South Fork Wins Awards. New Trail Readied. Growing Up On The South Fork In The 60s. Critical Grant Money Arrives. southforkconservancy.

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1 Nw Trail Radid A tangl of kudzu and ivy is yilding its dcads-long dominion of th crk btwn Lindbrgh and Chshir Bridg, rvaling bauty waiting for visitors. Undrnh th invasiv vins, workrs ar finishing a half mil trail with a firm stabl surfac and svral drop-dad viws of th crk and sandbars. A rust-rd foot bridg spanning th wr is alrady bcoming a magnt Scurity chck with Atlanta Po- for photographrs. lic and SFC Board Chairman Bob Krr and SFC s Sally Sars South Fork Wins Awards Th South Fork Consrvancy s plan to connct Buckhad to Emory Univrsity with a trail along th South Fork of Pachtr Crk won two of th City of Atlanta s Urban Dsign Awards on May 20. Th first award is for th ovrall trail dsign plan, crd by BltLin visionary Ryan Gravl with Prkins+Will in Th Consrvancy s work bnfittd from support by th MillionMil Grnway and th Kndda Fund, which providd critical arly funding. continu on pg 2 Critical Grant Mony Arrivs Th South Fork Consrvancy s succss winning support from public and priv sourcs is making a diffrnc along th crk. Rcnt awards making th trail vision mor ral includ a Lgacy Grant from Park Prid. This $92,500 priz givs South Fork plannrs th mony to dsign th connction btwn th Crksid Trail built by Gorgia DOT and othr trails built and maintaind by Lindridg Martin Manor nighbors. Popl s dsir to b closr to th crk is wh drov th DOT to say ys to th trail svral yars ago. Th Park Prid grant applicion rmindd donors th th trail will allow public accss on public land along th stram. First-hand xprinc with th hrons, ottrs and othr wildlif within th trail corridor is wh nighbors sought whn thy askd th DOT and th South Fork Consrvancy to plan and build th Crksid Trail. Lft to right: Hnry Btn, LLCC; Hhr Alhadff, CntrForward; Jan Rawlings, NPUF; David Eldridg, South Fork; Stacy Ky, DOT Board; Warnr McConaughy, South Fork; Bob Krr, South Fork Board Chair; Sally Sars, South Fork Dirctor; Clia Lismor, South Fork Outrach; Johnny Edwards, Chair, Atlanta Urban Dsign Commission continu on pg 2 Growing Up On Th South Fork In Th 60s Th South Fork of Pachtr Crk flows quitly through th ast sid of Atlanta, unsn by most. Howvr, th crk and its banks lay th cntr of Buddy Flming s univrs- a sourc of ndlss advntur and discovry. Oh man, w wr always xploring, says Buddy Flming. W wnt all th way from th old DKalb wr works down to around Sag Hill- th whol corridor around Lullwr. continu on pg 6 southforkconsrvancy.org pg 1 continu on pg 3

2 Nw Trail Radid (continud) Gorgia DOT has nvr built a walking trail in anyon s mmory. Why hr and now? Th projct bgan whn GDOT askd nighbors wh thy wantd in rturn for th inconvninc of nw flyovr ramps linking I-85 and GA 400. Th usual mitigion ida, sound baffls, would not work with a ramp soaring ovr 75 ft in th air. Instad, th trail plan linking crk banks with walking trails up and down th Conflunc mad sns to DOT and to th popl living nar th ramps. Hhr Alhadff consulting with th Lindbrgh LaVista Corridor Coalition (LLCC) brought th dsign to succss, with th City of Atlanta partnring with LLCC and th South Fork Consrvancy to maintain it. A priz from th Atlanta Urban Dsign Commission clbrs th collaborion cring th trail projct. Ampl on strt parking is availabl Lindridg and Armand roads. To stay up to d on th Trail Dvlopmnts, follow th South Fork Consrvancy on Twittr and Facbook and sign up for thir mailing list an aspiring Eagl Scout from Troop 18. Possibly th most substantial rquirmnt for th Eagl Scout rank is to plan, dvlop, and giv ladrship in a srvic projct th positivly affcts your community. For my projct, I ll b hlping th Consrvancy by first claring out invasiv bamboo from th South Fork. Thn, onc th bamboo has bn milld, I ll us it to cr bnchs and informiv signag for th trail. Lastly, I ll finish by installing th signs and bnchs appropri spots along th trail. All of this work will pool voluntrs from th Consrvancy, Troop 18, and th community. I m hoping to hav th projct don in th nxt 6-8 months; this may b optimistic basd on prmits, funding, tc. Kp looking for upds, as I d lov to hav your hlp for this projct. Ovrall, I m xcitd to work with th Consrvancy and look forward to hlping improv our scnic landscap! Eagl On Th Ris Hi thr! My nam is Robrt Wimar, and I m South Fork Wins Awards (continud) Th scond winnr is our nwst Crksid Trail, undrnh th nw GA 400 flyovr ramps. Working with th Gorgia Dpartmnt of Transportion (GDOT), Hhr Alhadff strd th trail to dsign. Built as mitigion for nighbors in Lindridg Martin Manor, th trail spans th crk and conncts Chshir Bridg Road to Lindbrgh Driv along a half mil of soft-surfacd trail. Today, w hav two othr trails currntly opn to th public along th fiv mil strtch btwn th Conflunc of th north and south forks of Pachtr Crkth Conflunc/Cdar Chas Trail and Zonolit Park. Mor informion can b found on our wbsit, southforkconsrvancy.org, and addrsss for th currnt trailhad locions ar listd blow. Conflunc/Cdar Chas Trail: Th Cul-d-sac 2100 Armand Rd, Atlanta Zonolit Park: 1100 Zonolit Plac, Atlanta Board Chairman Bob Krr s Summr Gazpacho Rcip Our Crk Rising fundraisr saw gusts smacking thir lips ovr Bob Krr s cold gazpacho. Th party was a hit thanks to sit sponsor Motor Car Studio. W askd Bob for his scrt rcip. H namd th usual suspcts: tomos, garlic, onions. But th ral kick may li in th mix! For th full rcip, s our wbsit. ½ to 1 full cup of finly choppd frsh parsly ½ cup finly choppd frsh Cilantro 2 tbls. win vingar 2 tbls. oliv oil 1 taspoon basil 1 taspoon tarragon 2 taspoons cumin 2 tbls. Worcstrshir sauc Bob s Rqust: Most of all, dvlop with gnrosity and njoy. Growing Up On Th South Fork in th 60s (continud) Whil othr kids stayd insid to wch TV, Buddy and his frinds spnt thir tim butt scooting on a pip across th South Fork to rach advnturs byond th crk bank. My littl sistr Laurn was so proud th day sh gradud from butt scooting to walking across th pip, rmmbrs Buddy. It taks a lot of nrv for a littl kid to do th. Aftr th gang bravd th pip crossing, thy st out to find th advntur du jour. Thy fishd, xplord old ruins, and found itms ding back to th Civil War and Niv Amrican villags- artifacts th hav long sinc bn dond to musums. W lovd to xplor th old Houston Mill, rmmbrs Buddy. A slowly crumbling ruin, th old mill always offrd somthing nw to s. Dav Kaufman s book, Pachtr Crk: A Nural and Unnural History of Atlanta s Wrshd taught an adult Buddy th h d bn xploring th rmnants of Atlanta s first Hydrolctric plant. But back in th 60s, his nin yar old ys only saw a daring advntur waiting to happn. You could walk in this tunnl by th mill pond- it was vry scary for a kid, rmmbrs Buddy. W usd to dar ach othr to walk all th way through th dark tunnl from just undrnh th gnror up to th dam. For young boys th whol ara was just a rally fun plac to xplor. Bing on th crk was a way of lif for Buddy. Whn fall cam to an nd, frzing wintr tmprurs turnd th South Fork into a wintr wondrland. It just fird my imaginion to hav a plac to xplor On of my favorit things was in th wintr whn it got rally cold, says Buddy, smiling. Thr was this spring th cam down th hill bhind Clifton road. You would find icicls th wr four or fiv ft long. Th whol hill would b covrd in ic. W lovd th. Buddy says his days on th crk gav him an activ mind. southforkconsrvancy.org pg 2 southforkconsrvancy.org pg 3 It just fird my imaginion to hav a plac to xplor, says Buddy. It mad m writ potry. It mad m writ songs, and I think it s mad m much mor intrstd in history. Standing on th bank of th Conflunc Trail, Buddy looks around with a smil on his fac and nots th th rstorion of th crk banks is ssntial and rmarkabl. Buddy and his son Lwis, standing in th South Fork To know th thr ar popl hr who want to clan it up- th s absolutly fantastic, says Buddy xcitdly. I d lov to tak my son and show him whr I usd to play as a kid, but I don t want to tak him if it s nasty. Bcaus th crk rally is bautiful and th fact th it s right in th middl of this big city is amazing. I look forward to sing this work continu and want to do whvr I can to hlp. Today, Buddy works th hadwrs of th South Fork in Tuckr, whr h programs machins to cut stl for a varity of uss. H s pondring how h can us his skills to hlp th Consrvancy guid othrs to know and lov th crk th way h did as a boy. Wh s Your Story? W hop you r njoying our nwslttr. Do you hav your own South Fork trail tal? W want to har it. clia@southforkconsrvancy.org with a story summary.

3 Chs h opn ir Farm s thi s sum Trail mr Aftr Bfor Chshir Farm Trail Chshir Farm Trail l ol r t s d si c k n u cr fl t n i o Qu th c on il tra ld of nfi h wt row o gr d b S tor rs Bfor Aftr Zonolit Zonolit southforkconsrvancy.org pg 4 southforkconsrvancy.org pg 5

4 Chstnuts: Food For Thought In arly March, w plantd svn dozn xprimntal hybrid chstnut sds with high hops for grn sprouts, joining an ffort to rintroduc th Amrican Chstnut Tr aftr a cntury of xtinction causd by th Asian Chstnut Blight. Unfortunly, asid from a fw hopful saplings, most of th sds rmaind firmly in thir shlls. Howvr, sds plantd and tndd by studnts th Gardn Hills and Morningsid lmntary schools offr a shining silvr lining. This yar, th Amrican Chstnut Foundion incrasd th scal of our classroom projct basd on a succssful sdling yild from 2012 and dond ovr 100 sds, nabling ach studnt in th thr participing classs to plant thir vry own Chstnut th bginning of th school yar. Throughout th yar, scond and fifth gradrs wr ngagd by th South Fork and th Chstnut Foundion, covring a rang of topics: from th lif cycl of a plant, to how plants gt thir food, to wh maks a Chstnut Tr a vascular plant. At th nd of May, 90 thriving sdlings wr pickd up by ddicd South Fork Voluntr Martha Portr Hall and wr takn to summr camp Ac Hardwar Voluntr Martha Portr Hall with Chstnut saplings Intown ACE Hardwar 5th grad Studnts with thir saplings Morningsid Elmntary in Dcur, whr South Fork Board Mmbr Tony Powrs is a co-ownr. Our 90 hopful trs will camp out Ac until planting sason bgins in l Octobr/ arly Novmbr, whn thy will transfrrd to South Fork Trails and plantd by voluntrs. As for our orchard xprimntdo w giv up? Of cours not! Th cological procss is a fragil on th rquirs much pinc, and nxt sason w will pick up whr w lft off and try again with a nw bch of hopful sds in addition to continuing our work in lmntary schools. Critical Grant Mony Arrivs (continud) Two critical connctions ar th trail crossing Lindbrgh Driv undrnh th bridg, and undrnh th long strtch of intrst whr Ga 400 mts I-85. Dollars for survying, nginring and improving th ntranc Lindbrgh ar alrady bing usd. Important mching mony from immdi nighbors includ a party givn by nighbors Rich and Dorothy Sussman, and th Lindbrgh LaVista Corridor Coalition. This yar th Tast and Tour of Chshir Bridg will rais mony for th South Fork Consrvancy. Anothr award from th Nional Fish and Wildlif Foundion gav South Fork mor than mony. Fiv Star Grants rquir halthy partnrships and putting th mony plan togthr brought South Fork to work with Jnny Crus-Sandrs th Atlanta Botanical Gardns and Chris Nlson th Pidmont Park Consrvancy. Togthr thir work rstoring critical habit ld to a succssful applicion for mor than $20,000 dollars. Th allowd fncing th conflunc sit from highway traffic and littr, plus hiring Trry Sutton with Cascad Forstry to manag kudzu, privt and honysuckl. Nighbor Bob Scott and Cdar Chas Homownrs Associion Prsidnt Donna Davis hlpd mt th grant rquirmnts for mching ffort by all th voluntr hours thy giv to th trail. A third pot of mony, $100,000 for rcrional trails is coming to DKalb County from South Fork grant writing from th Fdral Highway Administrion, passd along by th Gorgia Dpartmnt of Nural Rsourcs. This will build th trail and trailhad Zonolit. Again, important mching dollars hr includ Trs Atlanta s partnrships and nighbors Tuckr Mott and landownrs along Zonolit Road. Raising mony to raliz a vision is hard work. Grant writing is a spcial languag. Dadlins ar brutal, th comptition kn. Still, th partnrships and popl th bring mony to lif ar a halthy way to masur an organizion s intgrity. Th South Fork is grful for th succss w r having. You and othr donors will kp haring from us. Bob Th Bavr and Pals Bring Lif Back To Th Crk Hav you bn kping up with Tals of Bob th Bavr on our Facbook pag? Wll if you hav, thn you alrady know th wildlif has movd back to th South Fork! Nighbor and voluntr Bob Scott, who walks th trail last onc a day, initially providd us with troublsom rports on th bavr s activitis. Th Bavr was busy last night unfortunly, h took down on of th nw saplings plantd last fall. On th bank, just wst of th... on of th two nw trs is gon. (locion omittd to protct th wildlif) Aftr this rport w had to tak action- and quickly! Bob and two mor voluntrs hlpd us construct and install chickn wir fncs around most of our saplings. Jams Lismor, Chris Scott, and Bob Scott hlp construct wir fncing to protct $10,000 worth of saplings from Bob th Bavr. Clia Lismor of Th South Fork Consrvancy: An Introduction Allow m to introduc myslfth nw Community Outrach and Voluntr Coordinor for th Consrvancy. I grw up playing in Dcur s Gln Crk, a tributary of th South Fork (though I didn t know th until a yar ago). I m on of many niv Atlantans who didn t know thr was a rich ntwork of crks in hr own backyard. Upon discovring th Consrvancy a yar ago, I quickly larnd th our wrways connct our communitis in a way our roads nvr will. I was instantly a South Fork supportr and am thrilld to now b a staff mmbr. I v mt a ddicd cast of charactrs in th past four months whos commitmnt and passion rmind m of our vision on a daily basis. It s a wondrful fling, to sit down your dsk in th morning and raliz thr s nothing you would rhr b doing. Thanks you for supporting th South Fork Consrvancy and making all of this possibl. southforkconsrvancy.org pg 6 southforkconsrvancy.org pg 7 Bavrs ar primarily nocturnal rodnts. Thy ar known for building dams, canals, and lodgs (homs) and ar th scond largst rodnt in th world (aftr th Capybara. Sinc this fnc installion, nw trs ar rsting saf and sound. Now, w njoy rports from nighbors about mor bavrs moving into th ara along with muskrs, turtls, and ottrs. Th Atlanta Audubon Socity Prsidnt Joy Cartr also rcntly spottd almost two dozn kinds of birds on th trail. W r thrilld with this vr incrasing prsnc of biodivrsity and ask th if you vntur out on to th trail (and w most sincrly hop you do) plas trad carfully on th crk banks so as not to disturb th dlic homs ths gorgous crurs hav stablishd thr. Parkwood s Potntial Blooms At Dcur s doorstp on Ponc d Lon, a tributary to Pavin Crk invits discovry. Shri Knndy in Parkwood trasurs wh sh found aftr yars of hard work with hr nighbors rmoving ivy and privt. I found our first trillium this spring. It must b svral yars old as it was blooming but wh a joy and a promis of things to com. And th park is rich with Jack-in-th-pulpits! W hav Big Jack th is asily 3 tall and a larg family of 8-10 in an ara w ar just claring of ivy. Lots of othrs in random nooks and crannis. W ar still working on our invasiv plants in th park. Th ivy is slowly disapparing but making way for honysuckl, poto vin, ragwd and poison ivy. I am dtrmind thy will not win this yar. Our trail tours ar filling up fast! Lt a South Fork know-it-all shar our progrss with you. Visit our wbsit to sign up for on of th following ds: July 5 9:00AM August 2 9:00AM Sptmbr 6 9:00AM

5 South Fork Consrvancy Post Offic Box 5433 Atlanta, GA NONPROFIT ORG U.S POSTAGE PAID ATLANTA, GA PERMIT NO Thanks to our nwst mmbrs! Conflunc Club Jss & Dbbi Austin Joni Winston Billy Hall & Nwfilds Bob Krr & Linda DiSantis Wayn & Jan Thorp Richard & Sally Sars Blchr Martha & Toby Brooks Dbra Edlson Kirk Elifson & Clair Strk David and Bcky Evans Christian & Clo Larsn Allison and Warnr McConaughy Chrin and Ethan Tolbrt Crk Rangr AGL Rsourcs David Goldin Dav Kaufman David Eldridg Family Mmbrship Bill La Duca Lucy & Bill Vanc Sam & Angi Alln Linda Austin Barry Brlin Donald Knagy Kn and Dborah Willis Alx McCray & Psy McGirl Mik Morton Shryl Myrs & John Davis Richard Taylor L Davidson Wildr Individual Mmbrship Susan Davis Stv Dickrson Bn & Sharon Hill Jonhan Pric Jannin Addams Juli Arnold Margart Brn Krista Brwr David Hopkins Camron Jff & Amy Cromwll Frank Dptrs William Evans Tamara Grk Bth Grashof John & Trsa Mays Frank Mucklr Holly Portr Dan Pric Shlly Ros Cynthia & Robrt Scott Gigi Schwartz Cynthia Wtmor Mlinda Wharton Bill Christian southforkconsrvancy.org pg 8 Hlp Us Rstor th South Fork of Pachtr Crk Want to shar in th South Fork Consrvancy s vision? Hr ar som ways you can blaz th trail with us. Our mmbrs support is vital to our succss and w would lov for you to join our growing bas. By th sam tokn, our nthusiastic voluntrs mak our world go round. You can sign up for voluntr vnts through our wbsit or by rsponding to mail blasts. In-kind donions ar anothr gr way for you to shar your skills and talnts with us. Mmbrship Options Individual Mmbrship: $35-99 Family Mmbrship: $ Crk Rangr: $ Conflunc Club: $1000 To Join, visit our wbsit or us th tachd nvlop