An Inspiring Story
January 5, 2026
In a growing trend to protect and restore natural areas in yards, EcoAddendum recently worked with Bill and Elizabeth Higginbotham to restore their home property and protect it in perpetuity with the Georgia Piedmont Land Trust. Because Atlanta developed much later than other US cities with a less dense development pattern, high value native forests and even old growth remnants can still be found in yards and properties throughout the metro region.
– From Bill and Elizabeth Higginbotham, Nov 19, 2025
In July 1998, we purchased 1.4 acres in the City of Atlanta’s Chastain Park neighborhood, (Buckhead) that included a dilapidated, partially renovated 1940’s cottage on a very wooded lot. Over the next 20 years, changes to the landscape occurred due to natural events (trees falling) and many iterations of gardening around the house, mainly sourced from a local Nursery. Approximately 2019, enter Douglas Tallamy and his book, “Bringing Nature Home”, which served to change the way I view plants and gardening forever. Specifically, I learned the “why” of native plants. Doug Tallamy’s epiphany, and mine, was that “our native insects will not be able to survive on alien plant species.”
The proverbial light bulb came on and now the importance and necessity of native plants was abundantly clear. I was not at the point of removing invasive species, but rather began seeking out native plant nurseries and adding natives where I could. I joined the Georgia Native Plant Society, met knowledgeable people, attended workshops and symposiums, as my commitment to nativesgrew. During a symposium in early 2023, I met Kathryn Kolb, a Master Naturalist and Executive Director of EcoAddendum. She was speaking about indicator species, like bloodroot and trillium and that these could indicate a remnant old growth forest. Since I had seen these plants on our property, I invited Kathryn to come take a tour. The visit was nothing less than enlightening. Kathryn felt sure that our property was part of a remnant old growth forest and that we had a great opportunity to restore it to its original ecosystem, the Piedmont region of Georgia. After sharing what I learned from Kathryn with Bill, we both became interested and excited about undertaking this meaningful project.
For the past two years, the major objective has been the removal of invasive species, i.e. English Ivy, Nandina, Elaeagnus, Mahonia, Liriope, Mondo grass, Japanese and Chinese Privet/Holly, etc. At the same time, numerous native species have been planted, with a major native plant installation at the front entrance to the property. Needless to say, we have made a significant financial investment in the restoration of our property. Concurrent to this work has been an overwhelming appreciation and love for the diversity and age of our beautiful trees and our forest’s plant and animal inhabitants.
Also, it has been interesting to note how my view on several things is so very different now versus the early years on our property. For example, I would bemoan the mess of falling leaves in the Autumn, the way Beech trees would drop their leaves in the spring after I had made everything tidy with fresh mulch or pine straw, the pesky raccoons digging in my potted plants and the deer munching on pansies. Now, the Beech trees are among my favorite, I savor the Fall season’s color and time for reflecting on the wisdom of Mother Nature and I have come to love the raccoons, for just being who they are. With the passing of time, the desire to preserve and conserve what we have has grown.
This led us to the pursuit of a conservation easement to provide permanent protection of this remnant old growth forest in the middle of the City. The Conservation values that we identified include:
1) Protection of older, diverse trees (130-150 years old)
2) Protection of undisturbed soils
3) Protection of indicator species that are a legacy of the remnant old growth forest
4) Protection of wildlife habitat
5) Protection of the irreplaceable “green lungs of Atlanta” (City Design Plan and ATL Tree Ordinance)
The most recent motivating factor is our desire to protect our forest in the conspicuous tree removal in our immediate vicinity for residential development (knocking down original cottages to build much larger homes). A conservation easement, recorded on September 3, 2025, is our contribution to help Atlanta retain high quality native forest within the City, and to ensure its character of “City in the Forest” lives on. Knowing that we will one day leave our forest, I believe we can now do so in peace.
~ Bill and Elizabeth Higginbotham
Georgia Audubon and National Wildlife Federation have certified our property as wildlife habitat/sanctuary. The property is currently listed as a private forest on the Old Growth Forest Network. www.oldgrowthforest.net
Above photos: Courtesy Bill and Elizabeth Higginbotham
Leave a Reply