SNCA’s Nacoochee Valley Nature Preserve volunteers had a busy summer, and we will continue our fundraising efforts during the next few weeks of fall.  All of our woodcraft is entirely volunteer work, from providing the materials to designing, constructing, and putting on the finishing touches. We hope to see you at one or more of our upcoming events:

October 29th
During Simply Breakfast, we will have several woodcraft items available that can be purchased or ordered for the holidays. The items will include our popular goose planter, a turkey planter, and other holiday-themed woodcraft.

November 1st
During Seniors at the Center, we will again have our woodcraft items available.

December 6th
During the December Seniors at the Center, we will have bownies and other baked items to take home for after dinner coffee or tea and dessert.

Additionally, we are most fortunate to be able to offer two hands-on workshops at the Nature Preserve, one conducted by a professional photographer and the other by a professional artist. Both of these award-winning professionals generously volunteered to conduct the workshops entirely for the benefit of the preserve.  To register for either workshop (or both), please call the SNCA front desk at 706-878-3300. To assure a great learning experience, each workshop is limited to 10 participants.

November 5th
A Walk around the Nature Preserve: Photographically with Jeff Gulle. Bring your camera and walk with Jeff while he discusses composition, basic photographic principles and, for serious photographers, High Dynamic Range Photography.

Time: 10 am- Noon. Meet at SNCA’s old firehouse parking area at 9:30 am to carpool to the preserve.

Cost: $25. 00. Each participant will receive a bag of goodies.
Jeff’s work and that of his students is on display in the Visual Technology building at North Georgia Technical College, where he is an instructor. Most recently, all five of the photos he submitted were selected for the “A Hundred Beautiful Things” exhibit in October in Atlanta. One of these, Garden of the Gods, was featured in the White County News, Oct. 6, 2011.

November 12th
Nature Journaling at the Nature Preserve with Linda Lindeborg. Explore the preserve with a team of Georgia Master Naturalists, including Linda, and find a bit of nature to bring back to SNCA’s art studio for a lesson in the traditional botanical illustration technique of pencil and watercolor. Learn how to make your own nature journal and experience hands-on drawing and painting methods to create detailed, beautiful illustrations.

Time: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. Meet at SNCA’s old firehouse parking area at 10:00 to carpool to the preserve.
Return to SNCA for a lunch break from 11:30 – noon (bring a sack lunch if you wish),
followed by the studio technique experience from noon - 3 pm.

Cost: $30.00: including materials. Bring a good round water color brush if you have one;
otherwise Linda will have loaner brushes. A water color palette will be provided for each participant.

See samples of Linda’s work at her blog site www.lindalindeborgstudiojournal.blogspot.com. Two of her works, including Roots in Penland II (seen on the website), were chosen for inclusion in the first biennial Booth Artist Guild exhibition, which was at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville this past summer.

For those wanting to begin working on, or wanting to hone, photographic or drawing/ painting skills, these workshops are meant for you. Call now to register!

NATURE PRESERVE NOW OPEN

The Environmental Group is pleased to announce that the Nacoochee Valley Nature Preserve is open for the community to enjoy. The Nature Preserve Committee and an especially wonderful group of volunteers worked long hours, both at the site and in home workshops, to get ready for our “Open Preserve” day on October 30. While work continues on additional trails and planted areas, and plans for a pavilion on the valley overlook are developed, two areas are available for public use: an open picnic area with two tables and the woodland trail, a 1/3 mile loop accessed from the picnic area. Except for walking up the ramp to the overlook for viewing the Nacoochee Valley, please limit activities to these areas where hazards such as poison ivy have been removed to the extent possible. Currently, no water or restroom facilities are available. To minimize disturbance and allow us to keep the preserve open, please observe the following:

• Visit the preserve only during daylight hours.
• One or two cars may be parked on the entrance concrete as far from the highway as possible without disturbing the
...railroad ties that protect a planted area.
• Enter the preserve on the left side of the gate, where there is room for a person and a bicycle to pass through.
• Children under 18 must be accompanied by adults.
• Do not disturb areas under development and marked off with flagging.
• Take trash, empty bottles and cans, and any other debris with you when you leave.
• Fires for cooking or otherwise are prohibited.
• For group access and additional parking, please notify Ted Doll (706-878-2526)
or Audrey Moylan (706-348-6363) at least 48 hours in advance to have the gate opened.

A nominal fee of $50.00 will be charged for social events and special activities.

We hope you will enjoy the preserve as much as we have enjoyed working there. It is a wonderful addition to SNCA’s recreation facilities and commitment to preservation.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

....

The roots of our environmental committee pre-date the official formation of the Association. Back in the late 1970s, local landowners saw the need to work together. They wanted to protect and preserve this beautiful part of the planet. Their interest and ability to work together eventually led to the Valleys being placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In time, these individuals became the core group of the Sautee-Nacoochee Community Association.

Although the Association's mission broadened to include cultural programming, the commitment to conservation and preservation efforts remains.

Programs that fulfill this commitment can be viewed through the links above.