Invasive Free Yard Program

Neighbors can restore their home landscapes while helping to protect Fernbank Forest.

Fernbank Museum offers an Invasive Free Yard Program to engage forest neighbors and encourage them to remove nonnative, invasive plant species from their home landscapes. By “going native,” neighbors create a healthy buffer around the forest to help keep invasive species at bay while encouraging native species to thrive. As neighbors remove the harmful plant species, Fernbank Forest becomes less vulnerable. Neighbors also benefit by creating restored, healthy ecosystems in their own yards.

The program is available to neighbors of Fernbank Forest. Participants are asked to sign a pledge promising to removal all nonnative, invasive plant species from their yard (as defined by the U.S. Forest Service’s “Nonnative, Invasive Plants of Southern Forests” guide).

Fernbank’s ecologist assists the program by providing a variety of resources for both identification and removal of invasives, as well as resources for selecting and replanting native alternatives. After participants have successfully removed the nonnative, invasive species from their yards, a Fernbank Museum representative will either certify the yard as “invasive free” or provide any final actions needed to achieve “invasive free” status. When certification is complete, participants receive a complimentary one-year family membership to the museum.*

If you are interested in learning more about invasive and native alternative plants, visit our Ecological Restoration Public Resources page.

For questions about Fernbank’s Invasive Free Yard Program or to sign up, contact us at Forest@FernbankMuseum.org or 404.929.6396.

*Following verification, membership cards will be mailed or emailed to program participants within four-six weeks. Some eligibility requirements apply.