a board of some of the local fish species found in the creek and my favorite, the Alabama Hogsucker, made the list. In addition to the Alabama Hogsucker, there was also a Bluegill and Longjaw minnow. I’ve been fortunate to work with all of those species during my previous seasonal position at the GA DNR and it just made me more excited to start back up again this May.

Overall, the event was fantastic and I had a blast meeting everybody! I’m so excited to see this shift back to nature and especially back to the creeks here in Atlanta. If you are interested in learning more about the South Fork Conservancy, here is their website http://southforkconservancy.org. They are always looking for more volunteers (which I will hopefully be doing in my near future) so reach out to them and help restore Peachtree Creek!