A 132-acre section of one of Henry County, Georgia’s largest remaining undeveloped properties is set for a 10-year forest restoration project, with a data-centre company funding the effort as part of a broader environmental partnership.
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company → remain → partnership
The Southern Conservation Trust (SCT) is leading the restoration at Towaliga Preserve, a 403-acre protected property in Hampton, with support from QTS Data Centres.
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Trust → lead → Centres
The initiative, announced by SCT and reported by The Citizen, will focus on restoring 77 acres of degraded, early-successional forest and improving another 52 acres of mature forest through targeted removal of invasive plants.
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initiative → announce → plants
QTS's support comes through a 10-year commitment connected to Phase 2 of its Fayetteville data-centre campus and its Tree Replacement Program.
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support → come → campus
From farmland to protected forest
Towaliga Preserve, formerly known as Henderson Farms, covers about 403 acres and is owned and protected by the Southern Conservation Trust.
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Preserve → protect → Trust
The property includes oak-hickory-pine forests, mesic and bottomland hardwood forests, wetlands and streams, as well as approximately 1.5 miles of the upper Towaliga River.
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property → include → River
The landscape has not always been forested.
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landscape → forest → ?
Parts of the property were historically used for cattle grazing and forestry.
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Parts → use → grazing
About 72 acres of forest were harvested around 2015, before SCT acquired the property, according to the conservation trust.
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SCT → harvest → trust
Since then, the cleared areas have naturally regenerated.
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areas → clear → ?
But the resulting young forest is dominated not only by native species such as sweetgum and tulip poplar, but also by invasive non-native plants including privet, Chinaberry and Oriental bittersweet.
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forest → result → privet
The new restoration effort is intended to change that balance.
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effort → intend → balance
Rather than simply adding trees to the property, the project will involve managing an existing forest ecosystem and encouraging a more diverse and healthier landscape.
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project → add → landscape
What will happen over the next decade?
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What → happen → decade
The restoration will begin with site preparation, including removing several thousand feet of old barbed-wire fencing.
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restoration → begin → fencing
Starting in fall 2026, professional forestry contractors are scheduled to carry out staged thinning and mulching across about 77 acres.
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contractors → start → acres
Targeted treatment of invasive vegetation will follow in 2027, with native tree planting planned for winter 2027-28.
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planting → follow → winter
Another approximately 52 acres of mature forest will receive targeted invasive-species management beginning in fall 2026.
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acres → receive → fall
SCT says the work will involve ongoing monitoring rather than a one-time planting campaign.
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work → say → campaign
The organisation will oversee contractors, direct restoration activities, and adjust management based on how the forest responds.
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forest → oversee → management
The conservation trust also plans to continue caring for the property after the 10-year implementation period ends.
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period → plan → property
“We’re not planting trees and walking away,” SCT President and CEO Chris Doane said in the announcement, emphasising that the organisation's stewardship of Towaliga Preserve will continue beyond the formal project period.
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stewardship → plant → period
Data centre company expands conservation partnership
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company → expand → partnership
The restoration is being funded through a partnership between SCT and QTS Data Centres, a company developing data-centre infrastructure in the region.
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restoration → fund → region
QTS's relationship with SCT began in 2023 and has already supported reforestation, land stewardship, environmental education and volunteer activities.
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relationship → begin → reforestation
The new project follows an earlier restoration effort at Towaliga Preserve.
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project → follow → Preserve
During Phase 1, SCT and QTS supported the planting of 12,140 native trees representing 21 species across a 23-acre former agricultural field.
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SCT → support → field
The original target was at least 7,000 trees, meaning the project exceeded its initial planting goal.
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project → mean → goal
That earlier project also became a research opportunity.
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project → become → ?
SCT is working with the University of Georgia to study tree survival and growth across four research plots containing 576 trees from 21 species.
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SCT → work → species
Researchers are examining how different species and planting methods perform under the site's conditions.
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species → examine → conditions
The results are intended to help inform the larger restoration now getting underway.
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results → intend → restoration
Why the forest matters
The restoration comes as development continues to transform parts of Henry County.
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development → matter → County
The Towaliga Preserve provides a connected landscape of forests, wetlands and waterways at a time when residential and other development is changing surrounding areas.
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development → provide → areas
SCT says the project is intended to improve wildlife habitat and native plant diversity while supporting the health of the Towaliga River watershed.
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project → say → watershed
Forest restoration can also have effects beyond the trees themselves.
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restoration → have → trees
SCT says the work is expected to help reduce erosion and improve water infiltration, while healthier forest habitat can support a wider variety of native plants and wildlife.
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habitat → say → plants
The preserved landscape also creates opportunities for environmental education, ecological research, wildlife observation and outdoor recreation.
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landscape → create → education
The approximately 1.5 miles of the upper Towaliga River running through the preserve is another reason the condition of the surrounding land matters.
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condition → run → land
The project is also being framed as an opportunity to learn what restoration methods work best in the region.
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methods → frame → region
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
