About Us
WHO WE ARE
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to restore and rebuild the precious array of delicate and nearly-lost ecosystems. By protecting and nurturing this vital piece of the watershed, we are keeping rivers, bays, bayous and eventually the Gulf of Mexico cleaner and more abundant.
We consider it two-fold restoration: we offer our guests a place to relax mind and body while while we work to conserve biodiversity and habitat.
WHY ARE LONGLEAF PINES IMPORTANT?
Longleaf pines once covered much of the Southeast U.S. but were harvested for timber. Unfettered, they can live for several hundred years. They provide habitat for many rare species.
Older longleaf pines provide homes for the endangered red cockaded woodpecker. We hope to host these beautiful birds in 50-60 years when our trees are mature. For now, keep your eyes peeled for pileated or red-bellied woodpeckers!
Our land management practices include controlled burns, a strategy which indigenous Americans employed to maintain the health of the ecosystem in part by clearing out invasive species.
Fires do not harm the longleaf seedlings, and they work to protect the red cockaded woodpecker by burning vines off mature trees, which prevents some predators from reaching these beautiful birds.
OUR GARDENS
The gardens comprise 2 - 3 acres of landscaping with plants like native milkweed, bee balm, and maypop to support local and migratory butterflies. In addition to traditional soil gardening, we have an aquaponics system in one of our greenhouses, which uses koi fish to fertilize plant beds.
In our aquaponics greenhouse, we grow herbs, ornamentals, and beneficial plants.
Our garden and greenhouse have varying hours (dependent on events) and we encourage our guests to explore.
