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Georgia Audubon Society

Georgia Audubon, the official Georgia Branch of the Audubon Society, is a member-supported, non-profit organization dedicated to building places where birds and people thrive. They serve Georgia as a thriving, bird-focused organization that combines serious conservation, education, and community engagement with activities that build community and foster the joy of birding.

Wildlife Sanctuaries

One program that they offer allows Georgians the opportunity to designate an area to be a wildlife sanctuary. Wildlife sanctuaries give birds and the ecosystems that rely on them to have habitats among the rapidly developing areas in metro Atlanta. 

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Georgia Audubon's Wildlife Sanctuary Program recognizes and encourages property owners to enhance their land for birds and other wildlife. Through planting native plants, removing or controlling non-native, invasive species, and providing food, water, and shelter, property owners can create a safe haven for wildlife and people.​

Green Forest

Requirements for Certification

To qualify for wildlife sanctuary certification, you must have:

  • Certified area must be at least 50 sq. ft. in size and may be no more than 3 acres

  • Monocultured turf grass (non-native lawn) makes up less than half of the sanctuary area

  • Non-native, invasive species, such as English ivy, bamboo, Chinese privet, and porcelain-berry, make up less than one-quarter of the sanctuary area

  • Roughly half of the plants in the sanctuary area are native to Georgia

  • There are at least two of the following layers of plants: 

    • ground-layer grasses or wildflowers (3 feet or less)

    • shrub layer (taller than 3 feet)

    • mid-story trees

    • canopy trees (taller than 50 feet)

  • There is no maintenance or feeding of outdoor cats on the property, including inside and/or outside of the designated sanctuary area (which may be a subset of the whole property).  Properties that have or support outdoor cats are not eligible for certification

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*For those interested in certifying a large property (3+ acres), please email Alex LoCastro, conservation program coordinator, for more information process and pricing.  

Map of Current Sanctuaries

Click the link to see an interactive map of currently certified areas:

Carbon Sequestration:

By having these sanctuaries, excess carbon can be sequestered in the plants and vegetation in the area. Using the calculator on the size and the appropriate proportions of plant type, find the amount of carbon taken in from the atmosphere. Make sure to keep the proportions as a percent (without the symbol) to see accurate results.

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Carbon Sequestered per acre annually based on plant type:

Trees: 0.8296 metric tons

Turfgrass: 0.3498 metric tons

Native Plant Cover: 1.2175 metric tons

Sources

  1. i-Tree Methods and File Archives. i-Tree. (2020, April 21). Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://dev.itreetools.org/support/resources-overview/i-tree-methods-and-files

  2. Kimberley , M., Bergin, D., & Silvester, W. (n.d.). Carbon sequestration by native forest - setting the record straight. Pure Advantage. Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://pureadvantage.org/carbon-sequestration-by-native-forest-setting-the-record-straight/

  3. Zirkle, Gina,et al. “Modeling Carbon Sequestration in Home Lawns.” HortScience, vol. 46, no. 5, 2011, pp. 808–814., https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci.46.5.808. 

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