Next Leadership
Team Meeting
Sun., Apr. 14, 2013

How You Can Help

The hemlocks are a valuable natural resource, and they desperately need your help. Whether you are young or not so young, own property in the mountains or just enjoy visiting them, every effort by every individual is important. There are many interesting and rewarding ways to get involved – a lot or a little – whatever works best for you.

See our Schedule of Events for a variety of opportunities.

• Volunteers are needed to help on hemlock treatment projects and to staff our information booth at festivals.

• More Facilitators are needed in several counties.

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Take care of your own hemlocks. Be alert for the first signs of the woolly adelgid. If even one of the hemlocks on your property is infested or if a neighbor's trees are infested, go ahead and plan to take care of all your hemlocks that you want to save as soon as possible. Visit the HWA Controls page to learn about your options or call the Hemlock Help Line 706-429-8010 for advice.

Please take action early!

Spread the word to others. Be an ambassador for the hemlocks, using e-mail lists, newsletters, web sites, and word of mouth to share the message with friends, business associates, neighborhood associations, conservation/recreation organizations, schools, churches, and other community groups.

These are the three key messages:

■ The hemlocks are in trouble and will die unless effective action is taken soon.

■ Property owners can save as many of their hemlocks as they want, and it's easy and inexpensive.

■ Save Georgia's Hemlocks can provide a great deal of free, practical help.

Join us as a member. The participation and support of members all across the state are vitally important to our organization as we work to identify the hemlock-related needs in the counties of north Georgia, find more creative ways to share the hemlock message, develop effective programs to help property owners and their trees, and expand our network of individuals and groups that share similar environmental, conservation, and recreational interests. If you'd like to take a stand, have a say, and be part of the action, please visit the Memberships and Donations page to learn more about membership.

Become an active volunteer. Here are some of the opportunities for volunteers. Please e-mail us or call the Hemlock Help Line 706-429-8010 to let us know of your interest.

■ Teaching or giving presentations

■ Talking to kids' classes or groups

■ Being a neighborhood volunteer

■ Helping on charitable service projects

■ Organizing volunteers for a project

■ Monitoring hemlocks for HWA

■ Measuring, tagging, or treating hemlocks

■ Planting or transplanting hemlocks

■ Leading a hike in the forest

■ Hosting a special event

■ Helping to organize or lead a meeting

■ Staffing an information booth

■ Preparing marketing and communications materials

■ Doing research and citizen science

■ Writing articles or educational materials

■ Using your artistic or creative talents

■ Taking photos or preparing YouTube videos

■ Using the Internet, Facebook, and other technology

■ Distributing educational/awareness materials

■ Building partnerships with other nonprofit groups

■ Using your business skills or knowledge

■ Fundraising and/or grant writing

Become a Facilitator. You can provide a valuable service to your community by taking a short training course (4 hours plus some hands-on practice) to learn more about the hemlocks, the woolly adelgids, and the available treatments and then making yourself available to help your neighbors understand the issues and advise them about appropriate solutions. To see what's involved, please visit the Volunteer Facilitators page and review the Volunteer Facilitator Job Description and Lead Area Facilitator Job Description.

Sponsor a Hemlock Help Clinic. Help us identify local groups that would be interested in having a hemlock help presentation, helping publicize the meeting, and maybe providing light refreshments. We'll be happy to give public recognition to you or your organization. Call the Hemlock Help Line 706-429-8010 for more information.

Develop a neighborhood plan. Work with your friends and neighbors to develop a neighborhood hemlock help plan to suppress the woolly adelgid over the widest possible area. We can meet with your property owners association or its board to provide guidance on scoping the project, determining the best treatment option, estimating the effort and cost, anticipating the challenges, and building community support. For an overview of the process, please see the Neighborhood Hemlock Help Planning Guide.

Help on our public lands. There are three ways you can help save the hemlocks on our public lands.

■ You can participate in joint SGH projects with the U. S. Forest Service or the GA Department of Natural Resources to treat hemlocks on public lands.

■ You can volunteer with our public land managers to help hemlocks in other ways.

■ You can donate money directly to any of the university-based research labs that are rearing predatory beetles for release on public lands.

Support SGH's mission. Save Georgia's Hemlocks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, supported primarily through the generosity of individuals' and groups' donations. To offer your financial support, please visit our Memberships and Donations page.