The Kennedy Pond Conservancy is a picturesque body of water that spans miles in Bulloch County. Zach VanOtteren, founder, is passionate about preserving the rare Carolina Bay and educating the public about it. He acquired it and created an organization to support the pond in its natural state.
"We have had property on the pond for the last eight years; we've had 30 acres out there. It's been a dream of ours to own it one day," VanOtteren explains. He negotiated with the former owner Clint Smith to buy the pond with the shared dream of preserving it. "Then I started Kennedy Pond Conservancy, a non-profit organization."
VanOtteren learned that the pond was a Carolina Bay, a jewel not often seen in Georgia.
"They're concentrated in North and South Carolina, which is where they get the Carolina portion of their name, and they're just this niche ecosystem that is unlike anything else in our natural environment. They provide habitat for all sorts of plants and animals," VanOtteren says.
VanOtteren has been busy assembling a support team for KPC including a board of directors, an advisory council, and a team of volunteers to save what he describes as a "rare ecosystem in our county."
"I never wanted to see the pond developed or drained, so for Clint Smith to give us this opportunity to give it a shot at preserving it was huge for us, " VanOtteren says.
One way VanOtteren plans to raise awareness is to host events, and the Conservancy kicked off its 2024 events calendar with a visit from author Tom Poland, who wrote one of VanOtteren's favorite books, Carolina Bays: Wild, Mysterious, and Majestic Landforms. Poland traveled to the Kennedy Pond Conservancy from his home in South Carolina to share his knowledge with the attendees.
Upon the discovery of the pond's unique status, VanOtteren decided to do some research, which is how he found Tom Poland's book. He enjoyed it so much that is was a natural decision to invite Poland to be the keynote speaker at KPC's first educational event.
The author was informative and down-to-earth, and children created dioramas of Carolina Bays after Poland's talk.
VanOtteren, owner of Eager Beavers Stump & Tree, along with his parents, are currently funding the conservancy and are actively seeking partnerships within Bulloch County to offset the costs of keeping the pond intact.
The Kennedy Pond Conservancy is prepared to host field trips and educational workshops for school and homeschool groups, youth organizations, churches, universities, and more.
"We hope to have one of these educational workshops per month moving forward," VanOtteren says.
The next educational event takes place on Saturday, February 17th, in honor of Arbor Day. They are looking for volunteers to help plant trees, remove invasive plant species, and pick up trash.
"We have a little over a thousand trees that we're going to plant," VanOtteren explains. "We'll have a guest speaker as well."
VanOtteren's goal is to educate young children and teens and eventually pass the preservation torch to them when they are old enough.
"I love the educational aspect; I have four little kids all under the age of five, so it's important to me that they grow up learning about nature and having wild places to experience true life in," VanOtteren says. "That's the way I grew up."
For more information about Kennedy Pond Conservancy, please visit https://kennedypondconservancy.org/.