Berry College Longleaf Pine Project

10/01/2026

Please check out Kevin E. O'Donnell and Scott Randolph Honeycutt's new book entitled "Woodlands of the Mind - Rambles Through Campus Forests". The first chapter is called "Setting a Campus on Fire: Longleaf Pine at Berry College". This chapter gives historical background on Berry's forests and highlights Dr. Cipollini's efforts to restore our old growth Longleaf pine stands. Incidentally, chapter 12 ("What's Left of Old Jersey: Mettler's Woods at Hutcheson Memorial Forest, Rutgers University") focuses on an old growth hardwood forest that Dr. Cipollini helped manage as a graduate student in the 1980's.

https://www.ugapress.org/9780820375571/woodlands-of-the-mind/

The Longleaf Alliance
Berry College
America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative

Throughout the eastern United States, hundreds of colleges and universities own acres of forested lands. These holdings range from modest parcels like Virgin...

06/30/2026

Director of the Berry College Longleaf Pine Project, Dr. Adrienne Ernst (ESS department), and collaborators Carlee Steppe and Allison Melcher from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Wildlife Resources Division have secured a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to restore calcareous flatwoods and montane longleaf pine habitats at Berry College and adjacent GA-DNR Wildlife Management Areas. The grant totals nearly $750,000 including matching funds. Excellent work!

Managing and Restoring Calcareous Flatwoods and
Montane Longleaf Savannas in Northwest Georgia
Grantee: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Grant Amount: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$387,100
Matching Funds: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$360,500
Total Project Amount: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$747,600
Restore and manage critically rare calcareous flatwoods and montane longleaf pine ecosystems on Berry College lands and the adjacent Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Management Area in northwest Georgia that support species including Mohr’s Barbara’s buttons. Project will restore and manage more than 3,000 acres through prescribed fire, invasive species control and targeted habitat management while developing a 50-year management plan to guide coordinated, landscape-scale stewardship.

Read more here:https://www.nfwf.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/nfwf-longleaf-grant-slate.pdf

Berry College
Environmental Science at Berry
The Longleaf Alliance
America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative

05/25/2026

Last week Dr. Martin Cipollini and students from Dr. Adrienne Ernst's summer research crew collaborated to census and apply herbicide around 1 yr old Longleaf pine seedlings at the Berry College Central Grove seed orchard. Students helping included Patrick Meadows, Charlie Chappell, Kenzie Thompson, Marilin Barajas and Savonnah Mitchell.
This orchard was first planted in 2018 and contains over 50 genetic sources from five mountain longleaf pine sites (Berry College, Mountain Longleaf Pine National Wildlife Refuge, Talladega National Forest, Paulding/Sheffield WMA, and Indian Grave Mountain). Designed to contain 1560 trees on about 10 acres, at this point nearly 90% of the spots in the orchard contain a living tree. We expect cone production in a few years.
Funds to support this orchard have come through The Nature Conservancy, The Longleaf Alliance, and Georgia-Pacific.
Berry College The Nature Conservancy Georgia-Pacific The Longleaf Alliance

03/31/2026

One week ago, Berry College Land Resources conducted a prescribed burn in an area of campus containing relict old-growth Longleaf pines (the area on Lavender Mountain to the southwest of the House O’ Dreams). The Land Resources group was led by Berry Forester Tim Chesnut, assisted by Coosa Ecological, LLC field team, Dr. Zach Taylor and Lindsey Lanford (Environmental Science and Studies [ESS]), and Professor Emeritus of Biology Dr. Martin Cipollini. This area was first burned by prescription in 2024 after decades of fire suppression which had led to a dangerous accumulation of ground fuels and duff (partially decomposed organic material just below the leaf litter). This material does not normally accumulate in frequently burned stands, hence is considered unnatural. The burn was intended to 1) reduce the risk of hazardous wildfires by the careful reduction of ground fuels and 2) improve habitat for plants, birds, and other animals. The burn was partially funded by a Georgia Ornithological Society grant to Dr. Adrienne Ernst (ESS).

Because the area had been burned only once in decades, it was important to protect relict Longleaf pines that had accumulated deep litter and duff layers around their bases. If this material ignites and smolders into ash, the intense heat can damage fine feeder roots that have extended upward into the duff over time. When this happens, the trees may become stressed and susceptible to beetle damage or may die outright. So, in 2024 and again this year, groups led by Dr. Cipollini raked around relict trees just prior to the burn and then went in immediately after the fire to “mop up” any potential hot spots. Between 2024 and this year, it appears that only two mature Longleaf pines were lost. No significant smoldering was observed following this year’s burn, which suggests that these rare relict trees are safe again and may contribute to the next generation of Longleaf pines on Lavender Mountain. It may take a couple more cycles of raking and burning until the hazardous fuels can finally be held in check by burning alone.

The photos posted here show some of the process involved.

Great work everyone!

03/17/2026

It's Pi Day! As we celebrate everyone’s favorite irrational number (and maybe a slice of actual pie), here’s some food for thought:

If the historic longleaf pine ecosystem were a pie, the Southeast once had a full 90‑million‑acre dish to share. By the late 20th century, we were down to crumbs –only about 3 million acres left.

When there’s not enough “pie” to go around, the plants and animals that depend on longleaf forests feel the loss first.

But here’s the sweet part: because of decades of restoration and conservation from our dedicated partners, the South is now back up to an estimated 5 million acres of longleaf pine and growing.

Thank you to every landowner, manager, biologist, educator, student, volunteer, and longleaf champion out there helping rebuild this iconic ecosystem!

10/28/2025

We realize that you haven't heard much from us since Dr. Cipollini retired in May. We want to make sure everyone knows that the Berry College Longleaf Pine Project remains alive and well! Dr. Cipollini remains an advisor to the project which is now headed by Dr. Adrienne Ernst (ESS Faculty) and our Forester Tim Chesnut. Dr. Cipollini recently gave a lecture and field tour to The Nature Convervancy staff and Dr. Ernst gave a well received presentation to our Board of Trustees. Look for updates soon about other Fall 2025 activities.

The image included here shows one of the 300+ seedlings that were added to the largest of our seed orchards in April of this year. 91% of those planted were alive and well in September when spots were treated with herbicide. Looking great so far!

05/04/2025

The Tree Man himself. Longtime Longleaf pine and American chestnut project supporter. Oh, and he plays with the Stones...

We’re thrilled to announce piano legend returns to headline the 31st Annual Blind Willie McTell Music Festival on Sept 6, 2025 in Thomson, GA- He’ll take the stage with the — 15 years after their last McTell Fest set!

We’ve been working hard to bring a great day of music and fun to rural Georgia!

Also joining the lineup:
• – one of the best bluegrass/jamgrass bands led by Del McCoury’s sons Ronnie and Rob
• (full set and backing Chuck)
• - Legendary singer-songwriter celebrating his 6th decade of touring
• - Blues guitar powerhouse

Advanced tickets on sale June 1 — don’t miss Georgia’s best day of music!

04/23/2025

Berry College faculty, staff, and students have been doing a lot of prescribed burns in support of the Longleaf pine project the last few weeks. Here are some photos. The areas that are included in these photos are the area directly around the House O'Dreams, the old growth slopes to the southeast of HOD on Lavender Mountain including the SAVE area where we first planting longleaf pines nearly 25 years ago. Also, the entirety of Stretch Road (Lavender Mountain Road) including our Longleaf pine seed orchard and Martha's Meadow xeric limestone barrens and nearby Calcareous flatwoods areas.
In addition to restoring key species and habitats, these prescribed burns are designed to reduce risk of dangerous wildfires. A little bit of prevention goes a long way...
Organized primarily by Berry's forester Tim Chesnut, many Berry College students, staff and faculty were involved, as were some outside contractors. Many thanks to all who were involved in planning, facilitating, and implementing these important prescribed burns!
Funds to support this work came from The Longleaf Alliance, Georgia Ornithological Society, and Pirelli Tire North America, Inc.
We will post recovery photos of all of these areas in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

04/07/2025

Berry College students have been busy planting longleaf pine seedlings in both seed orchard and natural sites at the college. Check out these pics that include students Anna Rose and Henry Antrobus. Aurora Hampton has also been very involved in this effort.