Pick a Spot for a Picnic or a Walk in the Park

Although it’s not yet officially summer in Atlanta, you may be ready to discover a place different from your usual haunts for picnics or walks. The South Fork Conservancy has a few suggestions that may be just what you’re looking for. This month we visited two metro area greenspaces that border the South Fork of Peachtree Creek where you can get away for part of your day or weekend.   

Friendship Forest Wildlife Sanctuary
4380 E. Ponce de Leon, Clarkston
Open daily, sunrise to sunset
Click here for more info

Designated a greenspace by Clarkston’s City Council, this 18.5 acre parkland is an established bird sanctuary. A wide asphalt trail lined with pines and hardwoods opens to a wetland that, at the time of our visit, boasted pickerel weed, its purple spires brightening a cloudy Sunday afternoon and daring the sun to come out. (Eventually it did!) 

At the entrance just off East Ponce, there’s a parking lot with space for 19 vehicles, including 2 for people with disabilities; restrooms; and a few picnic tables. The asphalt trail is lined with well-spaced, motion-sensor lighting. It gives way to a soft trail at the wetland where we walked past oaks, tulip poplars, tupelos, and pines and noticed a family walking along the creek. We also sauntered across the boardwalk over the wetland and made our way to a small amphitheater with more restrooms. The tranquil forest offers an enjoyable way to spend a few hours seeing nature from yet another perspective.  We hope you’ll check it out.

Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve
2580 Pine Bluff Drive, Decatur
Located in Medlock Park neighborhood. Parking on street
Open daily, sunrise to sunset
Click here for more info

This lovely, 28-acre preserve is privately owned and supported by volunteers. A pavilion at the entrance contains a picnic table. A map and park rules are posted there as well. Pine needles cover the soft trail, enhancing the quiet and peace we felt as we walked along the gentle slope, lined in some sections with ferns. A boardwalk spans sensitive areas, and some areas are for wildlife only. The preserve contains amphibian and beaver ponds. Signs at various points indicate the length of a trail, the location of observation areas, and the types of wildlife that make their homes here. Birds were everywhere, including what we believe were two pileated woodpeckers that zoomed across the landscape and landed some distance from us on the broad trunk of a pine. The forest included beeches, oaks, tulip poplars, and other trees we didn’t know the names of. Along the way, we spotted orange jewelweed that enlivened the forest floor. Magical!

The only person we saw the entire time was a woman walking her dogs. We hated to leave, but we intend to return for a closer look, perhaps during a bird-watching walk or maybe just to walk in silence and beauty.
 
Note: As with any greenspace, walk respectfully on the land. Follow the rules to protect wildlife and others. Carry out your trash or dispose of it in designated receptacles. Thanks!

SFC Welcomes Chris Muscato!

Little in Chris Muscato’s career resembles the work he’s now doing for the South Fork Conservancy.

He’s been in Army intelligence. Mortgage banking. Customer service. Lifestyle coaching. And as of this past March, Chris is the community outreach coordinator for the environmental nonprofit working to restore the health and beauty of the creek that wends its way from Tucker to Midtown Atlanta.

Yet it is Chris’ ability to handle a multitude of different tasks – a Jack-of-all-tradesman, if you will – that should acquit him nicely in his new gig. His responsibilities are as varied as the aquatic critters that live(d) in the South Fork. Tour guide. Creek cleaner. Social media poster. Website developer. Volunteer coordinator. Driver. Administrative aide. Trash-trap emptier.

“As a non-profit with a small staff, other duties will arise,” the job posting read. Chris, 52, is ready for the challenge.

“I have always worked for either the government or corporations, so the nonprofit world is strange and new to me,” Chris said. “In government or business, it’s all about setting times and goals and long-term forecasting. Here, it’s more like an opportunity will come up to access green space or apply for a new grant, and we should jump on it. It’s a very different way to approach things.”

“Chris has worked with SFC as a volunteer at several events over the years. His ability to take anything that was thrown his way is deeply impressive. Its rare to find someone who can lead volunteers, take great photos, and load a truck with hundreds of tools in less than 10 minutes! We are thrilled to have him on the team,” said SFC Executive Director Kimberly Estep.

He grew up near Miami, in Miramar, FL, a city sandwiched between the Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean. He joined the Army out of high school and, with an aptitude for math and science, was steered toward military intelligence. One day Chris would be holed-up in a windowless room building maps, the next slogging through a field with a combat unit. He served 11 years in Arizona, South Korea, New Jersey, and Maryland.

In 2001, Chris earned his B.S. from Kennesaw State University in organizational psychology. He then worked for a variety of corporations in the Atlanta Metro area. Chris moved outside Decatur in 2019 and became a “life organization coach,” a job he still holds. “I help people who are overwhelmed and need more time in their lives by organizing their office, house, or basement,” he said. “I put in processes that make people’s lives better. It’s kind of therapeutic for them.”

Happenings Along Peavine Creek

On a beautiful spring morning at the end of April, children and adults gathered at the Peavine Creek trailhead on Emory Road to listen to educator and birder Josiah Patrick describe the life of a hummingbird. Josiah shimmied to show how hummingbirds flap their wings and told how females build nests the size of walnuts in the limbs of trees. Did you know that the hummingbirds lay two eggs in this tiny nest twice in a season?   

Josiah then led the group to the raingarden, calling out the names of birds everyone heard and describing habits of birds playing in the creek. 
 
Once a group arrived at the raingarden, Becca Raciborski and John Watson with the Friends of Peavine Creek were waiting with native plants that hummingbirds would feast on. With trowels in hand, children dug holes and planted cardinal plants, native violets, and lobelia. These plants provide food for hummingbirds.  Look for them along the trail as they start to bloom.
 
The children’s planting activity was part of the Druid Hills Tour of Homes. In addition to children learning about hummingbirds, visitors had the opportunity to walk the trails on Friday and Saturday and talk to members of the South Fork Conservancy about the creek and its trails. 
 
Comments of visitors ranged from “I never knew this was here” to “This is in my neighborhood. I love this trail.” How special to have neighbors discover and explore the beauty of the creek and trail during the tour!
 
In addition to having a station on the Druid Hills Home Tour, South Fork Conservancy took part in activities during the week-long celebration of Druid Hills. On Earth Day in Emory Village, South Fork’s work was highlighted during the Clean up the Creek Concert headlined by Michelle Malone and Canyonland.

Proceeds from the event will go to the revitalization of the section of Peavine Creek that runs through Emory Village.  Watch for changes as the South Fork Conservancy stabilizes and revitalizes the banks of the creek in the months to come.