Category: Blog Post

Blog Post, Press Releases , ,

ORK announces winners of annual photo contest

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper December 3, 2025

12/03/25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ogeechee Riverkeeper
Contact: Meaghan Gerard
Communications and Administrative Director
meaghan@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

OGEECHEE RIVERKEEPER ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) has chosen the best photographs from across the 5,500 square mile watershed submitted for the annual photography contest. This year’s guest judge is Angela Hopper, photographer and owner of Bull Street Light Room. Judges sorted through images that highlighted what makes the Ogeechee and Canoochee Rivers, and the surrounding areas, ecologically and aesthetically remarkable.

The 2025 winners are: 

Overall winner: Waterways Marina, Luis Lopez
Black and White: Herons, Dawn French
Funny Wildlife: Blowing Bubbles, Christy Wheeler
Landscape: Dawn Stillness, Libby Buker
Wildlife: My Good Side, J. Strozzo Anderson
Portrait: Me and Moo, Lily Hart
Plant Life: Yellow Waterlillies, Sydney Warren

The overall winner will receive three hours of studio time at Bull Street Light Room, with lighting and props included. Category winners will receive a one-year household membership to ORK, allowing them to partake in special events and membership perks.

“The landscape category was especially well done,” said guest judge Angela Hopper. “It was a tough choice for just one winner. Thank you for the opportunity to judge this competition. I loved seeing everyone’s work. Well done!”

All winners and entries are available to view at ogeecheeriverkeeper.org or via the Flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCCAm4

ORK has permission from the photographers to share their work. Contact ORK for files to reprint or share in publications.

About Ogeechee Riverkeeper: Ogeechee Riverkeeper 501(c)(3) works to protect, preserve, and improve the water quality of the Ogeechee River basin, which includes all of the streams flowing out to Ossabaw Sound and St. Catherine’s Sound. The Canoochee River is about 108 miles long and the Ogeechee River itself is approximately 245 miles long. The Ogeechee River system drains more than 5,500 square miles across 21 counties in Georgia. More at ogeecheeriverkeeper.org.

***

2025 Annual Photography Contest

Blog Post, Press Releases , ,

RELEASE: Ogeechee Riverkeeper wins Smith W. Bagley Award

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper August 29, 2025

08/29/25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Meaghan Gerard
Communications and Administrative Director
meaghan@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

OGEECHEE RIVERKEEPER WINS SMITH W. BAGLEY AWARD
The Sapelo Foundation chooses a recipient annually

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) has been named the 2025 recipient of the Smith W. Bagley Advocacy Award. The Sapelo Foundation Board of Trustees annually selects an outstanding nonprofit organization or network to receive the honor. The award is a special grant to memorialize The Sapelo Foundation’s late President and Trustee and his vision for a more just and equitable society. The Sapelo Foundation presented the award on August 28, 2025, at a reception in Savannah. 

ORK was chosen for, “Work defending the Ogeechee watershed against harm in a critical year, and securing essential concessions and remediations” related to development and industry in Bryan County. 

Bill Broker, Sapelo Foundation Trustee, added, “The Ogeechee Riverkeeper is the quintessential ‘David’ taking on ‘Goliath.’  In the rush to turn a blind eye to the challenges being faced by our water resources, the Riverkeeper has stood up for the preservation of this precious resource. Its effective advocacy cannot be ignored.”

“We are truly honored to receive this award,” said Damon Mullis, riverkeeper and executive director. “The Sapelo Foundation has long supported ORK’s efforts, and we are grateful for all that they have done to protect our state’s water resources. This recognition is particularly meaningful to us and ORK looks forward to continuing our collaboration to safeguard the waters of our basin for all its inhabitants.” 

During his more than 30 years as a leader of The Sapelo Foundation, Bagley worked to advance the civil and human rights of Georgia’s disenfranchised populations. Each year, he visited small nonprofit organizations in rural Georgia communities, supporting their work to advance social justice and progressive change. His focus inspired the grantmaking decisions of The Sapelo Foundation. 

“My father, Smith Bagley, believed deeply in the power of people to drive change—especially those who challenged injustice head-on. He admired organizations that weren’t afraid to speak hard truths or take bold risks in pursuit of a more just world,” noted Nicole Bagley, Immediate Past President of The Sapelo Foundation. “Ogeechee Riverkeeper reflects the courage, creativity, and conviction that defined his life’s work. I know he would be proud to see this award go to a group so deeply rooted in protecting people and a place they love—with unwavering integrity and fearlessness.” 

About Ogeechee Riverkeeper: Ogeechee Riverkeeper 501(c)(3) works to protect, preserve, and improve the water quality of the Ogeechee River basin, which includes all of the streams flowing out to Ossabaw Sound and St. Catherine’s Sound. The Canoochee River is about 108 miles long and the Ogeechee River itself is approximately 245 miles long. The Ogeechee River system drains more than 5,500 square miles across 20 counties in Georgia. More at ogeecheeriverkeeper.org.

About The Sapelo Foundation: The Sapelo Foundation strives for a just Georgia, through partnerships and solutions that increase environmental protection, social prosperity, and civic power. With their grants, they support grantee partners that pursue power-building strategies, such as policy advocacy, civic engagement, and grassroots community organizing. More at sapelofoundation.org.

***

View images from the reception

08.2025 – Press Release – Smith Bagley Award

Blog Post , , ,

Flora: Gratiola amphiantha

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper July 30, 2025

Gratiola amphiantha
Pool-sprite (snorkelwort)

Gratiola amphiantha, specimen K006380009. Collected in Greene County, Georgia © copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Aside from the very specific common name of snorkelwort, this tiny plant requires a very specific set of circumstances to even exist–and those ingredients are increasingly hard to come by. Firstly, the plant needs vernal (spring) pools on granite outcroppings. These are essentially shallow puddles that appear with spring rains and snow melts, remaining for a few weeks before drying up until the next year.

In addition to collecting water, the dents and divots need to have a thin layer of soil and nutrients for the seeds to take root. But the water can’t be too deep or the seedlings won’t get enough sunlight or be able to send leaves up to the water surface. It’s entire annual life cycle is about a month, meaning conditions have to be just right during its lifespan. Some years, it may lie dormant if water is scarce. It’s a miniature Goldilocks Zone for this disappearing plant.

Photo by Will Stuart

It is considered an “aquatic annual herb” with leaves about a quarter of an inch. The flowers might be white or yellow, and are even smaller at about a tenth of an inch. Seedlings will begin to grow in winter, a chilly but not frozen environment in the southeast. Blossoms could be seen as soon as February and March, and all visible traces of the plant are gone by May.

The Georgia DNR has included snorkelwort in its 2025 Statewide Action Plan (SWAP) and lists it as imperiled, calling it both state and federally threatened. In Georgia, there are about 50 known populations, including in the upper reaches of ORK’s watershed. Their environment is rare enough in the most pristine conditions. The delicate balance is easily tipped by the effects of mining and quarrying (common in areas with the granite it requires). Hikers can also unwittingly disturb their dried beds, not to mention the introduction of any elements like litter or vehicle oils that will upset the chemical needs of the vernal pools.

Photo by James Henderson
Blog Post, Press Releases , ,

RELEASE: ORK shares data collected during grant project

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper June 16, 2025

06/16/25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Meaghan Gerard
Communications and Administrative Director
meaghan@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

OGEECHEE RIVERKEEPER SHARES DATA COLLECTED DURING GRANT PROJECT
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s supported the ongoing project with grant funding

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) has updated publicly published data collected throughout 2024, funded in part by a $5,000 grant from Bass Pro Shops. The grant from Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund supported the Lower and Coastal Ogeechee Watershed Monitoring Program, which ORK created to routinely and strategically monitor particularly vulnerable areas within the watershed and address the gap in water quality data. 

Throughout 2024, Onset HOBO data loggers measured water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance at 30-minute intervals. The data collected will help determine the long-term impact that growth and development have on the health of the Ogeechee River Basin and ensure that water quality parameters collected up and downstream of discharge sites are within permitted limits.

The data was collected downstream from the site of a major Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant slated to begin discharging into the Ogeechee River later in 2025. This data can be compared to data collected after the facility starts discharging  and will provide an invaluable baseline for assessing water quality in the river. 

Additionally, the bacterial data gathered over the past year has been instrumental in identifying and resolving issues with sewer and failing septic systems. The data allowed ORK and municipalities to trace leaks and failures so the issues could be repaired, resulting in cleaner water.

In the grant period, ORK collected approximately 450 bacterial samples of E. coli and enterococci. Additionally, the continuous monitoring probes collected 52,800 total continuous monitoring data points.

This project is ongoing, and the long-term data sets that ORK is developing will be used for years to come to monitor the changing environment and inform decision-makers about the impacts to clean water in the basin. 

All the data collected from this project is publicly available on ORK’s website from the following links. https://www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org/data/ and  https://www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org/vernon/

About Ogeechee Riverkeeper: Ogeechee Riverkeeper 501(c)(3) works to protect, preserve, and improve the water quality of the Ogeechee River basin, which includes all of the streams flowing out to Ossabaw Sound and St. Catherine’s Sound. The Canoochee River is about 108 miles long and the Ogeechee River itself is approximately 245 miles long. The Ogeechee River system drains more than 5,500 square miles across 20 counties in Georgia. More at ogeecheeriverkeeper.org.

***

Download PDF: 06.2025 – Press Release – Bass Pro Grant

Blog Post , , ,

Fauna: Centronyx henslowii

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper April 24, 2025

Centronyx henslowii
Henslow’s Sparrow

These adorable little birds can be hard to spot. Not only are the small in stature, they tend to stay hidden, down in grassy areas rather than fly to escape predators. You might not hear them either – they have the shortest call of any North American songbird. It is only two syllables and has been described by some as a “weak hiccup.”

Henslow’s sparrows are migratory, spending their winters in the southeastern United States, including the Ogeechee watershed. They enjoy the marshy lowlands with tall grass and pine flatwoods that dot the area. They feed on the insects-like grasshoppers and beetles-that frequent the same habitat as well as seeds.


Adults stand about 4-5 inches tall and weigh just about half and ounce. There are shades of tan with black stripes, but one way to distinguish them from their cousins is a distinctive olive green patch on their faces. They seem to be monogamous, returning to the same location with the same partner in consecutive years.

This spunky, tiny creature was described and named by J. J. Audubon after his friend John Stevens Henslow (Henslow himself was a teacher and close friend of Charles Darwin).

I obtained the bird represented in this plate opposite Cincinnati, in the State of Kentucky, in the year 1820, whilst in the company of Mr. ROBERT BEST, then Curator of the Western Museum. It was on the ground, amongst tall grass, and exhibited the usual habits of its tribe. … In naming it after the Rev. Professor HENSLOW of Cambridge, a gentleman so well known to the scientific world, my object has been to manifest my gratitude for the many kind attentions which he has shewn towards me. – Plate 70, J.J. Aububon

View: https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/henslows-bunting

Henslow’s sparrow faces significant habitat loss, but is not listed as a endangered species, despite it being submitted in 1984. Georgia DNR lists it as “SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need.” Both the midwest prairies that provide breeding grounds and the lowlands that form its winter home are disappearing rapidly. The bird has managed to adapt to some kinds of row crops, like hayfields, but other agricultural and lumbering practices can make things difficult for the bird to find a quiet place to nest and feed. Georgia DNR is also finding some success with managed mowing and prescribed burning practices.

Henslow’s Sparrow – Photo by Dan Vickers via GADNR