Longleaf Pine Savanna Garden
Of what was 90 million acres of Longleaf Pine Forests, less than 4% remains today.
I designed and managed the installation of the Longleaf Pine Savanna Garden on the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum. The garden highlights the beautiful diversity of unique plants native to Georgia’s Longleaf Pine Forest ecosystem. These ecosystems are reliant on fire, which once regularly visited the Southeast by way of lightning storms and indigenous people’s controlled burns. The fires forged open forest ecosystems, called savannas, with fire-tolerant longleaf pines and over 900 species of plants. Along the boardwalk, visitors can explore one microhabitat found in longleaf pine forests, known as bogs, in which carnivorous plants evolved to consume insect prey.
My roles involved:
Project visioning
Project planning
Landscape design and drafting
Project budgeting and bidding
Plant sourcing and ordering
Contractor management (installation contractors)
Developing and establishing private partnerships (to supply the garden with water from the nearby brewery)
Volunteer coordination
Plant layout
Artist management and coordination (for custom railing work)
Writing and documenting a landscape management plan
Staff training
*All work was completed while employed at Trees Atlanta, 2020