Old Rucker Park Habitat Restoration Project

Overview

While primarily known as the hub of the Alpharetta Community Agriculture Program, the 10.5-acre Old Rucker Park also includes nearly 7.5 acres of woodlands and wetlands that are home for some 140 species of native plants. Lying within the Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, the park’s varied topography features several distinct plant communities, ranging from the dry upper slope of the woodlands to the stream that winds through the wetlands.

After touring Old Rucker Park in 2019, Dr. Leslie Edwards, lead author of The Natural Communities of Georgia (Athens, Ga.: UGA Press, 2013), described the site as “a wonderful property, which could demonstrate meadows (prairies), oak-pine-hickory forests, mesic forest, and bottomland/riparian forest.” Unfortunately, Old Rucker Park also has its share of non-native invasive plants, mainly Chinese privet and Japanese honeysuckle, which crowd out naturally growing native plants. However, clearing these invasive plants has already revealed a rich variety of native plants. For example, in one small bottomland area where we removed privet in 2023, we found 28 species of trees, shrubs, forbs, ferns, grasses and vines.

Realizing the untapped potential of the natural history of Old Rucker Park, the Alpharetta Recreation, Parks & Cultural Services department entered into an agreement with the Georgia Native Plant Society (GNPS) in March 2023, to designate Old Rucker Park as an official GNPS Habitat Restoration Site. So that the community could enjoy this rich outdoor resource, the department included in the park’s future development plans an educational trail through the woodlands. In May 2024, that trail became a reality when Nathaniel Smith from Georgia’s Northern Ridge Boy Scout District took on the challenge of constructing the Smith Nature Trail for his Eagle Scout project.

Edwards also acknowledged this potential. “The site possesses clear stories of how humans have impacted the habitat, from terraces to clearing land, with different aged stands,” she said. “Thus, there are numerous educational opportunities here to teach the natural history of Piedmont Georgia’s forests and meadows through the building of trails, perhaps with signage, and developing interpretive materials.” Moreover, she recognized the role the renewed habitat would eventually play in conjunction with the nascent Community Agriculture Program. “Combined with pollinator gardens, orchards, and food gardens, this is a unique opportunity to integrate our appreciation of nature and our role in it,” she said.

Old Rucker Park Invasive Species

The Old Rucker Park Habitat Restoration Project involves removing invasive species and planting appropriate native species in the approximate 7.5 acres of woodlands and bottomlands in the undeveloped sections of this 10.5-acre Alpharetta, Ga., community park.

Old Rucker Park is home to as many as 140 native plant species, with more discovered each time we remove invasive plants from an area. By removing invasive species, the native species can access the moisture, light and nutrients they need to survive.

Though we have identified 30 species of non-native, invasive plants in Old Rucker Park, our removal and control efforts so far have mainly focused on the three most prevalent ones: Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense), Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) — all classified as Category 1 invasive species according to the Georgia Invasive Species Council.

 Invasive plant removal and native plant restoration in Old Rucker Park have been ongoing since the park property was acquired in 2018; however, not until the site became an official GNPS Habitat Restoration Project in March 2023 has a concerted effort been made to remove the acres of invasive species and install appropriate native species.

Those efforts include participation in our first national Weed Wrangle on the Martin Luther King Day of Service on Jan. 15, 2024, and a conservation rescue on May 7, 2024, which involved transplanting native species from a future nearby subdivision site to locations along the new Smith Nature Trail through the woods on the east side of the park.

Most recently, the Alpharetta Community Agriculture Program (ACAP), whose focal point has been Old Rucker Park, has taken an exciting step in sharing the responsibility for habitat restoration by obtaining funding for professional invasive plant removal. The reason for this is simple: Agriculture depends on native plants and the beneficial insects they attract for the pollination of plants that provide a large percentage of the food we eat. The Old Rucker Park Habitat Restoration Project has been the catalyst for this effort, which Amanda Musilli, community services manager for ACAP, says is intended to expand to other Alpharetta city parks as the community agriculture program itself grows.

Volunteers from the GNPS North Metro Atlanta Chapter and various community service organizations meet once a month at Old Rucker Park to work on the Education Garden and Habitat Restoration Project.

Additional Information

• Concept of Old Rucker Park showing principal woodland restoration area with proposed trail. Courtesy Alpharetta Recreation, Parks & Cultural Services

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