The Satilla Riverkeeper is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, founded in 2004 to protect, restore, and educate about the Satilla River, its tributaries, and watershed.
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Board of DirectorsJim Cottingham, Chair - Coffee County
Wilton Deloach, Vice Chair - Ware County Jessica Deal, Treasurer - Ware County Kellie Parr, Secretary - Glynn County George Varn Jr. - Charlton County Levi Welling - Ware County Clay Montague, Honorary - Camden County Guy Moorman, Honorary - Coffee County |
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I could not be more excited to serve as the Satilla Riverkeeper. I was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia where I spent my childhood wandering along the Augusta Canal and Savannah River. From an early age I developed a deep appreciation for nature. I went on to complete a bachelor's degree in biology with a concentration in ecology at Augusta University. As a student I became interested in the role that toxicology plays on individual species and ecosystems. As a result, I began researching the impacts of ocean acidification on fiddler crab regeneration. In 2014, I joined Satilla Science and began monthly sampling in the Satilla River Estuary examining species diversity surrounding man-made cuts in surrounding tidal creeks. This multi-university collaborative study contributed to the Noyes Cut restoration in the mouth of the Satilla River.
I later went on to complete a master’s degree in wildlife and fisheries biology at Clemson University. While enrolled in school I had an amazing opportunity to work as a research technician at Savannah River Ecology Lab where I assisted on multiple studies including the transmission of heartworms through mosquitos, the potential for rabies transmission in relocated raccoons and opossums, and wild boar fertility impacted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. During my studies to fulfill my degree, I examined the potential for imposex in male blue crabs when exposed to synthetic estrogens. I have always been enthusiastic about research and have presented my research over the years at both regional and international conferences. After graduation, I began teaching environmental biology at Augusta University. During my teaching career I wanted to provide students with a “hands-on” approach to environmental issues. As a result, I organized multiple wetland cleanups to improve the quality of the wetlands and highlight pollution issues covered in lecture. In addition to teaching, I served as the Program Chair for the Southeastern Estuarine Research Society. After falling in love with the Satilla River over the years, I am proud to call the watershed home and I look forward to serving as the Satilla Riverkeeper. Together we can continue the Satilla Riverkeeper’s mission of protecting, restoring, and educating. |
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Trish DuBose came to coastal Georgia just after graduating from Wesleyan College with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry to take a quality control laboratory technician position with Union Carbide (aka Rhone Poulenc, Bayer). After five years of quality assurance with products such as Sevin, Temik, and Amiben, along with the birth of her daughter, Trish entered the world of education. During those years as a high school science teacher Trish established the oceanography curriculum and introduced students to the Adopt A Stream program. Students monitored chemical parameters of the creek on campus as well as at Crooked River State Park and the St. Marys Waterfront. Additionally, the students explored salinity gradients, phytoplankton monitoring, and the movement of sand over time.
After several years of administration duties, Trish looked to return to these field experiences and citizen science opportunities for the community. As water quality coordinator for the Satilla Riverkeeper organization, Trish is a certified Adopt A Stream trainer for chemical and bacterial monitoring and trains citizens in the Adopt a Stream protocols along with reporting chemical and bacterial data from the landings along the Satilla River Water Trail. Trish and her family continue to fish and experience the wonders of coastal Georgia. Trish can also be found cheering the Atlanta Braves, Georgia Bulldogs (baseball as well as football), and behind her Nikon camera capturing the beauty of the Satilla River watershed. |
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I am absolutely ecstatic to be able to serve as the administrative advisor for the Satilla Riverkeepers! I grew up in Waycross, Georgia, exploring the beauty of the Satilla River as a young child. I’ve always had a fascination for nature and all the different critters that inhabit it. I remember being a small kid playing with the rolly pollies and chasing the little green anoles around the pecan orchard. I spent a majority of my childhood summers camping, swimming, and fishing on the lovely Satilla that I now get to protect and preserve.
I graduated high school in 2019 and started working at a wastewater testing laboratory shortly after. While working there, I was able to obtain both the Wastewater Laboratory Analyst and the Drinking Water Laboratory Analysts certifications as well as gain tons of experience operating in a lab setting. The amount of knowledge and exposure that I gained from working in the lab, and with the people surrounding it, helped me reawaken that passion of the environment I had as adolescent. I now enjoy spending my free time learning how to forage in our environment, creating all sorts of artworks depicting the natural beauties we have in the area, and collecting all sorts of oddities on my explorations. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to learn and protect the Satilla River. It genuinely is such a natural wonder, and I hope to aid in the preservation of it so that many generations after me can also appreciate and call the Satilla their home. |