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Robert and Betty Balentine, an Atlanta-based couple, recently received the Garden Club of America’s highest distinction in the form of its Cynthia Pratt Laughlin medal. The medal, which recognizes outstanding achievement in environmental protection, was awarded to them for their work as the founders of the Southern Highlands Reserve. The 120-acre reserve, based on top of Toxaway Mountain in Lake Toxaway, N.C., is a private arboretum and research center that focuses on preserving plants native to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Robert’s history with the Garden Club of America spans three generations: His mother was a member of the Peachtree Garden Club and Garden Club of America horticultural judge; his wife, Betty, has been a member of Peachtree Garden Club since 1992; and his daughter, Emily Barbour, is a current member. “We have tremendous respect for the organization, and we’re humbled,” he says.
The Balentines bought property in Western North Carolina that backed up to a national forest in the 1990s. (Robert grew up hiking and camping in the area as an Eagle Scout.) Over the years, they bought additional adjacent property to protect it from development. “It’s a super fragile site,” Robert says. “It sits at an elevation of 4,500 feet on the Eastern Continental Divide. This is the most diverse collection of plants found anywhere in the world outside of a tropical rainforest, and we wanted to keep it forever wild.” They formalized their efforts in 2002 by creating Southern Highlands Reserve.
The foundation is a founding partner of the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative, which aids in restoring the region’s spruce-fir forests. (America’s second-most endangered ecosystem.) “They used to be considered the ‘Redwoods of the East,’” Robert says. “There’s a whole ecosystem supported by this spruce, which is under attack from logging, acid rain, fires, and more. Southern Highlands Reserve is now the single source of red spruce trees for the U.S. Forest Service.” The reserve has planted more than 6,000 mature spruce-fir trees with a survival rate of 95 percent.
These efforts have been particularly impactful given the devastation the wider area has seen after Hurricane Helene. “The work that we were doing prior was critical, and it’s even more important now,” Robert says. “We only have one chance at this, but even little organizations like us can make a difference.”
Southern Highlands Reserve is open to the public the first Tuesday of the month, April through October. Private tours are also available.
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