Heather Brasell from Alapaha was recently selected by the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) as Outstanding Tree Farm of the Year for SE-USA. This makes her one of four finalists for the national award. ATFS provides a chain-of-custody certification for timber that comes from property where sustainable forestry practices and good stewardship of wooded land are practiced. The award recognizes private landowners who grow renewable forest resources while protecting environmental benefits of clean water, wildlife habitats, and recreation, and who increase public understanding of the benefits of best forest management practices.

Heather took over management of the property from her late husband, Murray Gaskins, in 2009. The property has been in the Gaskins family for almost 200 years. In addition to managing forest operations on her property, Heather spends a lot of her time with feet on the ground doing prescribed burns, controlling invasive plants, and restoring a diverse groundcover of native plants to improve wildlife habitats.

As a retired educator, Heather quickly realized the importance of forestry and environmental education in helping the public understand the conservation importance of forests in providing ecological services like clean air and water, and the critical role private landowners play as stewards of these forests. Keeping forests healthy and productive in order to provide those ecological services is important for everyone, not just the landowners. Heather developed the Gaskins Forest Education Center on part of the property as a resource for environmental educators who need a place for field-based workshops, field trips, research, and educational outreach activities. The center has an arboretum, pollinator garden, bog garden, fernery, grasses garden, and a variety of sites that demonstrate varied groundcover restoration and forest management strategies.

In addition, Heather collaborates with several environmental organizations in presenting outreach programs for children, teachers, landowners, and biologists. She organizes two community events each year. A Day in the Woods, close to Earth Day in spring, brings together over 40 presenters who share activities and interactive demonstrations related to forestry, wildlife, and traditional crafts using natural materials. The annual Pollinator Census event is held as part of the statewide community science program. As a very active member of the Coastal Plain Chapter of Georgia Native Plant Society, she volunteers on various conservation projects around the state to rescue plants from roadside construction sites, replant them in protected public sites, restore degraded habitats on public areas, and protect endangered species.

October activities provide an example of Heather’s activities. Heather just helped Triston Hansford (UGA Bugwood) organize a second Weed Wrangle event for volunteers to help remove invasive plants from the nature trail at Georgia Museum of Agriculture in Tifton. Next week, she will help DNR survey populations of an endangered plant and rescue plants from a highway construction site. The following week, she will present an elective course on Groundcover Restoration as part of State Botanical Garden’s Certificate of Native Plants. She will also host an interagency Learn & Burn event for landowners.