Rewilding Timeline

March 2025

We planted 4.8 acres of trees in the upper and lower fields, with 300 trees per acre. The lower field has cherry bark oak, nutall oak and willow oak. The upper field has white oak, red oak, southern oak, shumard oak, persimmon, plum and pecan.

August 2024

• Arbor Springs Forestry thins our forest of invasives, opening the tree canopy so more sunlight can encourage the growth of oaks and yellow poplars. The fallen trees and shrubs will create snags for wildlife habitat.
• Tennessee’s Wild Side films an episode about Whippoorwill’s rewilding that airs on public television stations across the state. See the video on their website.

• The first grant is for invasive plant and tree removal. This will remove honeysuckle, privet, mimosa and ailanthus (tree of heaven). This work will happen between June and September of 2024.
• The second grant is for forest stand improvement on Whippoorwill’s 26 forested acres. This will encourage the growth of keystone species like oak and hickory to improve wildlife habitat. This work will happen between June and September of 2024.
• The third grant is to plant trees in the field, to return 5 acres of field to the original forested land. We will plant 300 trees per acre. This work will start in the fall and be completed in 2025.
• The fourth grant is to convert 5 acres of fescue grass to native grasses, which is much more beneficial to wildlife. This work will start in the fall and be completed in 2025.