Mayor on Duty

Last week Sallie and I took our grandchildren on our annual trek to Jekyll Island. A goal was to include some educational experiences on the vacation schedule. So, we took a dolphin tour and did […]

Those fortunate enough to have known the late Hillrie Quin know the kind of impact he made on the Plateau. Hillrie’s love of nature and passion for conserving it was obvious through his long-time service […]

Public park and hiking trails in the works Just north of Cashiers, 63 acres of ecologically valuable land has been permanently conserved with Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust (HCLT). The new property’s location, on Laurel Knob Road, […]

The Highlands Community Building was full of environmental enthusiasts last week for Qercus Circus: The Biodiversity and Ecological Value of Oaks. The program was presented by the Highlands Coalition for Non-native Invasive Plant Management (CNIPM), […]

Spiders are some of the most misunderstood and feared animals on the planet, but they are also fascinating and familiar creatures that we share our surroundings with every day. Pictured below is an orb weaver […]

Recent hikers and visitors of Ravenel Park have been run off by a momma bear and her cubs so they can get their paws on human food. Pictured below is Ravenel Park, home of Sunset […]

Volunteers have been working diligently since late 2020 to build the Kelsey Trail into a hike-able loop. Kelsey Trail is owned and maintained by the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust and is located at the end of […]

This may sound like the beginning of an awesome children’s story, but it’s something the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust does on a regular basis, collaborate with developers to achieve conservation goals. The Divided-leaf ragwort, or Packera […]

Here on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau and in the surrounding Southern Appalachians, people are lucky to be amongst an incredible diversity of plants. As spring has progressed with wildflowers popping up and a leafy canopy emerging […]

The Highlands-Cashiers Plateau is one of the few remaining areas with intact old growth hemlock forest. The Southern Appalachians are home to two species of hemlocks, the eastern or Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and the Carolina […]

The Plateau is home to a variety of evergreen plants ranging from towering coniferous trees like Pine, Hemlock, and Pitch; to shrubs such as the ground juniper, rhododendron, and mountain laurel; and even ground cover […]

In partnership with the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, Highlands Plateau Greenway volunteers will be constructing a new loop trail in the Kelsey Trail Preserve. This beautiful-wooded preserve is blocks away from Main Street in Highlands and home […]

The Village Green and Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust co-host a speaker series called the Village Nature Series (VNS), which features experts in their field presenting on wildlife, habitats, conservation, and local cultural heritage. Traditionally, these events […]

Thanks to the generosity of Lawrence and Genevieve Dimmitt and Dimmitt Chevrolet in Clearwater, Florida, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust (HCLT) has a pick-up truck to call its own. As a nonprofit land-conservation organization that has conserved […]

Many find comfort these days by spending more time enjoying the outdoors. Those who live on the Plateau are lucky to live with so many natural amenities right in their backyard. Now one of lesser […]