About Us

Buckhead's crowning jewel isn't a mall or a restaurant or even an architectural achievement; it's not something humans built. The Blue Heron Nature Preserve is a twenty-five acre natural wilderness located just off heavily-trafficked Roswell Road in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Blue Heron Nature Preserve is a combination of four  pieces of land along and around Nancy Creek.  Our goals include involving local communities in the preservation and restoration of local greenspace, wetland habitats, stream bank and riparian corridors along in Nancy Creek.

The Preserve was founded in 2000, sparked by an efforts of a local school teacher and the North Buckhead Civic Association to preserve seven acres of floodplain along Nancy Creek, adjacent to new development on Rickenbacker Drive at Roswell Road. That year local residents, community groups, businesses and students began the considerable and ongoing task of removing invasive plants, planting native trees, and stabilizing the stream banks.

Over the next five years, the City of Atlanta added three large pieces of land  to the Preserve. The first was a nine-acre wetland at the end of Emma Lane (off Lakemoore Drive), and the second was the five-acre site of Nancy Creek Sewer Tunnel Roswell Road.  In 2007, the 5-acre site of THW Architects at 4055 Roswell Road was purchased by the City, bringing Blue Heron's holdings to about 25 acres.

As a community-based effort, the Preserve will continue to grow and provide a place of natural beauty for the local environment.

 

Our vision is to be a model of a vital urban ecosystem connecting people to long term health, heritage, knowledge and beauty of the natural world.

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Our Mission is to preserve, explore and share nature in an urban community.

Our Master Plan is available - download the .pdf file here.

The Blue Heron Nature Preserve is a 501(c)(3) Non Profit.

 

Nancy Jones Ececutive Director	Maura Dudley Executive Staff	Reba Dover Accounting
Anne Stern Volunteer Webmaster	Diane Evans Volunteer Art Curator

 

 

Kevin McCauley Board President	Charlie Baube Treasurer	Libba Shortridge Secretary
Jay Levin Council	Langley Respess .

 

 

(possible beaver dam?)

The Lake Emma Wetlands property was added to the Preserve due to an EPA action in 2002. The developer owner, filled the original stream channel, a violation of the Clean Water Act and also diverted the water flow into a new hand dug channel. The Army Corps of Engineers permitted him to lower the level of the dam that held the original lake waters and all of these actions combined accelerated the demise of the wetlands. In 2012, we began looking at possible restoration options to improve water quality and habitat for wildlife which will involve grant writing, conversations with the City of Atlanta Watershed Department, EPA, EPD and the Army Corps. We are just starting this process, so stay tuned for updates as we begin to move forward and invite the public for input and information.

Water Bland, our plant guru, was on The Preserve recently assessing the grass restoration work that has been done. Walter raised these grasses from seed in his nursery and the young plants were transplanted at the Preserve to replace the non- native lawn that was there.

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.............. ....(Walter Bland)...................................(Walter and Kevin at the Broom Sedge planting area.)

 

Our own Nancy Jones was honored to receive a Preservation Award from Buckhead Heritage, at their gala celebrating Buckhead's 175th anniversary!

(Warren and Nancy with her award)