The first truly southern stream…in the finely shaded town of Gainesville on the Chattahoochee River was richly embanked by massive, bossy, dark green water oaks…vines and brightly colored flowers.
Naturalist John Muir 1867
Linwood Ecology Center
Linwood Ecology Center houses the Redbud Project nature education and environmental education research program to promote awareness of native plants that sustain life on planet Earth!
To know native plants up close and personal is to value the north Georgia ecosystems without human intervention for 1000’s of years at Redbud Project’s, native plant displays, ecological development demonstrations, and
nature education center.
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North Georgia’s Hall County ecosystems of oak-hickory-pine forests, prairie/meadow and
wetlands harbor rich communities of indigenous plant species that were marooned in the banks
of the Gainesville Ridges, millions of years ago. When upheaval of earth’s tectonic plates and
northern glaciers pushed seeds and spores of native trees, shrubs and herbs into the region from the
northern zones of Appalachia, Blue Ridge, Ridges and Valleys and Upper Piedmont. Native
species with that shared DNA thrived throughout the ecosystems of oak-hickory-pine forests, wetlands, and prairie-meadows.
Ecology Center at Linwood Nature Preserve
118 Springview Drive NW
Gainesville, GA 30501
Parking is available street side and inside preserve during events only. Handicap parking available at entrance.
To schedule, contact Ecology Center manager:
email: linwoodecocenter@gmail.com
Nature Education Program
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Through lecture series, programs, workshops, and field trips, Redbud Project promotes awareness of native plants to encourage environmental stewardship of natural habitats. Field trips at the preserve alternate between programs to further enhance identification and preservation of the region’s exceptionally rich natural habitats of flora and fauna.
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Redbud Project Education Committee coordinates the annual program schedule and surveys the community to provide programs of relevance to conservation and and native plant identification. The annual lecture series of Georgia Native Plant Society Redbud Chapter features authorities in the fields of botany, geology, ecology, conservation, and related topics. Programs explore all aspects of native plant conservation from birds to butterflies and trees to wildflowers. Workshops and seminars on special topics relevant to natural habitats of north Georgia’s Gainesville Ridges are interspersed with field trips relevant to selected topics.
The Bruce Alan Doll Nature Art Gallery
Bruce Alan Doll Nature Art Gallery celebrates the value of native plants as key to the Cycle of Life and as a legacy of the life of a true steward of the earth.
Through the eyes and art of local artists, the value native plants becomes beautifully clear. Blue orchard native bees hover on mountain mint. Monarch butterflies feast on vivid orange butterfly milkweed. Blue jays scatter acorns of white oak to create tree canopy that sequesters carbon dioxide emissions and returns oxygen to the atmosphere for human survival.
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Georgia State Butterfly
Tiger Swallowtail
Georgia State Bird
Brown Thrasher
“I’ve traveled the world but I am
at home in nature”
Bruce Alan Doll
The Robert and Wanda Swoszowski Native Plant Conservatory
The Robert and Wanda Swoszowski Native Plant Conservatory features horticultural displays of native species of trees, shrubs and herbs best suited for residential, commercial, and municipal landscapes. Volunteers propagate and maintain the demonstration beds. The Dupont Plant Horticultural database archives the native species trees, shrubs and herbs of the Gainesville Ridges suitable for residential, commercial and municipal landscaping.
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Native plants are valuable for ecological landscaping year round to control erosion, abate storm water runoff, and provide beauty with winter evergreens, spring ephemeral wildflowers, summer season pollinators, and fall color.
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The Swoszowski Native Plant Conservatory is a multi-faceted educational complex for plant identification, horticultural design, and environmental conservation research. The conservatory is managed by volunteers of the Hall County Master Gardeners.
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Hall County Master Gardeners