A Conversation with MillerCoors Grant Finalist-Savannah Riverkeeper

Q&A with Savannah Riverkeeper

RN: What does your organization do?

SRK: Savannah Riverkeeper is modeled on Waterkeeper programs for the Upper Chattahoochee, the Altamaha, and the Catawba rivers; in fact, these groups form a regional network with a common purpose of preventing water pollution. Effects of pollution indeed spread far downstream, impacting a huge area and every living thing on or near the river.

The three main goals of the Savannah RIVERKEEPER® are to Restore the water quality, Protect the lakes and tributaries in and around the Savannah River basin and Educate people living in the CSRA about river ecology and environmental problems.

RN: How will your proposed project make an impact on water quality, conservation and awareness of water issues in Augusta, Georgia?

SRK: Savannah Riverkeeper is going to rehabilitate a 14-acre abandoned car parts junkyard along the banks of the Savannah River in downtown Augusta and replace the currently wasted site with an international disc golf course and a river education center. The disc golf course will be free to the public, and host international PDGA disc golf events once installed.

The entire cleanup is being done through volunteers. We have already been working on this site for 2 years, removed over 25 tons of trash, all through volunteer support and media attention. We are restoring the wetlands along the immediate riverbanks, which will filter out the historical contamination left after we are done removing all of the trash that we can.

RN: Why should people vote for your organization?

SRK: SRK believes very strongly that the best way to instill behavior change is through hands on participation fixing an area badly damaged. There is no better way to understand the importance of protecting the environment than working on a site where the environment certainly took a back seat.

We are taking a piece of land currently an eyesore and converting it into a public place for one of the coolest sports around. It is our belief that locating a disc golf course in this area will help the intercity city youth engage in outdoor recreation. Through these outdoor activities we hope to tackle the ongoing problem of nature deprivation among our youth.

Overall, this project will ensure this property will remain a public resource indefinitely; what’s not to love about that?

Upcoming Events Savannah Riverkeeper is proud to be a sponsor of the 2nd Annual Savannah River Classic fishing tournament scheduled to be held on Friday, April 30 and Saturday May 1, 2010. Details available here .

RN: Thanks again for all you are doing to protect and restore water quality in Augusta, Georgia!

View project summaries from the MillerCoors-River Network Watershed Protection Grant competition and cast your vote today!