About Tracy Begley

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UnityGardenChris

The Unity Garden continues to provide fresh produce for local food bank

Unity Garden staff work hard to maintain garden without volunteer support

By Tracy Begley, Website and Marketing Specialist, and Julie Hollingsworth-Hogg, Horticulture Manager

As CNC begins the process of reopening to the public, we are happy to have visitors back on the property. There were too many quiet days, and we have enjoyed hearing kids laughing and enjoying the grounds the past week. The ticketing and reservation system, plus operational changes, will allow us to provide an outdoor, natural area for our guests to enjoy and also feel like we are taking their health and safety into consideration.

During our closure we still had many things happening around the property. The Operations Department worked hard on improvement projects, such as replacing decking and painting all of the metal railings. The Wildlife Department is providing care for the 100 resident animals that you see on exhibit, and those used for educational purposes. The Horticulture Department is still maintaining the native gardens and greenhouses, and the Unity Garden continues to provide fresh produce to the North Fulton Community Charities on a weekly basis.

Operations at the CNC has 3 departments – Maintenance, Horticulture, and Wildlife, and all 3 departments rely upon weekly volunteers to help with various tasks that support our mission at the nature center. 

The Unity Garden has a group of dedicated volunteers that show up each week to help plant, weed, and harvest the 1/4 acre garden. In 2019 the horticulture department, which includes the Unity Garden, had 504 volunteers that provided 4,300 hours. The support of volunteers has been missed greatly. The largest obstacle over the last few months in the Unity Garden has been harvesting. It takes a considerable amount of time for Unity Garden Horticulturist, Christopher Horacek, to harvest alone each week, even with other horticulture staff helping him out.

I talked with Julie Hollingsworth-Hogg, Horticulture Manager, to find out what is currently happening in the Unity Garden.

What is being harvested right now?

The month of May will finish out the cool season crops. Lettuce, greens, carrots, and turnips will finish their growing and harvesting this month.

What is currently in the garden?

At this moment we still have lettuce, greens, carrots, turnips, radishes, and sugar snap peas, but the summer crops are going in. Tomatoes, peppers, carrots, green beans, eggplants, squash, and cucumbers have all been planted or will be going in soon.

How much has been harvested and donated to North Fulton Community Charities in 2020?

We have donated just over 1.5 tons of produce to North Fulton Community Charities to support their food bank for 2020. Last year we donated just over 4 tons. As you can imagine summer will produce larger harvests and donations, which is why it is so important right now to continue preparing the Unity Garden for summer crops even without the help of volunteers.

Just this last week Christopher took over 338 pounds of produce that included 5 varieties of lettuce, mustard greens, turnips, broccoli, and kale. North Fulton Community Charities is serving over 100 families right now. They supply food and personal needs and the families are very appreciative of the fresh produce, and the garden staff has planted specific crops to meet there preferences throughout the seasons.

Until we have volunteers return to the CNC the Horticulture Department and Unity Garden, staff will continue to take care of the garden and make sure that as the needs of families remain in Fulton County the Unity Garden at the Chattahoochee Nature Center will be there to provide fresh produce.

Want to learn more about the partnership between the Chattahoochee Nature Center and North Fulton Community Charities please visit the following:

CNC donates 340 lbs. to local food bank -April 15, 2020

CNC donates fresh produce to the NFCC food pantry – video

Young boy playing in Autumn leaves

Partnering to Support the Communities of Atlanta to Thrive Outside

Download free app for scavenger hunt fun

By Kim Hakimian, Partnership Coordinator
May 22, 2020

For more than a year, the Chattahoochee Nature Center, The Trust for Public Land, Atlanta Audubon, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, Trees Atlanta, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and Greening Youth Foundation have been working together to get kids outdoors through The Outdoor Foundation’s Thrive Outside Community initiative.

The Thrive Outside initiative is a multi-year grant awarded to diverse communities in order to create or strengthen partnerships between existing local organizations such as schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, and nonprofit conservation and outdoor organizations that create repeat and reinforcing positive outdoor experiences for kids and families. The core goal of the Thrive Outside Community investments is to create healthy individuals, communities, and economies by making the outdoors a habit.

When COVID-19 forced the Thrive ATL partners at the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs to temporarily close their doors, we moved our programs on-line so that we could still reach their children. We are now making the programming available to everyone! We use the GooseChase App, available at the Mobile App Store, to share different challenges for young people to pursue. Every week, members of our network come up with dozens of engaging and educational challenges that get kids outside and into nature. Get GooseChase, access the Thrive Outside Atlanta channel, and let the games begin. It’s a fun, free way to get children from Atlanta and beyond to Thrive Outside.

How to join
1. Download the GooseChase iOS or Android app.
2. Choose to play as a guest, or register for a personal account with a username & password of your choice.
3. Search for and select the Thrive Create Challenge game, or search for game code VJ75P7.
4. Follow the prompts to select or create your player profile.

Complete Missions
To complete a mission, select it from the list and follow the instructions to receive the allotted points. Sometimes you’ll be submitting a photo or video, while other times you’ll be checking-in at a specific location or solving a puzzle or riddle. Missions change from game to game, but the fun and excitement will always be there.

Remember that while you receive the points right away, all submissions are subject to review by the organizer. Sometimes you’ll even get bonus points if your submission is extra impressive!

Achieve Glory
When time runs out, the game may be done, but the fun is definitely not over. That’s because Thrive ATL will still need to announce the final scores after they review the submissions.

As a final treat, Thrive ATL will often put together a slideshow of the best photos & videos. From our experience, this is often the best part and always results in non-stop laughter!

To learn more about Goosechase
https://www.goosechase.com/how-it-works/playing/

To learn more about Thrive ATL
https://outdoorindustry.org/participation/thrive-outside/thrive-outside-atlanta/

IMG_8402_color 1

Georgians aid local nonprofits in time of need

#GivingTuesdayNow sees major donations

May 8, 2020 – NorthFulton.com, Appen Media Group
By Julia Grochowski 

GEORGIA — The COVID-19 pandemic essentially severed many area nonprofits from their main sources of financial donations and volunteer’s support.

“The pandemic has been hard on the Chattahoochee Nature Center as two-thirds of our income is from earned revenue (ticket sales, program fees, rentals),” said Nature Center Senior Director of Development and Marketing DeAnn Fordham. “Closing to the public on March 17 devastated our operations.”

Click to view entire article

Urban Kings

Kings of the Urban Jungle

The transition from backwoods to backyards

The Eastern Kingsnake can often be distinguished by their black scales patterned with white or yellow chain-like bands

By Samantha Kennett, Urban Kings Research Assistant and Previous CNC Wildlife Technician

 

When it comes to snakes, the National Wildlife Federation estimates at least 20% of the Georgia population carries a fear of snakes in some degree. If there is one snake species that people show a softer spot for, it is the harmless Eastern Kingsnake. Eastern Kingsnakes are Georgia native non-venomous snakes. Like many other snake species, Kingsnakes play a key role in managing rodent populations as your own natural form of pest control. But what Kingsnakes are really known for, and the reason they are called the “king,” is their ability and proclivity to prey on venomous snakes like rattlesnakes and copperheads. Though anything with a mouth can bite, Kingsnakes are general docile snakes not known to bite often.

Despite living in a wide range of areas across the Eastern United States, the Eastern Kingsnake has been going through a noticeable decline in population within the Florida and South Georgia areas of their range. According to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, one of the largest populations along their Savannah River site has almost entirely disappeared over the span of 20 years. However, this is not the case in the Metro-Atlanta area where Kingsnakes are spotted frequently and seem to be doing relatively well. It’s exciting to think that these snakes seem to have some survivability in urban environments, but what do these snakes need to survive? How much space do they need? What habitats within an urban setting are they utilizing? What might be limiting their survival? In future urban planning and development, how can we better coexist with wildlife and create livable habitats where they will not only survive, but thrive? These are just a few of the questions the Urban Kings Project is trying to answer.

 

In 2019, the Urban Kings Project, a citizen science endeavor, began working to understand just how these urban Kingsnakes seem to do so well in developed and developing urban landscapes. This research is focused on understanding how different levels of urban development are influencing Eastern Kingsnake movements, habitat use, health, and overall survival. Part of the goal is to create an evidence-based strategy to help future urban developers and planners create effective green space where wildlife can remain in areas with lots of people. To better understand how populations are changing over time, the researchers are creating a population distribution database filled with Kingsnake sightings reported by citizen scientists.

Being a citizen science project, there is a lot of community involvement. Though this project focuses on the survival and study of these incredible snakes, education and public outreach is another goal. Whether it’s working public community outreach programs or responding to Kingsnake house calls, the people behind this project work diligently to help community members understand the importance of Kingsnakes in their neighborhood. These outreach opportunities are pursued to encourage people to participate in reporting sightings, but also in hopes to alleviate some of those snake fears.

This project would not be possible without the continued support of community citizen scientists, and YOU can be one of them! To participate, please keep an eye out for your neighborhood Kingsnakes. If you see one:

  1. Please call the Urban Kings Project immediately (Bryan Hudson 404-556-1863 or Samantha Kennett 678-315-2020). They need to examine the snakes to collect certain data, such as sex, weight, length, health screens, and to obtain a non-invasive DNA sample (clip a few belly scales, essentially the same thing as cutting your fingernails).
  2. Keep an eye on the snake if possible until you have reached them on the phone.
  3. Try to take a quick picture on your phone without disturbing the snake (trying to keep them from escaping before someone can respond).
  4. And if you find a dead Kingsnake (road kill, cat/ dog kill, etc.) PLEASE collect the specimen by placing it in a few plastic bags. They can still gather lots of important data from these animals, so they do not go to waste! If you can’t collect the dead snake, please call the project immediately and they will try to get out to collect it before it disappears.

 

If you’re lucky enough to have a larger neighborhood Kingsnake, your snake might be a part of the movement aspect of the study. If the Kingsnake is a large enough individual, the partner team of veterinarians at the UGA veterinary school will implant a tiny radio transmitter just under the skin. This is a quick and easy procedure. The Kingsnake will then be released in the exact spot that it was found. This allows the researchers to follow the animal, which tells them what helps them survive in urban environments. This is the fun part, and the part that you can come out and observe.

We live in a time where it seems a new neighborhood is developing on every corner. As urban landscapes continue to expand, our choices in how to create them are more important than ever in how these actions will impact the world around us. Projects like this one help us take a step in the right direction for choices that support human-wildlife coexistence. For more information regarding the Urban Kings project or to report your Kingsnake sightings, please check out the project page here.

 

Jenna bats

Bats in your backyard

It’s the perfect time of year to gather together on the back deck and watch for…bats! Often portrayed by media as blood-sucking and disease ridden pests, sometimes bats don’t always have the best reputation. What most people don’t realize though, is that bats are a great asset to any backyard. But why?

There are sixteen species of bats found in Georgia. All of these bats eat insects, including mosquitoes, stinkbugs, even moths and beetles that destroy your plants. Bats consume thousands of insects each night – pregnant and nursing females can eat their entire body weight. Can your tiki torch keep up with those numbers? Not only is this great news for us, but for farmers, too. Bats save upwards of one billion dollars each year for the agricultural industry in the United States. That means the more insects that bats eat, the less pesticides farmers need to use on crops!

Now that everyone is on board with the idea of bats in their backyard – how do you get them there? For starters, there are several species of bats that will roost together in tight spaces. For these bats, you can install a bat house in your backyard. For best results, make sure the bat house receives 6-8 hours of direct sunlight each day, is installed 15-20 feet high, and is placed on a pole or the side of a building. Live trees are not the best location for bat houses as they typically receive less sunlight and make sleeping bats more vulnerable to predators. Additionally, you can garden for bats. Their favorite meals include moths and beetles; by planting flowers that bloom at night, you’ll help attract these larger insects and provide a nutritious meal for your backyard bats.

What about the guano (poop) or rabies bats may bring? Luckily for you, guano is a great fertilizer. Place a flower pot beneath your bat house and watch those flowers bloom! Talk about a mutualistic relationship. As far as rabies and bats go, you can rest assured that a very small percentage of bats have tested positive for rabies. That being said, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Don’t pick up a bat you see on the ground.

Bats face many threats every day, like White-Nosed Syndrome, pesticides, wind-mills, and habitat loss. You can help bats by limiting the use of pesticides and fertilizers in your yard, installing bat houses, and spreading the good word about bats to help combat fearful myths about them.

For more information on bats, join the Chattahoochee Nature Center on a Night Hike or visit a reliable website such as Bat Conservation International to learn more. Stay batty!