W. D. Thomson Park Restoration Project
In March of 1952, William D. Thomson, former Dean of Emory Law School and general counsel for the university, gifted a tract of 28.6 acres to DeKalb County “to be held in use perpetually as a park”. In 2012 the Friends of Thomson Park volunteer group was established as an affiliate of Park Pride and the volunteers have been hard at work since then removing invasives from all areas of the park, establishing and maintaining trails, and engaging in general upkeep of park amenities.
After a number of years it became apparent that the only way to make long-lasting progress in any given area of the park would be to set aside a small area focused on rehabilitation and dedicated to established restoration techniques. A heavily damaged two acre section was selected and in 2019 the proposal to designate it as a restoration site was approved by both DeKalb County and GNPS.
The site spans two types of terrain: an open riparian meadow, and a hilly forested area. It took several years to fully clear the meadow section, partially clear the wooded section, and prep the soil. To date, many hundreds of plants comprising almost 70 different species of natives have been planted and most are doing well.
Friends of Thomson Park volunteers meet once a month year-round, and also in smaller groups for various tasks in between our official workdays. Come on out and visit; it’s a nice little gem of a park.
Driving Directions To Restoration Project
You can view a Google Map for this project here.
News & Events
Thomson Park Fall Workdays
Welcome to WD Thomson Park in DeKalb County! The Friends of Thomson Park have three upcoming monthly workdays during the fall of 2022: – Saturday, Oct 15, 9:00am to 12:00pm – Sunday, November 20, 2:00pm to 5:00pm – Sunday, December 11, 2:00pm to 5:00pm Note that...
Thomson Park Workdays; Summer 2022
Welcome to WD Thomson Park in DeKalb County! The Friends of Thomson Park have three upcoming monthly workdays during the summer of 2022:- Saturday, June 18, 9:00am to 12:00pm- Saturday, July 23, 9:00am to 12:00pm- Saturday, August 20, 9:00am to 12:00pmWork in our...