When Georgians think of the Chattahoochee River, images of mountain towns, fishing and rafting opportunities, and Atlanta’s thriving economy come to mind. However, below Atlanta, the river currently tells a different story. As it flows through Georgia, Alabama and Florida and through an area of the state where county-wide poverty rates soar as high as 31 percent, the river’s economic potential has yet to be tapped. Project Riverway, is a collaborative partnership between several disciplines at UGA, including the Fanning Institute (Public Service and Outreach), School of Environmental Design, Institute of Ecology, the Center for Community Design and Preservation, and the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and communities in need along the river. It is a service-learning project designed to strengthen the area’s economic and community well-being by developing Heritage/ Cultural/ Educational & Ecological Tourism. Tourism, which is a key industry in Georgia, will help the community members better themselves financially by marketing ecologically sensitive and sustainable tourism throughout the entire region.

In addition to crossing the University’s disciplinary boundaries, Project Riverway aims to cross political boundaries as well. The Chattahoochee region is so full of boundaries, from state and county lines to city and personal property boundaries, that it seems natural to encourage a divide between communities. And such a divide has made it easier to distinguish “us” and “them” —an attitude that encourages the well-being of “our” area while considering the needs of others to be less important. One common thread that joins every project created through Project Riverway is regionalism. Just as residents along the river often rely on resources in two or more states, our aim is to view this area as one region, not three states or 17 counties.

Project Riverway partnered with Riverway South, a non-profit organization associated with Columbus State University, to create a regional effort to preserve, protect and promote the unique heritage of communities within the lower Chattahoochee watershed. Riverway South was formed by Georgians along the river to address the complex concerns of life along the Chattahoochee. Historically, the river provided many needs for residents: social, recreational, spiritual, sustenance, and occupation. However, the lower Chattahoochee no longer lends economic vitality to the region, with the loss of an agrarian way of life coupled with a near end of the river as a shipping corridor. In fact, there is little economic life left in this area. The residents of these communities have expressed a desire to have a dynamic and life-sustaining relationship with the lower Chattahoochee again; and Project Riverway seeks to foster that relationship and reconnect communities and their economies to the river.

There is much to learn from the community members along the river, a wealth of knowledge possessed by resourceful people who have endured much hardship and poverty. Their concerns are central to this work and guide both the project and the curriculum. The locals drive this multi-disciplinary service-learning project by allowing us to help them reconnect with their surroundings in ways that are beneficial to their communities, the river, and the environment.

Service-learning is a central component of Project Riverway. We include both undergraduate and graduate students in our efforts to help the people of the lower Chattahoochee to better their lives and the life of the river. The students give their time and talent, develop thoughtful outcomes and spend much time reflecting upon the needs of the community members. While service-learning is a form of community service for the students and a way to learn valuable skills, they are also positively affected by the wealth of knowledge of the locals and in turn, provide the communities with real, implementable tools and products. During the first summer of Project Riverway, students created:

• Four new tourism concepts that linked the river with its communities;
• An interactive RiverWay South Website which creates custom tours along the river;
• A revitalization plan for Fort Gaines;
• Plans for a 5 mile trail connecting Babgy State Park and downtown Fort Gaines;
• A landscape master plan for an historic Native American site;
• Low income housing options that fit the historic fabric of the area; and
• Nature Tourism for the Lower Chattahoochee, a “how to” booklet

During the 2007 summer semester, Project Riverway will focus its efforts south of Fort Gaines to the Apalachicola Bay and will:

• Further develop the website and complete the interactive map;
• Develop additional tourism concepts that help link communities with the river;
• Create guided tours placed on compact discs or downloadable podcasts;
• Record personal narratives from the people who live in the region;
• Develop additional low income housing options;
• Increase tourism signage;
• Protect the cultural integrity of historic Native American sites; and
• Increase awareness of the unique ecological aspects of the region.

In addition to creating products, students of Project Riverway have myriad opportunities to present and display their work. In 2006, students presented their ideas and products at the annual, multi-state River Summit in Fort Gaines, at the University of Georgia’s Alliance for Quality Growth fall meeting, and will be presenting at the Community Leadership Association’s national conference. Their work was also displayed at the first Academy of the Environment symposium and in the Owens Circle Gallery at the School of Environmental Design. In 2007, students will have the same opportunities and more to share their Project Riverway work with a diverse audience.

Some service-learning projects simply drop a solution into a community and move on to other areas. Project Riverway, with help from a SEGUE Grant, will differ from earlier research because it will last a minimum of three years. Many times the most crucial step in solving a problem is finding the right people (public or private) to create a workable solution. By forming long-term partnerships, Project Riverway strengthens the economic and community well-being for many Georgians in need along the lower Chattahoochee River.