January 13, 2024
Arabia Mountain Service Day
Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve
Join the Georgia Conservancy for a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend Service Project at beautiful Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, just south of Lithonia. Projects that we plan to tackle during our Day of Service include trail maintenance on several trails that are in desperate need of some clearing, cutting back overgrowth, and removing large downed limbs and trees.
The 2,550-acre DeKalb County park, located approximately 18 miles east of downtown Atlanta, includes miles of both paved and unpaved trails and paths, and features incredible granite rock outcroppings, wetlands, creeks, pine and oak forests. Dispersed amongst the natural beauty, visitors can find the historical remnants of the granite mining that occurred here in the early 1900s. Davidson-Arabia Nature Preserve is part of the greater Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, which includes key natural and cultural sites near Lithonia, including Panola Mountain State Park, Monastery of the Holy Spirit, and the Flat Rock Archives.
When: January 13 // 12 PM – 3 PM
Where: Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve // Nature Center // 3787 Klondike Road, Lithonia, GA 30038
What to bring: Please bring, water, snacks, appropriate hiking shoes (close-toed), a rain jacket, long pants, and a sense of adventure.
Parking: Please park at the Nature Center office.
Gloves and appropriate tools will be provided.
FREE RSVP BELOW
FROM DAVIDSON-ARABIA NATURE PRESERVE:
“The seemingly barren landscape of Arabia Mountain is the most easily identified landscape of the Heritage Area.
The mountain itself is part of the 2,550 acre DeKalb County park called the Davidson – Arabia Nature Preserve. The Preserve also includes other large formations of exposed granite, wetlands, pine and oak forests, multiple streams, and two lakes.The rare, native plant species, such as the signature red diamorpha in the winter and fall’s yellow daisies, make it seem as though the rock is in constant metamorphosis.
While the Preserve is considered an exceptional ecological wonder the area is also very much influenced by the hand of man. The evidence of quarrying activities are apparent in the industrial debris left on the mountain and of the abandoned structures once used by workers for storage, offices and shelter. The ruins of quarry buildings are found interspersed throughout the park and metal spikes that were used to split the granite are still embedded in the rock.”
The Georgia Conservancy's Stewardship Trips program is excited to offer our Day Trips, which help to supplement and enhance our already robust statewide trips schedule and aims to highlight and acknowledge the diverse array of green spaces, natural resources, individuals and organizations that are putting metro Atlanta on the map for environmental stewardship and sustainable growth.
If you have any questions about our Davidson-Arabia Nature Preserve Service Day, please contact Georgia Conservancy Stewardship Trips Director Clark Harrison at charrison@gaconservancy.org
