by Erica Glasener, Atlanta Magazine Custom Media
Photos: Brian Lee, JIA Digital Content Manager
Jekyll Island’s magnificent trees, most notably the grand live oaks that line roadways and make up a good part of the native canopy, are a well-known and much-loved element of the look and feel of the island. The beauties filter the air, provide welcome shade, furnish needed habitat for the area’s pollinators, and supply a year-round elegance that is a part of the very definition of the island.
What visitors and residents may not be aware of, though, is the great lengths that are taken to maintain and preserve these natural wonders.
Cliff Gawron, the director of landscape and planning for the Jekyll Island Authority, and his team are charged with keeping the island looking beautiful and natural. When it comes to the trees of Jekyll, “Our primary focus is to preserve the overall native canopy which Jekyll is known for,” Gawron says.
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“In addition to annual appropriations from the JIA general budget, the Jekyll Island Authority works closely with several organizations—Georgia Forestry, Garden Clubs of Georgia, and the Jekyll Island Foundation through grants and donor gifts to further invest in reforestation of the island,” he says.
This article first appeared in Volume 5 Number 1 of 31•81, the Magazine of Jekyll Island. CONTINUE READING
To learn how you can support the Jekyll Island Foundation tree program, click HERE.