The Ridge Nature Area

Thank you so much to everyone who helped us exceed our #GivingTuesday goal yesterday! You helped us kick off the beginning of the Fayette Environmental Center, and we have been blown away by your generosity. Because of you, we more than doubled our goal and raised $7,330! Thank you again for everything. If you haven't had a chance to make a gift, it's not too late! Make your tax-deductible contribution today to expand access to environmental education for children and adults in Georgia and the Southeast by visiting www.sctlandtrust.org/Nature.

We cannot thank everyone enough for your generous support today! There are just a few more hours to double your donation and help support the development of the Fayette Environmental Education Center! We have met our goal for #GivingTuesday; however, we still have a long way to go before Fayette County’s newest attraction is fully funded. Please visit www.sctlandtrust.org/GivingTuesday to learn more about the many ways you can help.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce we have reached our #GivingTuesday fundraising goal of $2,000 for the Fayette Environmental Education Center (FEEC)! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed and shared our message! Danger Noodle, one of our resident animal ambassadors, wants to thank you for your support and share that a special donor has announced they will match all NEW donations up to $5,000 made by midnight tonight, which will help your gift go twice as far...! Will you join us and double your impact to expand access to environmental education and help us build Danger Noodle and his friends at FEEC a new enclosure by donating today? Danger Noodle is a grey rat snake (Pantherophis spiloides) currently being raised at FEEC. Grey rat snakes are a very common snake in Fayette County and can reach up to 6 feet long. During warm days you can find these snakes sunbathing on the branches of trees. Visit www.sctlandtrust.org/GivingTuesday for more information on how you can support SCT this Giving Tuesday!

2020 has been a year unlike any other, but this #GivingTuesday we are very excited to offer something to look forward to in 2021: the opening of the Fayette Environmental Education Center on March 20, 2021, in downtown Fayetteville, GA! The Fayette Environmental Education Center will be a place where children, families, and visitors of all ages can connect with the wonders of nature in Georgia and learn about what makes Georgia such a beautiful place. The Fayette Environment...al Education Center will feature multiple exhibit rooms with native wildlife and plants, an indoor environmental classroom, an environmental art gallery, outdoor programming and pollinator gardens, and much more. Please support our new endeavor by donating to the Fayette Environmental Education Center to help us expand access to environmental education for children and adults in Georgia and the Southeast and sharing our exciting news with your friends and family. All donations are greatly appreciated and tax-deductible. To learn more about our exciting plans and to donate, please visit www.sctlandtrust.org/Nature.

Today is the day! This #GivingTuesday, help SCT bring more environmental education to your own community. Giving Tuesday is just the beginning of our fundraising for this extensive project. Visit https://sctlandtrust.org/givingtuesday to learn all the ways you can be a part of expanding nature for Fayette County and donate to support our new Fayette Environmental Education Center.

Today is #WorldAnimalDay! All of us at SCT love animals and wanted to share our favorites! Check out some of our staff's favorites, and please comment below with yours!

Members of our team are out on the sporting clay course this morning, supporting the Joseph Sams School! We love to support our community and really enjoy the Sporting Clay Tournament JSS puts on every fall! We also love the facilities at Big Red Oak Plantation in Gay, GA!

We know people have good intentions but PLEASE refrain from releasing wildlife of any kind at our nature areas. Here are the reasons why from The Humane Society of the United States. Many people who live-trap believe they've found a compassionate solution to home and garden woes. They set their captives free by a stream, a field, a grove of trees or some other human-conjured ideal that's usually a short drive away but might as well be in another galaxy for relocated animals.... Upon arrival, these involuntary immigrants face such serious dangers that most are unlikely to survive long. One analysis looked at squirrels relocated from suburban yards to a forested environment. After just 88 days, 97 percent had died or disappeared. Research on other species shows similarly poor survival rates for wild animals who are forcibly relocated. The squirrels "were getting nailed by predators because they didn't have escape routes," says HSUS senior scientist John Hadidian, who co-authored the study. "When a squirrel in your backyard is threatened by cats or hawks or other predators, they know exactly where to go. They have a map in their head of where they live." There is also a huge risk of disease transmission when releasing animals in different locations. Some animal populations aren't exposed to the same diseases based on their geographic location. Catching an animal and releasing it in another area can also severely impact the animals in the release area.

Well this weekend brought on a whole bunch of conservation celebrations! Today is #WorldRiversDay, and SCT works hard to protect riparian areas in vital watersheds to enhance water quality for the communities that call them home. Yesterday was #NationalPublicLandsDay! Did you know that SCT protects and maintains over 1000 acres of public lands in our home county in Georgia!? We love to provide quality nature areas for everyone to enjoy! Yesterday was also #NationalHuntingandFishingDay! Did you know that hunters, anglers, and outdoorsmen provide major conservation funding through the purchase of licenses and equipment! Three awesome reasons to celebrate conservation and community efforts to preserve, protect, and conserve our natural resources! #conservationeveryday

McIntosh High School senior and Girl Scout, Elizabeth Wilson led an initiative with the Southern Conservation Trust to design and install eight benches that are works of art at three nature preserves in Fayette County. Check out the whole story on our website! https://bit.ly/2FNVvrr

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! As you know we are working hard on our new Nature Center in Fayetteville. WE NEED YOUR UNWANTED TAXIDERMY MOUNTS! Do you or someone that you know have taxidermy mounts of native animals that you are trying to get rid of? Did you inherit a taxidermy collection that you don't have room for and want to donate to a great cause? Please contact our Senior Conservation Biologist: [email protected] ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

We are so excited for our Trails for Troops event coming up! Check out these awesome t-shirts! #trailsfortroops #veterans #ruck

We are currently looking to fill a temporary position for a Contract Park Ranger (Maintenance & Labor). This position will help SCT as we develop some new nature areas! Click the link below to see the job description and apply! https://www.indeed.com//contract-park-ranger-maintenance-l

SAFETY ADVISORY: With all of this rain, the creeks and water areas are moving quickly, flooding, and are unsafe. Please stay away from, and out of all bodies of water at our nature areas. Thank you.

September 11, 2001, a day that we will never forget. As we recall the events that took place 19 years ago, we are thankful for those that serve our communities and make them safe! Let us remember those that lost their lives and those that gave theirs in order to save as many as they could

Thank you so much to all of our amazing 2020 Conserving Georgia Virtual Benefit Auction Sponsors! Thank you all for contributing some incredibly awesome auction items! Old friends and new friends alike, we truly appreciate all of the support! #conservinggeorgia

Thank you so much to all of our amazing 2020 Conserving Georgia Virtual Benefit Sponsors! We couldn't have done this without your support! #conservinggeorgia

We want to say another big thank you to the Peachtree City Police Department, City of Fayetteville Police Department, and Fayette County Sheriff's Office for all that they do for us and our community! We enjoyed thanking you all in person with the help of TCBY !!!