Photo: Amelia Tree Conservancy
“Deborah Arnold sits at the base of Kate’s Tree, located in the middle of the road at Ash and Eighth streets in downtown Fernandina Beach. The ancient oak is named for Katherine Bailey, wife of a prominent businessman who lived one block away in the late 19th century. When the city planned to remove the tree in order to extend Ash Street, Bailey protested by sitting vigil on the porch of her home with shotgun in hand. Her persistence paid off, and the tree remains.
The Amelia Tree Conservancy came together 10 years ago to defend our maritime forest canopy, its most noble member being the southern live oak (Quercus virginiana). Our maritime forest designates Amelia Island to be an end member of the chain of forested barrier islands that extend south from the Carolinas. These ancient forests provide a unique canopy that withstands strong winds, periodic flooding, salt spray and manages stormwater capture in their root systems and leaves.
Of utmost importance, it protects our shorelines from erosive forces and our groundwater from saltwater intrusion. Without a significant canopy our cooler microclimate will disappear as the globe warms, and the thousands of birds migrating here each spring to nest will fly elsewhere.
In 2013 the inspiration for the Amelia Tree Conservancy arrived on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Nassau County inspectors were home celebrating the holiday when a tactical unit of earth movers and backhoes descended onto the property east of the roundabout where South Fletcher Avenue meets First Coast Highway. Twenty-eight trees were destroyed, and all but three were live oaks. Dump trucks were at the ready to haul away the carcasses.
A few of those trees even predated the Revolutionary War. It wasn’t necessary to destroy all of them.
With Lyn Pannone spearheading the newly formed board, and the help of mainstay Margaret Kirkland, the tree conservancy mounted tactics to protect our island from future carnage. Now, 10 years later, it boasts more than 500 supporters.
We are ultimately preservationists intent on protecting the island’s remarkable ecosystem. You could call us political activists who are apolitical — tree planters; sponsors of education programs and scholarships; and guardians for future generations.”
— Deborah Arnold, Florida Times Union Guest