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Corps of Engineers Column
Allatoona Lake’s volunteers go
beyond the call; cleanup set for Sept. 18
 By
Chris Purvis, Park Ranger
The Allatoona Lake Project offers a wide variety of
available volunteer activities. A few examples of volunteer
activities in the past year include blue bird box maintenance, trail
construction and maintenance, fish habitat restoration, shoreline
cleanups, park hosting, BSA Eagle Scout projects and many others.
Of course, the biggest volunteer event on the lake
and perhaps in the nation is the Great Allatoona Lake Cleanup. This
event, held every year in September, usually is in the top three
Public Lands Day events in the United States. Last year, 4,036
volunteers came out for the event with more than 1,000 staying for
the post cleanup picnic held at Riverside Day Use Area. The “GLAC”
is managed by the Lake Allatoona Preservation Authority and partners
with the Corps on this worthy environmental cleanup. The 2010 “Great
Lake Allatoona Cleanup” is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 18. For
more information or to sign up for the event, please visit the LAPA
website at
www.allatoona.org.
Here’s another volunteer opportunity – Etowah River
Cleanup: The Keep Bartow Beautiful Rivers Alive Cleanup is set for
October 18 at Riverside Day Area. For more information contact Keep
Bartow Beautiful staff at
www.bartowga.org/kbb.
A number of volunteers consistently and selflessly
give of their time. Mrs. Geri Hillegass has volunteered her time the
past three years helping to educate and protect the public through
water safety initiatives. Volunteers Melanie Thrasher and Elizabeth
Sanders have been instrumental in helping to open the new section of
trails in Coopers Furnace Day Use Area. Photographers John Johnson
and Brad Keshlear have donated countless hours and photos to help in
the renovation of the Visitor Center at the Operations Project
Management Office. In all, volunteers contributed 56,042 hours this
past year to help make this lake the best in Georgia.
If you would like to volunteer your services for any
projects on Allatoona Lake, please contact the volunteer coordinator
at 678-721-6700 or go through the volunteer web page at
http://allatoona.sam.usace.army.mil/.
This column is provided by
the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Allatoona Lake project.
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