We saw many species of bats on our
leisurely Sunset and Full Beaver Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee
just west of Lakeland, Georgia,
after the sun set and the moon rose.
Thanks to Chris Adams, aka Turtleman, for leading this paddle. He is a very experienced naturalist and former guide at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. He has often paddled with us at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Thanks to Bat Biologist (and WWALS Board Member) Elizabeth Brunner for identifying many species of bats living in the one bat tree, and probably a couple more flying by.
Veronica Kelly-Summers, a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,
talked about the Okefenokee Swamp, its history, significance, places to go, things to do, and what’s next,
in this largest and best-preserved freshwater wetland in the U.S.
The Swamp is the headwaters of two rivers: the St. Marys that forms the border between Georgia and Florida,
and the Suwannee, which flows through Georgia and the Florida state song.
Here is the WWALS video of Veronica’s webinar, from noon-1 PM, Thursday, September 11, 2025:
https://youtu.be/pvLU8wPLsZc
The WWALS
campout at Floyd’s Island
in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp
has unfortunately been cancelled due to low water.
So you can watch Veronica’s presentation instead.
WWALS Board Member Janet Martin gave a brief introduction.
In questions and answers at the end,
Veronica elaborated on what it means
for the Okefenokee NWR to become a World Heritage Site:
more visibility, more visitors, but no additional federal funding.
Veronica Kelly-Summers is a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with
over 15 years of experience in protecting natural resources and
connecting people with nature. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s
degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University with a focus on
forest recreation and wildlife habitat management. Her career with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken her to eight national
wildlife refuges from the woods and swamps of southern Illinois to
the Loess Bluffs of Iowa and Missouri, the Florida Everglades, and
she’s now stationed at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in
Georgia. She works closely with staff and partners to provide
leadership and strategic direction for the Visitor Services program
including managing visitor facilities and recreational opportunities
for camping, boating, interpretation, environmental education,
special events, outreach, hunting, fishing, managing volunteers, and
much more. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her
husband, Jacob, and their pets, a yellow lab named Charlie and a
spicy tuxedo cat named Tino.
Join us for a fascinating historical exploration of Georgia’s Wiregrass Region and the complex stories of survival, resistance, and adaptation that unfolded there after the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson.
Native American and Passageways to Freedom within the Wiregrass Region1
As settlers moved south of the Oconee River, drawn by the land’s
economic promise, waves of migration and militia efforts reshaped
the landscape—and the lives of the Native American families
who called it home. Through rivers, streams, and the vast Okefenokee
Swamp, Indigenous people found ways not only to endure but to carve
out paths of freedom and self-determination amid the U.S. Indian
Removal Policy of the 1830s.
Drawing from original correspondence between settlers, militia, and
Georgia’s governors in Milledgeville, this presentation reveals how
waterways became corridors of escape and survival. As Everitte
reminds us, “Swamps are places on the margins — as much,
they are places of transition, opportunity, and challenge.”2
Hahira, Georgia, November 4, 2025 —
Join experienced naturalist and swamp guide Chris “Turtleman” Adams
for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee
just west of Lakeland, Georgia.
There may be bats.
That’s at 4:45 PM this Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
Chris Adams, aka Turtleman, is a very experienced naturalist and former guide at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. He has often paddled with us at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
He runs the Wiregrass Ecological and Cultural Project, bringing awareness to the heart of the Deep South and showcasing its natural & cultural communities.
You’ll enjoy his insights.
This Outing is honoring Veterans, who get free entry.
Gather 4:45 PM, launch 5:15 PM, moonrise 5:39 PM, sunset 5:41 PM, end 6:45 PM, Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Join us for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddla on our mini-Okefenokee
just west of Lakeland, Georgia.
Watch the sun set, the moon rise, and there may be bats.
Chris Adams, aka Turtleman, will be leading this paddle. He is a very experienced naturalist and former guide at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. He has often paddled with us at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge. You’ll enjoy his insights.
This Outing is honoring Veterans, who get free entry.
When: Gather 4:45 PM, launch 5:15 PM, moonrise 5:39 PM, sunset 5:41 PM, end 6:45 PM, Wednesday, November 5, 2025
A Wildlife Biologist with GA-DNR, Samuel Holst,
talked about the bats of Georgia, including in Banks Lake and the Okefenokee Swamp.
Plus some of our rare small mammals that are found around the Okefenokee.
WWALS Board Member Janet Martin gave a brief introduction,
with questions and answers at the end.
Including where to put your bat house.
He sent some papers about that, and how to make a bat house, how to attract bats, how to identify bats, their importance in agriculture, and how to keep them out of your house:
https://wwals.net/pictures/bat-papers
Join us for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddla on our mini-Okefenokee
just west of Lakeland, Georgia.
Watch the sun set, the moon rise, and there may be bats.
Chris Adams, aka Turtleman, will be leading this paddle.
He is a very experienced naturalist and former guide at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
He has often paddled with us at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
You’ll enjoy his insights.
This Outing is honoring Veterans, who get free entry.
When: Gather 4:45 PM, launch 5:15 PM, moonrise 5:39 PM, sunset 5:41 PM, end 6:45 PM, Wednesday, November 5, 2025
I went to thank the Lanier County Commission for letting WWALS
use the boats at Banks Lake Outdoors in our Full Moon Paddles.
WWALS Outings Committee Co-Chairs Kim Tanner and Janet Martin are
getting good use out of those boats.
And to ask if they mind if we put a small shed inside the
outdoor fence for the paddles and PFDs so they don’t get left out
in the rain and the sun. They said yes, they would accept that free
gift.
Thanks to Janet Martin for organizing this first in a series of
casual Meet and Greets.
This one was
at beautiful Banks Lake.
Where it rained the whole time, so we set up tables for the food
on the porch at Banks Lake Outdoors and had a fine time.
Hahira, Georgia, August 7, 2025
— We’ve got some songs, but we’d like yours.
The new last day to send your song is Wednesday, August 13, for
the 2025 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
Organizing Committee Chair Sara Squires Jones said, “That song you’ve been polishing: now’s the time!
If you are not musically inclined you can still become a sponsor to help us clean up our local waterways.”
The Eighth Annual Finals will be held
at the WWALS River Revue, an indoor fundraising dinner, to benefit
WWALS Watershed Coalition, with an evening of food, drink, speakers
from Georgia and Florida, a silent auction, the music of a headliner
and the Songwriting Contest Finalists. That’s 5-9 PM, Saturday,
September 6, 2025, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta,
Georgia.
WWALS Membership Director Janet Martin said, “Your ticket or
sponsorship helps support everything WWALS does, from water quality
tests, paddle outings and swimming & boating lessons, to
chainsaw cleanups, and beyond to advocacy to stop trash at its
sources, strip mines, and pipelines. We work for water trails, solar
power, and Right to Clean Water, with growing engagement for youth
and marginalized communities.” Continue reading →
![[Full Beaver Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, 2025-11-05, Guide: Chris Turtleman Adams, Bat Biologist: Elizabeth Brunner]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-05--full-beaver-moon-paddle-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Okefenokee Swamp by Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, 2025-09-11]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-09-11--okefenokee-swamp-webinar-video/fbmany.jpg)
![[Geography of Opportunity in Georgia's Wiregrass Region, by History Instructor Vickie Everitte, a WWALS Webinar, Noon-1 PM by zoom, 2025-12-11]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-12-11--geography-of-opportunity-webinar/many.jpg)
![[Paddle with naturalist and swamp guide Chris Turtleman Adams, Full Beaver Moon Paddle, Sunset, and maybe bats at Banks Lake 2025-11-05]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-05--full-beaver-moon-paddle-pr/fbmany.jpg)
![[Full Beaver Moon Paddle, Banks Lake 2025-11-05, Sunset, Moonrise, and maybe bats]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-05--full-beaver-moon-paddle/fbmany.jpg)
![[Video: Bats of Georgia, Samuel Holst, GA-DNR, a WWALS Webinar, August 21, 2025]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-08-21--bats-of-georgia-wwals-webinar-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Lanier County Commission, Lakeland, Georgia, 2025-08-11, Boats at Banks Lake Outdoors, Comprehensive Plan and ARWT]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-08-11--lanier-county-commission/many.jpg)
![[Meet and Greet at Banks Lake 2025-08-09, Rain and Thunder, Food and Cheer]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-08-09--meet-greet-banks-lake-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Flyer: Songwriting Contest]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-08-07--song-extended/Enter-Suwannee-Riverkeeper-Songwriting-Contest-2025-trim.jpg)