Land Conservation
Wetlands and Stream Restoration
A River runs through it, as do creeks and streams.
Creation is God's gift to us. We are called as Christians to care for this precious gift. We must not leave care of the environment to others. As we are called to care for the life of all people from the womb until natural death, we are called to also cherish the gift of our planet earth with its soil, water, plants and animals all knit together in the web of life. To love God is to love all His good gifts.
Anyone who is familiar with current land management knows the importance of wetland areas to filter and clean our water resources, and to protect native vegetation and wildlife habitat.
The monastery is bounded on its western border by the South River that flows out of downtown Atlanta. There are also three major streams: Honey Creek and Cowan's Creek (that enter from the north), and McClain's Creek (that enters from the east). Across the property with its gentle rolling slopes are many smaller streams that feed into large areas of floodplain.
In 1995 the community placed the first tract of 500 acres under permanent easement as legally protected wetlands. As other wetlands are destroyed elsewhere in the surrounding counties, it is required that they be replaced by protecting and restoring other wetlands such as ours.
In 2006 the City of Atlanta partnered with us in our greenspace initiative with an easement providing perpetual greenspace on another portion of our land. This past year we made similar arrangements with the State and County. Recently we began efforts to help enhance and restore a significant number of the small streams on our property.
These decisions, made after prayer and prudent discussion, allow us to be better stewards of the land as we look toward ecological restoration, conservation, and protection of the land for the good of all.
Forestry
The monastery has overseen its forests from the very beginning. Many years ago we began managing and growing Loblolly Pine as a means of income from our property. This is a relative small and intermittent income but makes sense in terms of overall land use. We also had a vibrant hay industry for many years. Presently the monastery has over 500 acres in pine forests for future sales of timber. We hope in the future to manage these forests in keeping with current trends and practices in sustainable forestry, for the benefit of the monastery and the environment.
Heavenly Match
Franklin welcomes partnership with monastery in land conservation