Pettit Preserve’s Spring Hike: Birding 201

The Pettit Environmental Preserve will be open to the public for the Spring Hike: Birding 201 on Saturday, March 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to the special birding program, the Preserve trail will be open for self-led or interpreted hikes presented by the Preserve Educator, Lori Jewell.

Rebecca Byrd and Ken Blankenship, both volunteers with Atlanta Audubon Society will present the birding program at 10 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 2 p.m. The program will be an introduction to birding: equipment, helpful books and how to join up with birding groups in Bartow County and northwest Georgia.

Admission to the Preserve, which includes the program, is $3 per person with a maximum of $10 per family. The hike is free to Preserve members and memberships are still available by visiting the Preserve’s website.

“We are especially pleased to have Audubon volunteers presenting our program since this past summer the Preserve became a Audubon Sanctuary,” stated Preserve Executive Director Marina Robertson. “I hope we will be able to partner with them on a number of programs in the future.

Becoming an Audubon Sanctuary meant cataloging all the types of large trees, understory trees, shrubs, annuals/perennials, groundcovers and feeders on the property as well as water sources, nesting sites. A list of all observed animal and bird species is also required and the property should use little or no chemical pesticides or fertilizers. All of this shows that the certified sanctuary is not only capable of supporting a variety of wildlife, but that it in fact does actually host a variety of species.

The Pettit Preserve was created to provide environmental education and promote ecological preservation. The 70-acre property hosts hundreds of school children and Scouts for field trips, hiking & Scout badge activities every year. The Preserve has trails that feature a swinging bridge, a Learning Shed, two aquatic stations, and three amphitheaters for teaching, all nestled around a 9-acre lake. 

Since the mission of the Preserve is educational, not recreational, it is not open to the public daily for hiking. However, the trails were professionally designed by Switchback Trails, which has contracts all over the country, including on the Appalachian Trail. The Spring Hike is an ideal time to experience the trails. 

The Pettit Preserve is located off Highway 61, 4 miles south of the Cartersville airport.  Turn left on Douthit Bridge Road and continue to fork; right fork is Vineyard Rd., which leads to the Preserve. For more information on the programs of the Pettit Preserve, including the Spring Hike, visit the website at www.pettitpreserve.org or contact Marina Robertson at director@pettitpreserve.org or by phone 678-848-4179.