Environmental Stewardship
Georgia Co-ops Beautify Waterway
Employees of four Georgia co-ops wanted to leave their mark along a meandering creek in suburban Atlanta, so they turned out on a September Saturday, rolled up their sleeves and cleaned it.
Co-op staffers were among volunteers manicuring creekside trails near their campus headquarters in Tucker, Ga. (Photo By: Oglethorpe Power Corp.)
“We decided that our Family of Companies could show support for Georgia’s Rivers Alive program by volunteering to clean up Burnt Fork Creek,” said Carolyn Pait, project coordinator for Oglethorpe Power Corp.
Staffers from the generation cooperative joined colleagues from Georgia System Operations Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia Electric Membership Corp. for a half-day of rigorous volunteerism, Sept. 10. The cleanup was the co-ops’ Hands on Atlanta Day community service event.
“The creek runs through our campus and into Atlanta. We work with a number of community groups to make the biggest possible difference each year,” said Pait. “We collected 320 pounds of trash and cleared and trimmed 2,000 yards of trails.”
The event has become an annual autumn tradition for employees of the four co-ops, collectively known as the Family of Companies, since 2007. Oglethorpe has supported Rivers Alive for several years. Georgia Transmission is a long-time supporter of Hands on Atlanta.
“We decided to combine those service projects by hosting a Rivers Alive cleanup on Hands on Atlanta Day,” said Pait. “It was a great way to support the Rivers Alive program’s goal of creating awareness of, and involvement in, Georgia’s water resources by keeping trash and debris from washing into area creeks and streams. As a bonus, we helped make improvements to a local school.”
Nearly 350 volunteers turned out this year. The co-op staffers worked beside teachers and school children, scout troops, members of other organizations and corporate volunteers throughout the day. Besides the cleanup, volunteers helped build picnic tables and set up an outdoor environmental education study area for the school.
“We were so pleased with the number of participants this year,” said Mike Smith, president and CEO of Georgia Transmission Corp. “Removal of trash from Georgia’s waterways is important for more than cosmetic reasons. Litter and trash can be harmful to wildlife and human health.”