Blue Heron Nature Preserve Inc

Programs: Education: blue heron offered 24 educational programs reaching more than 650 children and adults. They included our monthly second saturday safari series for families and adults, presentations to garden clubs, programs for scouts and school groups and 2 weeks of summer camp for children. Our fall second saturday safari series hosted talks on monarch butterflies, georgia amphibians, and rain garden construction and were well attended by the public. We saw 7 scout troops in the fall, one college environmental club, and were visited by children from 4 local schools. Our meadows for monarchs program got off to a great start in september 2014, with 2 schools and 1 after school program committing to the year-long program. The participants in the after school are all latino children who attend the sandy springs mission, a program set up to help "at-risk" children achieve academic success. Our meadows for monarchs program provides important science, nature and art enrichment for these children.

epa 5-star grant - plunge pool restoration:the purpose of the project was to restore a native plant community to riparian areas covering 1. 15 acres, creating a habitat corridor for urban wildlife and fostering public stewardship of urban streams. As part of the project we accomplished the following:- removed almost 1 acre of invasives (privet, etc. ) from plunge pool project site. - involved over 250 volunteers on 5 different workdays to help with on-the-ground project work. - built 2 wood chip trails to open up plunge pool area for visitors and planted native plants to illustrate their use in various settings. Installed stone landing and picnic table to serve as a gathering spot and 2 overlooks of the plunge pool to be used for wildlife viewing and interpretation. - planted several hundred river cane plants along riparian area in project site to supplement existing river cane as a pilot for reestablishing this native plant along the preserve's waterways. - partnered with georgia power to remove tall holly bushes at the entrance and developed a plan which will over time establish shrubs and understory trees that do not encroach on power lines while still creating a wildlife buffer in the nearby riparian areas. - partnered with georgia power to create pilot 'meadows for monarchs' program to establish nectar plants under power lines. Program consisted on planting butterfly weed and other nectar plants in project site under the high tension power lines along roswell road in front of the preserve. - installed wildlife cameras along riparian corridor in order to better understand wildlife movements. This has been instrumental in work we are doing to provide safer crossings at roadways and over dams in the preserve along mill creek.

property acquisition - 3931 land o lakes drive:during calendar year 2013, bhnp identified approximately 4 acres of nearby but not contiguous land (known as 3931 land o lakes drive), the reclaiming of which its management believed would enhance its mission. The city of atlanta agreed to purchase the property and add it to the land under bhnp's management, but at a price below the price required by the seller of the land. In order to facilitate the purchase, in january 2014, bhnp secured a $600,000 loan from an individual, purchased the property from the seller and immediately conveyed the property to the conservation fund for $500,000 (the purchase amount agreed to by the city of atlanta). Bhnp used the $500,000 from the conservation fund to repay a portion of the loan provided by the individual to purchase the land. As soon as administratively possible by the city (august 2014), the conservation fund, as intermediary for this transaction, transferred ownership of the property to the city of atlanta. The remaining balance of the note payable relating to this property is unsecured, carries an interest rate of2% per annum payable quarterly and matures on december 31, 2016.

various other educational and community service projects and programs.