Blue Heron Nature Preserve

The Blue Heron Nature Preserve is a 30-acre greenspace in the City of Atlanta located in the North Buckhead community on Roswell Road. We are a City of Atlanta park managed by the non-profit Blue Heron Nature Preserve Inc. We are also home to the Atlanta Audubon Society and The Amphibian Foundation. In many ways we are defined by water. Nancy Creek bisects a large portion of the Preserve on it’s way to the Chattahoochee River. In addition, a smaller tributary, Mill Creek, runs through the Preserve and into Nancy Creek. The restoration site acquired in 2014 is located at 3931 Land O Lakes Drive and contains three tributaries which converge to form Mill Creek. Since our founding in 2000 we have spent considerable energy removing invasives throughout the rest of the Preserve. This has allowed natives to begin re-establish themselves. In addition, in selected areas we have introduced native plants to accelerate the restoration process.

 

GNPS and its volunteers are such an important part of the effort to promote the benefits of native landscapes and we are thrilled to have your help on this project.

The site is overrun with invasive plants like English Ivy, Illeagnus, Mimosa, Nandina, Leather Leaf Mahonia, Privet, bamboo, etc. Initially we will focus on restoring an open meadow adjacent to one of the Mill Creek tributaries and a sloped woodland located nearby in an upland section. We will remove invasive plants in these two locations. Once the invasive plants have been removed, we will add native plants appropriate for a Piedmont woodland and meadow habitat. The woodland area has an existing terraced, stone wall along a path which provides an opportunity to showcase native plants for visitors.