Blog

After ORK discovered that Milliken’s Longleaf facility was discharging polyfluoroalkyls and perfluoroalkyls (PFAS) chemicals, ORK initiated a pilot study to determine if these chemicals were bioaccumulating in fish regularly consumed by people from the river. Initial results show that all fish sampled had detectable limits of PFAS chemicals in their tissue fillets.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) will hold its annual meeting virtually on Friday, November 13, 2020. The live stream will begin at 6:45 p.m., with speakers starting at 7 p.m.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) has reviewed the draft permit released by Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD) for Milliken Longleaf Pine Facility which discharges into the Ogeechee River.

These writers turned to the outdoors for poetic inspiration. Read the winners from our first ORK poetry contest.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) has partnered with the City of Statesboro and Keep Statesboro-Bulloch Beautiful (KSBB) to help curb litter pollution in Little Lotts Creek.

Pocket gophers are fossorial creatures, meaning they are excellent diggers and prefer to burrow. They flourish  in the type of soil found under the longleaf pine, which makes them very happy in the Ogeechee River basin. With giant front teeth and long claws, they look threatening, but are mostly harmless rodents. 

In addition to the various perks ORK offers our members, adding your name to our membership list is critical to our legislative efforts and grant applications. Having a strong team behind us shows that our constituents support our work.

We are encouraging families and households to adopt a spot on the river and commit to checking it for litter regularly.

Deadfall is the term for trees, branches or other natural debris that falls into the river. This debris can get caught or pile up, making it difficult, or even impossible, for boaters and paddlers to travel on the river. 

A watershed is a system of how water flows through an area moving sediment, water and dissolved materials into a common point. Submit your trivia answers to info@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org by July 31.

The bald-faced hornet, also called the bald hornet or the white-faced hornet, is technically a wasp and only a close cousin to the true hornet. It gets its name for the black and white coloring (rather than the typical black and yellow) of its body.

PFAs are considered ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not break down in the environment and they accumulate in wildlife, plants and humans. 

The Ogeechee and Canoochee Rivers are considered ‘blackwater’ rivers. A blackwater river is typically a slow-moving waterway flowing through forests, swamps, or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins seep into the ground water or drain into lakes and streams, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea.

Spanish moss isn't really a moss at all; it's an epiphyte or air plant. Botanically, it is closely related to the pineapple and absorbs nutrients and water through the air and rainfall. The silver-gray plant grows in long, hair-like clumps, hanging from trees in subtropical climates.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper encourages you to get out and explore the Ogeechee and Canoochee watershed. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to photograph the items on this list. All are welcome to play for fun, but there are prizes for those that wish to compete.