Please join the ACC Solid Waste Department/Recycling Division, Bear Hollow Zoo, and the Oconee River Audubon Society as they celebrate International Vulture Awareness Day on Saturday, October 13th, 2018 from 8:00 AM  - 12:00 PM at the ACC Landfill. 

The Oconee Audubon Society will be hosting Andrew Saunders, sustainability officer from Athens-Clarke County Sustainability Office for its montly meeting in October. The meeting will be held at 7 pm on Thursday, October 4th at Sandy Creek Nature Center, 205 Old Commerce Road.

Among other activities, the sustainability office has led the charge on solar development, energy sustainability and the protection of greenspaces in Athens. To be successful, these efforts involve collaboration with a variety of stakeholders including private landowners, local non-profits and government agencies. Andrew Saunders will describe what it takes to implement these initiatives and the importance of the office of sustainability to Athens-Clarke County residents.

Please join us for our September kick-off meeting on Thursday, September 6th, 2018 at 6:30pm in the Ecology auditorium at the Odum School of Ecology at UGA (140 E Green St., Athens, GA).

The meeting will feature speakers Tim Keyes (Georgia Department of Natural Resources) and Abby Sterling (Manomet) whose talk will be on "Shorebirds and the Importance of Georgia's Coast". 

Wine and cheese social and silent auction will start at 6:30pm followed by the talk at 7pm.

Please join us for our May monthly meeting on Thursday, May 3rd at Sandy Creek Nature Center. We will begin at 7:00 pm with refreshments and snnouncements and then have the chance to learn about the conservation of Right Whales. Hans Neuhauser, former chair of the Northern Right Whale Recovery Team and Retired Executive Director

Georgia Land Conservation Center, will present "Is the North Atlantic Right Whale a Canary in the Mine?". See below for more information.

Please join us for out monthly meeting the Thursday, March 1 at Sandy Creek Nature Center. We will begin at 7:00 pm with refreshments and announcements and then have an opportunity to learn about native bees and the important roles they play in our ecosystem.

Christine Fortuin, Ph.D. student at UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, will discuss her research on the importance of wild bees to forest health and how to identify native Georgia bees in this area. Native and wild bees are often neglected in research but are important contributors to forest ecosystems and agriculture. Fortuin will discuss her bee research and provide a practical guide to identifying the major groups of friendly native bees who may visit your garden.

This month, the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society is holding a special Member's Night instead of our regualr guest lectures. Join us to hear stories, poems, see photos, or learn a bit about some research from your fellow ORAS members as we open the floor up to hear from one another. This evening should provide lots of laughs, and will create a wonderful opportunity to appreciate how diverse the talents are right within ORAS. We will meet at Sandy Creek Nature Center, February 1 from 7:00 to 9:00. Please join us!

Want to present at this meeting? Please sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14QbkP3hu7cKj-ln-eHrqSfmhhtmZiYBQ...

Oconee Rivers Audubon Society is hosting Shan Cammack, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Georgia DNR) fire safety officer, for a talk on "The Important Role of Fire in Conservation Efforts." Cammack will discuss fire management in a changing climate, prescribed fire management, and some of the bigger picture issues and research questions to consider in ecological burning. Cammack has enjoyed a twenty- year career with the Georgia DNR. She currently serves as the Fire Safety Officer for the Nongame Conservation Section and Georgia DNR representative for the Interagency Burn Team and Georgia Prescribed Fire Council. Shan is an engaging speaker, and because fire plays an important role in creating and maintaining habitat for birds, this talk should be a great one! Please join us!

The meeting will take place on Thursday, January 4 at 7pm at Sandy Creek Nature Center.

The Role of Botanic Gardens and Partnership in Plant Conservation in the Changing Landscape of the Southeastern United States of America 

Lecture by Jennifer Cruse-Sanders, Ph.D., director of the State Botanical Garden.

Note: This meeting will be held in the Gardenside Room at the State Botatnical Garden (downstairs from the visitor center atrium) on December 7th. A pre-meeting reception will begin at 6:15pm for snacks and socializing, and then the speaker will begin at 7pm. 

Falling in Love with Grasslands: Paintings from Prairie to Páramo

Artist lecture by Philip Juras, BFA ’90, MLA ‘97

Please join us for a pre-lecture reception at 6:15 pm on November 2nd, in the main auditorium at the Odum School of Ecology for this event. The lecture will begin 7pm.