GA Sierra Club: Annual Chapter Gathering

2007 Georgia Chapter Annual Gathering

November 09 - November 11: Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island, GA

Enjoy the beauty of St. Simons Island -- there's whale and bird watching, bike rides, tennis and basketball, hiking, fishing, and more!

There will be lots of activities; most are family-friendly (no child care will be provided). Some activities require a minimum number of participants, so sign up today!

This year's focus is to explore and enjoy the environment, which we are striving to protect, and to share our knowledge of effective strategies to combat global warming.

A Very Special Trip to Epworth By The Sea . . .

The 2007 Annual Gathering was held at Epworth By The Sea on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

A big thanks to everyone who helped make it a huge success!

Details

Highlights

Sponsors

Contact Us

About Us: The Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club is a widely recognized and respected organization whose engaged and diverse members work actively to build relationships, influence leaders and lead our citizens to protect our environment and to create a safer, more livable community throughout the state of Georgia.

We gather annually to celebrate our successes, spend social time together, and enjoy the natural environment.

Please join us at our next retreat in 2008!

Retreat Details

Retreat Details: We stayed at Epworth By The Sea (http://www.epworthbythesea.org), on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Epworth By The Sea is located on the banks of the Frederica River overlooking the famous Marshes of Glynn.

We had a fantastic retreat at St. Simons Island with one of the largest turnouts ever. Dozens enjoyed the bonfires, films, birding, biking and kayaking trips and the shrimp boat tour. People enjoyed workshops and kite flying and the beautiful coastal marshland with beautiful weather.

One of the main highlights was our keynote speaker, Greg Haegele, who spoke about global warming from the national perspective.

Photos: Click here to see retreat photos by Jim Darby.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to everyone who came, and especially the Retreat Committee: Herb Bastin, Dan Friedman, Terry Jones, Susan Ainsley, and Bettye Harris for many volunteer hours making it happen. Thanks also to the Fundraising Committee for the auction items, especially Teresa Groshans and Sandy Stewart. Over $1000 was raised. Finally, a special thanks to our retreat sponsors.

Highlights



	Keynote Speaker: Greg Haegele Our guest speaker was Greg Haegele, the Sierra Club's National Director of Conservation. Greg's career includes directing a number of progressive activist organizations and serving as campaign or field manager for several gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and other campaigns. Greg holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Emory University and a D.A. in philosophy from Whitman College.


	Shrimp Boat Tour and Presentation Shrimp Boat Tour - Capt Larry Credle (pronounced Cradle) The only United States Coast Guard certified 49 passenger steel shrimp vessel. Using try nets, the crew dragged for a short period of time to minimize damage to sea life. When the net was pulled out of the water you could see many kinds of sea creatures; the shrimp, as they are caught, were boiled on the boat and given to the passengers to eat and the other creatures tossed back to sea. This is a research vessel and keeps records for the State of Georgia on what is caught and at what time. It has an enclosed propeller so sea creatures will not be damaged. On this trip, we learned about this DNR Research project, the ecology of the shrimp industry, and issues related to trawling.


	Dolphin Tour A 90-minute tour of inland waters. An opportunity to see dolphins in the sound and views of the Golden Isles.


	Kayaking We learned the basic skills of kayaking while exploring the scenic Marshes of Glynn. Launching from a private dock, this trip was an easy and informative way to discover why kayaking is one of the fastest growing sports today.


	Shore Birds Walk 1:30 to 5:00 Bird Watching Outing with Bob Springfield. Lydia Thompson, Executive Director of Georgia's Colonial Coast Birding and Nature Festival, led us on a two-mile marsh and beach walk along the St. Simons East Beach area. Lydia helped us spot and identify Georgia's shore birds. She also told us how changes in the environment affect these birds. Check out Lydia's blog at http://www.coastalgeorgiabirding-lydia.blogspot.com/


	Complete Schedule and Workshop Descriptions See all workshop descriptions (.doc \| .html) as well as the full retreat schedule (.doc \| .html).

Our Sponsors



	Retreat Sponsors: The Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club would like to say Thank You to the following companies that graciously donated items in support of the 2007 Chapter Retreat: Barry's Beach Service Benjy's Bike Shop Chattahoochee Outfitters Escalade Gym Monkey Wrench Bicycles Patagonia Rainbow Natural Foods REI Atlanta Southeast Adventure Outfitters Wall Crawler Whole Foods

For more information, please contact Genie Strickland by phone at (404)-607-1262 x-221 or by email at genie.strickland@sierraclub.org

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