Ducks Go Wild on the Terrapin !

A crowd of over a hundred gathered to learn about creek critters and watch little rubber duckies race at the Georgia-Alabama Land Trust’s third annual Duck Derby.

All the little yellow fellows crossed the finish line to the delight of the crowd, especially all the kids. Earlier in the day those same kids spent the day catching bugs, learning how to detect venomous snakes, and how to be safe on the water. One of our partners, the Anniston Museum of Natural History lent us two birds of prey, a red-tailed hawk and an owl, to teach kids about birds and bird migration.

Renee Raney with Bobo the Owl.

Money raised at this year’s event will fund our new conservation education institute. The outreach program, led by Conservation Director Renee Raney, is an effort to educate the young about the importance of preserving special places. She says,”Today’s children spend less time outside than any previous generation. Playing outside creates a connection between life and land, building our future conservationists!”

A Big thank you goes out to all of the participants, duck adopters, volunteers, door prize donors, and our hosts, Mike and Kat at Terrapin Outdoor Center and Hank and Teresa at Red Neck Yacht Club. A special thank you to Cheaha State Park Cooperative Extension Service, and Wells Fargo for their support.  We cannot wait until next year! (Hint: It’s June 3rd, 2017!)

 

 

 

The Ducks are Coming!

Coming June 4^th, Terrapin Creek will be invaded by Pirate Ducks! The Georgia-Alabama Land Trust and our Conservation Education Institute will host a Third Annual Duck Derby and Wild Child education event along Terrapin Creek. No real ducks are used in this race, only the rubber kind.

The Georgia-Alabama Land Trust’s new Conservation Education Institute (CEI) will be presenting diverse learning stations for kids from pre-k to grey. There will be a hay ride, bug hunt, a bird migration game, a 4-H River Kids safety course, and live animals, including reptiles and birds of prey.

Children will complete a Passport to Conservation as they engage in fun activities. Toy prizes will be awarded for passport participation. Partners include Alabama State Parks, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, and the Anniston Museum of Natural History.

The event begins at 10am at the Terrapin Outdoor Center and Redneck Yacht Club on County Road 175 just above Piedmont, AL off of Alabama Highway 9. Live music begins at noon, plus we will serve FREE hot dogs until they are gone!

For more information call 256-447-1006 or adopt your duck HERE
and get your Pirates of the Terrapin t-shirt.  You can also check out our website at www.galandtrust.org for the latest information.

 

Duck Derby Raises Funds and Friends for Terrapin Creek

Duck Derby 2015 grew a crowd to Terrapin Creek last Saturday.  Duck adoptions were brisk and even a little rain did not dampen the spirits of the kids playing in the Modern Woodmen Financial Kidz Zone. The Land Trust raised around $1,700 in duck adoptions and t-shirt sales for the Terrapin Creek cleanup project plus another $4,000 was received from a grant from Wells Fargo. The money will be used to create a map of the creek and carry-in carry-out bags for garbage. It’s the whole idea about leaving nothing but footprints when you make memories in the great outdoors.

Crowd gathers for Duck Derby 2015

The end of the race was exciting with some ducks leading and then getting caught in the rocks, but the winner was duck #76 adopted by Landon Burrage and he wins the kayak.  Other prize winners included, Morgan Lavender, Wade Townsend, Sonya Owens, Ryan McRae, and Bill Fuqua.

Thanks again to all of our sponsors and prize donors. They include the following:

Modern Woodmen Financial

Terrapin Outdoor Center

Redneck Yacht Club and Kayak Rental

Kids waiting on the Ducks to cross the finish line

Floating Fun.net

Piedmont Hardware

Solid Rock Cafe’

Friends of the Terrapin

Kidz Zone banner

 

Mini Kayak Races

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ducks near the finish line

 

Educational Opportunity in Rome

The Georgia Land Trust and The University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry are sponsoring a two day class on conservation easements on September  9- 10.  The course will cover a wide range of topics concerning easements, such as:

• How easements affect land use
• The advantages/disadvantages of easements
• Which agencies and organizations can accept easements
• Tax aspects of easements
• How to plan for an easement

The class is built for everyone from the novice to the professional. Landowners with an interest in protecting their forest property from development or other exploitation should attend. Foresters, accountants, attorneys, appraisers, and wildlife resource managers who work with landowners will benefit as well, plus professional CE credits will be available. Please see the link for more information or to register.

Our own executive director, Katherine Eddins will be instructing the course, plus guest speakers include board member Jack Sawyer and staff members, Kat Nelson, Drew Ruttinger, Stephen Kirk, Kimberly Holmes and Amy Gaddy.

If you have any questions about the class go online or call Ingvar Elle at 706-583-0566.

 

 

 

Tax Incentive Vote Coming Soon

Congressional House leadership will schedule a vote on July 16 or 17 for H.R. 2807, the Conservation Easement Incentive Act, along with several charitable tax incentives. This bill makes the enhanced incentives for conservation easements permanent. Right now the incentive is the same as a plain non-cash donation. The new bill would make take the amount from 30% to 50%.

Even if your representative is already a co-sponsor, please call them and urge them to support this bill when it comes up for a vote Wednesday or Thursday. You can reach your rep by calling the House switch board at 202-225-3121.

 

Georgia Land Trust Answers Questions about Johnson’s Crook

Executive Director Katherine Eddins talks to guests about the plans for Johnson’s Crook.

The Georgia Land Trust (GLT) held a town hall meeting on June 4, 2014 to inform the community and officials about plans to conserve its approximately 1800 acres at Johnson’s Crook in Dade County, Georgia.

The Land Trust’s mission is to preserve and protect land for present and future generations, a mission it has been on for the past 20 years. The Land Trust has protected over a quarter of a million acres, primarily with conservation easements. A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a land owner and a land trust that permanently protects land from development, surface mining and other practices that would significantly harm the land and its natural areas. The Georgia Land Trust and its affiliates hold over 700 conservation easements, making it the largest land Trust in the Southeast.

Katherine Eddins, executive director of the Land Trust, explained to the participants at the meeting that GLT took on Johnson’s Crook as a protection project because of its ecological and historical significance. In addition to being a filter for clean drinking water, Johnson’s Crook contains important ecological features such as caves, rare plants and habitat for a variety of wildlife.

Eddins explained that for approximately three years, the Land Trust has been working with partners such as banks, a bankruptcy trustee and the Southeast Cave Conservancy on the acquisition and stewardship of the land. When the Land Trust completes its acquisition and conservation effort, plans are to work with an individual or organization who will own the land and will permanently protect the land with a conservation easement.

The Georgia Land Trust will continue to be involved in the stewardship of Johnson’s Crook and will insure that the land is never turned into a development or subdivision. The land trust plans to have periodic meetings to update interested parties. Updates will emailed and posted on the website (http://www.galandtrust.org) and the Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/AlabamaGeorgiaLandTrust).

Eddins also explained that if anyone has questions about Johnson’s Crook or conservation easements to please call the Land Trust office at 256-447-1006.

 

The Ducks Rock the Terrapin

The first Duck Derby on Terrapin Creek was held this year on May 10^th .

Kids watching the Ducks Race

The Alabama Land Trust and the Friends of the Creek sponsored the event on the creek near Piedmont, AL. It was a fun time for everyone. Folks braved a few showers to adopt a duck for a chance to win a brand new kayak. Our hosts for the event, Terrapin Creek Outdoor Center, also donated second, third and fourth place prizes. Free hot dogs were eaten and the band “The Gypsy Begonias” performed for the post-race crowd.

Speaking of the race, it was hotly contested but the winning duck owner, Jared Williamson, went home with the grand prize. Colton Woodard won the second prize river gator. A special thanks goes out to the Terrapin Outdoor Center for hosting, the Redneck Yacht Club for letting the ducks start the race from their property and Buffalo Rock for donating the soda and water.

The land trust raised over a thousand dollars for marker signs on Terrapin Creek.

The next duck Derby will take place on June 6^th, 2015.