Listening to the Land: An Ocmulgee Hackathon

Two Days. Two Locations. One River.
Building technology and building relationships between the land and the community.

The Ocmulgee Corridor Community Hackathon: At a Glance

How can we use modern technology to listen and care for an ancient river? 

The Ocmulgee Hackathon is a two-day community gathering that flips the traditional tech event on its head. Instead of just staring at computer screens, we are bringing together neighbors, artists, storytellers, and tech lovers to protect our local environment. Our goal is simple: to combine community imagination with creative technology to stand up for clean water, support rural health, and help protect this sacred land as Georgia’s very first National Park.

❓ WHAT is it?

A "hackathon" is usually a fast-paced weekend event where people race to build new technology. We are taking that creative energy and turning it into a Community Hackathon!

• On Day One, we will step away from screens to build a relationship with the land through community service, history storytelling, and group discussions.

• On Day Two, we will gather in a tech lab to take what we learned and build real, working science gadgets and software to help protect the river.

👥 WHO is it for?

Everyone! You do not need to be a computer whiz or an engineer to join us. To make this project work, we need a complete circle of community talents:

• Coders & Tech Lovers to wire up sensors and write code.

• Artists & Designers to make beautiful maps and easy-to-read websites.

• Storytellers, Paddlers, & Nature Lovers to help share the river's message and plan future outdoor river adventures.

• Students & Neighbors who want to learn how to protect our local environment.

📅 WHEN is it?

• Friday, June 26, 2026: Day 1 (Outdoor Exploration, Service, & Storytelling)

• Saturday, June 27, 2026: Day 2 (Technology Building & Prototyping)

📍 WHERE is it happening?

This event takes place across two incredible locations to match our two phases, and affirm the entire river corridor as our site of exploration:

• Day 1 Location: At the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park, Along the Ocmulgee River Corridor and ancestral tribal homelands in the Macon, GA area.

• Day 2 Location: The brand-new GEAR Lab at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, GA. (An amazing workspace filled with tools for cutting-edge technology and engineering!)

💡 WHY are we doing this?

The Ocmulgee River is a vital lifeline, but it faces real threats from pollution and heavy industry. We are building outdoor, solar-powered environmental sensors along the river corridor for three major reasons:

1. To Support Georgia's First National Park: Our project works directly with the Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative (ONPPI) to help protect this land forever.

2. To Stand Up for Clean Water: Did you know that active recreation and community monitoring are some of the only ways to legally force the EPA to increase water quality protections? Our data will give the community a voice.

3. To Honor Tribal Sovereignty: This project takes place on the ancestral lands of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. By partnering directly with the Nation and the College of Muscogee Nation, we ensure that the community who protects the river always owns and controls the data.

Land Acknowledgement:  The government and citizens of Macon-Bibb County respectfully acknowledge the Muscogee (Creek) people who lived, worked, produced knowledge on, and nurtured the land now known as Macon, Georgia. In 1821, the Muscogee (Creek) people were forced to relinquish this land. We recognize the sustained oppression, land dispossession, and involuntary removals of the Muscogee (Creek) peoples from Macon, from Georgia, and from the Southeast. The Government of Macon-Bibb County seeks to honor the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and other Indigenous caretakers of this land by humbly seeking knowledge of their histories and committing to respectful stewardship of the land.