WALK GEORGIA

The fall session of Walk Georgia opens this Sunday, August 23. Registration will be open through September 8. Activity may be logged September 6 - October 31.

Grab your tennis shoes, tune up your bike, or pump up your basketball and join us as we explore our great state.

What is Walk Georgia?
Walk Georgia is an 8-week program to increase your physical activity in a fun, community-oriented way. You may participate as an individual and track your progress with other individuals in your county and state OR form a team of four to exercise together.
The online component of Walk Georgia provides an activity record to keep track of your weekly physical activity and time. The activity that you record is translated into "walked" miles, based on average rigor of the chosen activity and the time you were active.
When you accumulate miles, you will be able to navigate a map of Georgia and chart your course to "walk" Georgia. As you move throughout this virtual state, you will be able to view fun facts about each county you visit and learn new ways to improve your health. You will also be able to see how you compare to other individuals throughout the state.
We hope you will be inspired to join us and others in your county as we get more active and become healthier!

Participate as an individual or build your dream team and get registered at http://www.walkgeorgia.org.

For assistance with account registration visit: http://www.walkgeorgia.org/public/acctCreation_participant.html.

We recommend registering schools or large groups by September 3. Schools or groups may access the school registration kit at http://www.walkgeorgia.org/index.cfm?public=schoolKit.

To get started, go to the Walk Georgia website and create your account. For more information, contact your local University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office at 1-800-ASK-UGA1 or email walkga@uga.edu.
http://www.walkgeorgia.org
Move more and enjoy living more!
The Walk Georgia Task Force

University of Georgia (SW DISTRICT) Recruitment Event

WHEN: Thursday, September 3, 2009

TIME: 5:30 pm

WHERE: UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center

WHO: 10th-12th grade students and college
transfer students interested in UGA
College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences - Parents Welcome

WHAT: Information on the college, admissions to
UGA, financial aid, and more!

10th-12th Graders:
To sign up, contact your local County
Extension Office (229)-225-4130, or email akcarter@uga.edu, or SW District office

(229)-386-3414 or email scromer@uga.edu.

Transfer Students:
Contact Erin Womack at (229) 386-3528 or
ewomack@uga.edu for more information.

Please register by August 28, 2009

4-H'ers learn value of water

The Albany Herald

Thursday, June 4, 2008
Ethan Fowler

ethan.fowler@albanyhearld.com

4-H'ers learn value of water ALBANY - Dougherty County 4-H member Keana Jones' thorough answer impressed Department of Natural Resources' Adam Kaeser.

Kaeser asked the assembled students at his presentation titled "Fish Ecology of the Flint River" what three things do fish need to survive in the river.

Jones responded: "Water, food and shelter."Jones and about 50 other 4-H members from Dougherty, Mitchell, Worth, Thomas, Baker and Decatur counties participated in the 4-H20 Camp at the Flint RiverQuarium Wednesday. The three-day camp concludes today in Dothan, Ala.

The camp covers everything about water, from conservation, the water cycle, careers involving water resources and the biology of watersheds. 4-H members, who range in age from 9-18, paid $25 to participate in the event.

This was the first year Southwest Georgia 4-H clubs came together for the camp. Mitchell County 4-H did the camp by itself last year.

Dougherty County Extension Agent Rad Yager is hoping that every Southwest Georgia county participates in the camp next year.

"Typically a (three-day) program like this costs $60 per child, but we're only charging $25 and a grant is supplementing the rest through Mr. (Charles) Stripling," said Melissa Martin, education manager at the RiverQuarium. "We're paying for lunch all three days, T-shirts and little mementos. I think it's kind of neat the kids took three days out of their summer to come to this camp and (I'm) really appreciative of the counties' 4-H leaders for providing transportation."

Georgia Youth Science and Technology Centers' Steve Rainey presented a program titled "Water Detectives." The 4-H members went down to the Flint River and sampled the water, as well as handled a crawfish that Rainey caught in a ditch to use as an example.

He said crawfish were the "mice of the river because everybody eats them."

"I've learned how the crawfish lives, how it grows back its body parts and how to sample the river's water," Worth County student member Mary Beth Amrowski said. "I appreciate that the adults come out and take time to tell us about the river.

"Eight-year Thomas County 4-H Program Assistant Amanda Carter participated in 4-H as child for four years."I hope that the kids learn about the importance of water quality and how important it is in our everyday lives," Carter said. "(4-H) is a learn by doing organization. Both of my kids are involved in 4-H and they enjoy every minute of it, whether it's shooting sports, public speaking contests, community service opportunities and 4-H camps."