Environmental Issues
Fern Creek Watershed
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Detailed map of the area covered by NDHRA If you live in this North Druid Hills neighborhood you are in the Fern Creek watershed. Whether your home is directly on the creek or not, all the land within the borders of our neighborhood drains into Fern Creek. It begins with several springs up behind the Harris Teeter store on N. Druid Hills Rd. Fern Creek then flows under Lavista and down to Fama Drive, running behind houses and crossing Berkeley near the footbridge at the end of Jacolyn. It then runs parallel to Georgianna, and flows out toward Briarcliff, crossing there and running through the middle of the old hospital property on Cliff Valley Way. Fern Creek is then piped under I-85 and empties into North Peachtree Creek.
Its appearance changes with the weather. The creek is usually a couple of feet wide and a shallow 6 inches deep, but a heavy rainstorm can turn it into a fast-flowing stream up to 8 feet deep and that much or more in width. In 2001 the drought was so severe that a part of Fern Creek crossing Fama actually dried up for the first time in nearly fifty years!
Sixty years ago, our neighborhood was a farm, with many springs that fed into our creek. I'm lucky enough to live on the creek. It's part of the reason we bought our home on Fama. My children grew up playing in Fern Creek, finding minnows and frogs and once, even a whole turkey still in its A&P plastic wrapping!
Over the years, development in the watershed has changed Fern Creek. It receives an overload of runoff from parking lots, streets and driveways. The banks have eroded dramatically in places, bringing down 150 year old trees and washing away backyards and fences - and things aren't getting any better. What can we do to save Fern Creek?
Fortunately, there is a great organization called Georgia Adopt-A-Stream that can teach us how to monitor Fern Creek and manage its "health". Already Adopt-A-Stream is making a difference with the Peavine Creek Watershed in Druid Hills, and I know we neighbors in the NDHRA can do the same for Fern Creek.
If you want to help save Fern Creek, our creek, contact me, Trudi Dido, at (404) 329-9596.
