Nature provided pleasant commentary in the form of birds chirping, branches swaying and leaves rustling during a guided tour of the Donald E. Davis Arboretum Friday morning.
The Lee County Master Gardener Association recently began organizing and leading three one-hour tours from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. each second Friday and Saturday of the month.
Trained docents Margaret Holler and Tomie Dugas of Master Gardeners, led guests through the arboretum Friday while providing tidbits of history and information about the trees, plants and other wildlife that represent many of Alabama's varied and diverse ecosystems.
"Alabama is not just country folk," Holler said. "We have some very special natural areas. This seems to be the focus of our Arboretum."
Holler said the Master Gardeners' mission for the tours is to increase awareness of the habitats and biodiversity throughout the state.
They are also trying to make sure people know the Arboretum, which is part of Auburn University's College of Science and Mathematics, is open to all students and the general public, Holler said.
"They are trying to educate the average person that might not come unless there was some special tour," Holler said. "It opens up that door to the community and beyond."
The Fox Gloves gardening group from Columbus, Ga., attended Friday's tour, which included a wealth of historical information about the 7.5 acre natural sanctuary.
The arboretum was named for Davis, a professor of botany, in 1963, Dugas said.
Although it began as a small collection of 20 species of trees native to the Southeastern U.S., the area has expanded to include more than 500 species and 182 trees.
A stately 157-year-old post oak, known as the Founders Oak, was designated an Alabama historical landmark in 2004.
Another distinctive feature of the arboretum is its pond, which is one of Alabama's first constructed fish ponds, Dugas said.
Located at the heart of the arboretum, the pond provides a peaceful home to various species of native fish and turtles found in Alabama ecosystems.
Turtle species include red-eared sliders, yellow-eared sliders, painted, soft-shell, snapping, box and more.
Dugas said Alabama has more turtle species than any other state.
"The turtles here are the big feature," Holler said.
Dugas said biology students have tracked turtles traveling back and forth between the arboretum and Chewacla State Park via streams connecting the two areas.
"That's pretty far away," Dugas said.
For nature enthusiasts such as Holler and Dugas, it is easy to see why the turtles are willing to trek such a long distance to enjoy the precious gifts nature has earmarked for them.
"That's my passion," Holler said, "to get people to recognize the importance of the natural environment and how we are all connected."
Auburn resident Betsy Huff said her daughter enjoys studying in the arboretum as often as she can.
"She just loves it here," Huff said. "She loves the peace to get out of the rat race of school."
Huff said she wanted to take the tour so she could tell her daughter what she had learned about the area.
Holler, who has worked at the Forest Ecology Preserve for more than six years, said getting people out to the preserve or attracting them to the arboretum is her passion.
"It's worthwhile to me," Holler said. "We (at the preserve) do school groups to get families and children more connected, especially our children that don't get to see the natural world anymore because of their computers and all the technology."
Holler said she agreed with one of the Fox Gloves members who lamented about people who do not "stop to smell the roses."
Holler said that, for her, nature is a therapy.
"It's not going to be a world we want to live in if we don't have people that care," Holler said. "It's scary."
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