welcome to the leaf center
The Louisiana Ecological Forestry Center, located in Florien, LA, encompasses 4,600 acres of diverse ecosystems dedicated to restoration, enhancement, and education.
a mission renewed
The Leaf Center carries on the vision of our founder A. J. Hodges. Considered the "Father of Forestry" in Northwest Louisiana, he was a pioneer in reforestation and believed in a better forest.
restoring the land
The LEAF Center operates a conservation mission at the site of Hodges Gardens, a once beautiful botanical garden open to the public. Hodges Gardens closed in 2017 and the LEAF Center took the stage as a conservation focused organization that is busy changing the landscape to a longleaf pine dominant ecosystem. Prior to the Gardens opening in 1957, Mr. A.J. was involving universities and government agencies in the forestry activities to utilize the land for advancements in forestry knowledge. He restored much of the land after the "clearcut and get out" philosophy of this region. We now continue this journey by restoring the land to the longleaf pine ecosystem with various methods of timber harvest and thinnings, replanting longleaf, utilizing prescribed burning and other timber stand improvement methods, and offering the facilities and land to universities, agencies, and non-profit organizations to hold educational events.
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