Upcoming ANR Events
Become an Environmental Action Hero!
Help reverse the ecological damage of invasive plants!
In this 2 hour University of Georgia Extension program, you'll learn about non-native invasive plants in North Georgia and become an Environmental Action Hero! (And you can earn a pretty cool lapel pin for it)
First, we'll show you how to identify several common invasive plants and discuss management methods to slow their spread. Then we'll take a short walk to an identified Action Site where we'll get hands-on experience with effective, non-chemical strategy to remove the #2 worst non-native invasive plant, Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), from this site. The results of this community effort will amaze you, brighten your spirits, and improve our parks.
Bring your own water and we'll provide everything else. This is a family-friendly community program, but youth under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult.
Location: Haw Creek Park; 2205 Echols Road, Cumming Ga 30041
- Fridays 9-11 a.m.
- Saturdays 9-11 a.m.
Location: Chattahoochee Pointe Park, 5790 Chattahoochee Pointe Drive, Suwanee, Ga 30024
Come join Forsyth County Master Naturalist Extension Volunteers for FrogWatch monitoring. These educational walks happen twice per month, and we will be identifying frog calls to collect population data. Each monitoring site requires five minutes of total silence for data collection and walks can be up to two miles. It’s a great way to learn frog calls and identifying characteristics of our 14 frogs and toads in our county.
Please register for the frog walks you want to attend so we know who to expect, and keep an eye on your email incase weather changes our plans. Dates for spring 2026 include:
August:
- 8/4 (8:40pm) - Fowler Park Trailhead for Greenway
- 8/14 (8:25pm) - Bethelview Trailhead for Greenway
September:
- 9/8 (8:05pm) - Fowler Park Trailhead for Greenway
- 9/18 (7:40pm) - Bethelview Trailhead for Greenway
The Great Southeast Pollinator Census
Join Forsyth County Master Gardeners and Master Naturalist Extension Volunteers at one of the following locations; Saturday August 22, 10am-12pm
- Denmark library, 530 Fowler Rd Alpharetta Ga 30004
- Cumming Library, 585 Dahlonega St Cumming Ga 30040
- Hampton Park Library, 5345 Settingdown Rd Cumming Ga 30041
Learn how to observe and count pollinators and enter your counts online for the 2026 Great Southeast Pollinator Census. There will be games and prizes for the kids. This event is free and does not require registration.
Our Master Naturalist Volunteers are at it again! Educational tree walks have been scheduled for fall. Each walk is scheduled in a county park, a segment of the Big Creek Greenway or some other natural area in the county. Walks will take place on sites that are easy to traverse, cover roughly 1 to 1.5 miles, and last about 1 to 1.5 hours. At the beginning of each walk volunteers will discuss the keys to identifying individual species of trees. During the walk, Naturalists will pause to talk about the characteristics of each species and how it aids in identification for the species. At the end of each walk, each participant will be given a self-test to help reinforce what trees they have seen during the walk.
Please register for the tree walks you're planning on joining so we can prepare materials for you. Details about weather changes and specific meeting locations will be distributed via email prior to the walk. Dates for Fall 2026 include:
September:
- 9/10 (9:30am) - Old Atlanta Park
- 9/15 (5:30pm) - Eagle's Beak Park Middle Entrance
- 9/24 (9:30am) - Caney Creek East Entrance
October
- 10/2 (5:30am) - Poole's Mill Park
- 10/8 (9:30am) - Halcyon Trailhead of the Greenway
- 10/16 (5:30pm) - Coal Mountain Park
- 10/20 (9:30am) - Bethelview Trailhead of the Greenway
- 10/30 (5:30pm) - Windemere Park
November
- 11/5 (5:30pm) - Charleston Park
Interested in using rainwater in your landscape?
Join Forsyth County Extension and the Forsyth County Water & Sewer Department to learn about water conservation, rainwater harvesting, and how to properly use the rain barrel you’ll take home after the class.
Our remaining class will occur on July 30th, and it will be hosted at the Freedom Training room at the Freedom Parkway Campus. Classes will start at 6pm and end at 8pm.
The registration fee is $30, class size is limited, and participation is limited to Forsyth County residents. Attendance at the full two hour class is required to receive a rain barrel. Limit of one rain barrel per household. Only registered participants may attend. Register now!
Lunch & Learn: The Evolution of Flowers
Join us for our upcoming Lunch & Learn featuring special guest speaker Ryan Roney, Curator at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. Ryan will present an engaging and thought‑provoking program on The Evolution of Flowers—a fascinating journey through science, history, and the natural world.
Discover how the story of flowering plants is deeply connected to groundbreaking scientific discoveries by Darwin, Wallace, Mendel, and others who helped define concepts like natural selection, variation, mutation, and inheritance. Explore how millions of years of experimentation in nature—captured in the fossil record—led to the rise of angiosperms and their dominance across terrestrial ecosystems.
This meeting will be on Tuesday, August 11 at 12:00 at the Extension Office:
- 12:00-12:30 Meet and Greet- Everyone is welcome to enjoy their lunch and meet our special speaker.
- 12:30- Introduction of speaker
- 12:30 -2:00- Presentation
Bring your brown bag lunch, relax, and enjoy a lively and informative discussion. Please register so we can put a seat out for you!