See land conservation practices at work at Jubilee Festival

Mar 10, 2023

The Jubilee Festival will showcase the far-reaching impact land management practices like prescribed fire have on forest and water health and offer a fun, family-friendly day of hay and pony rides, music and more.

Being held at Jubilee Orchards in east Tallahassee, owned by Bud and Kitty Chiles, the festival is also a chance to build awareness for landowners, farmers, local policymakers and the community about what they can do to support work being done to restore soil health and conserve forestland.

The work being done at Jubilee Orchards not only provides world-class blueberries, a variety dubbed “The Best Blue Berries in the South,” but is integral to preserving the unique environment of the Red Hills region.

Jubilee Orchards not only provides world-class blueberries, a variety dubbed “The Best Blue Berries in the South,” but is integral to preserving the unique environment of the Red Hills Region.

“The festival is an opportunity for consumers and policymakers to become aware of these vital issues concerning the health of our local environs and of the foods their families eat,” said Jubilee Orchards owner Bud Chiles. “It is also an opportunity for farmers and landowners to connect to federal and state programs and resources to adopt these enhancements for their crops and forests that benefit our climate.”

The Jubilee Festival will take place on May 20 with activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Jubilee Orchards, 12008 Miccosukee Road in Tallahassee. Weather permitting, a prescribed fire demonstration is planned.

Jubilee Orchards has planted long leaf pine trees and focused on applying prescribed fire at regular intervals as part of its management plan. Expect to see interpretive tours that highlight those practices and the benefit to dozens of fire-dependent species like gopher tortoises, red-cockaded woodpeckers and native wildflowers.

The efforts at Jubilee Orchards are, in part, the result of the cost share initiative, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and Tall Timber’s “Red Hills to the Coast – Connecting Land and Water” project focusing on the St. Marks and Aucilla River watersheds.

The program helped get more than $7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida as part of a 5-year effort to assist private landowners focused on bettering their landscapes and ultimately improving downstream health.

“This event at Jubilee Orchards will offer members of the public a chance to see land management in action,” said Tall Timbers Conservation Coordinator Peter Kleinhenz. “Thanks to the support of the NRCS-RCPP program, Mr. and Mrs. Chiles have been actively restoring the natural ecosystems on their property. You’ll be able to see this work firsthand, and will learn how to tap into resources that can help you do the same.”

Partners in the event include Tall Timbers, Jubilee Orchards, NRCS, Visit Tallahassee, UF-IFAS, Leon County, city of Tallahassee, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Leon County Soil and Water Conservation District.

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About the Author

Karl Etters

A Tallahassee native, Karl has a background in journalism and an even deeper background in exploring North Florida's wild spaces. Merge the two, and he's Tall Timbers' communication coordinator. When he's not spending time with family and friends, he can be found fly fishing, hunting, biking or walking the woods looking for turkeys.

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