Berry College occupies the largest college campus in the United States, and possibly in the world. Our campus comprises 27,000 acres of contiguous land with diverse habitats of river bottoms and southern Appalachian foothills. The campus is at the fringe of one of the most rapidly sprawling urban areas in the world--the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. We are 70 miles from downtown Atlanta (and an equal distance from Chattanooga, Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama), but our campus already looks like an island of green in aerial photographs. The habitats are diverse, ranging from an elevation of 600 feet in the valley to 1700 feet atop Lavendar Mountain.
The College historically has used the natural resources on the land (timber, clay, limestone, etc.), and periodically has sold parcels for development. A century from now, provided good stewardship, this campus will stand out as an emerald refuge in the midst of urban sprawl and an industrial-belt desert. As an academic institution, we will use this not only as a nature preserve, but as a 27,000-acre laboratory for long-term ecological studies.
We are now bringing together a vision for our campus and our academic programs that will allow Berry College to realize the full potential of this truly unique resource. As a first step, the ELM Committee has initiated a campus-wide inventory of biotic, geologic, and other resources.
In addition to educational and research programs for Berry College faculty and students, the land resource is available to students and researchers from other institutions who wish to work with Berry faculty. Several other institutions have already begun programs in collaboration with Berry. How to use the land for academic purposes
AQUATIC HABITATS
- More than a mile of shoreline along the Oostanaula River
- Several miles of Armuchee Creek
- A 55-acre Reservoir
- A small bald cypress wetland
- Several emergent wetlands
- Numerous small streams, ponds, and vernal pools
TERRESTRIAL HABITATS
- Mixed mesophytic forests
- A significant stand of old-growth mountain longleaf pine
- Pine plantations
- Exposed sandstone and limestone bluffs
- Pasture lands with cattle and horse herds
- Old and active hay fields
- Several groomed public gardens