GIFT
Golden Isles Fund for Trees Quercus virginiana
The Mission is to enhance the live oak tree canopy in Glynn County through education, preservation, awareness and advocacy.
GIFT’s Final Chapter - and an Epilogue
The non-profit corporation Golden Isles Fund for Trees, Inc. has been voluntarily dissolved effective August 6, 2026. The funds raised through your generous contributions have been deposited in the GIFT Fund at the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation and will continue to be available to support tree planting, education and advocacy in Glynn County. Future donations may be directed to coastalgeorgiafoundation.org and designated for the GIFT Fund.
The board and volunteers who founded and served GIFT created beautiful programs, educated children and adults, planted many trees for future generations, and advocated for the preservation of our iconic Live Oaks. We did not always succeed, but we always tried!
It is our hope that other organizations with the capacity to provide tree planting, education and advocacy will advance the mission that GIFT started in 2015 and will seek grants from the GIFT Fund to support those efforts.
If you know of any worthy organization that shares the commitment to preserve and enhance our coastal tree canopy, please have them reach out to miriam.lancaster@icloud.com. For now, she will continue to serve as the liaison to the Coastal Georgia Foundation.
This web site will continue to serve as a resource and repository for the stories associated with our registered Live Oaks. It will be known as Golden Isles Favorite Trees – a new GIFT for the community.
With sincere thanks for your support, farewell!
Golden Isles Fund for Trees, Inc.
The Lover’s Oak
According to local legend, Native American braves and their maidens would meet and kiss under the tree's branches
The Lover’s Oak is thought to date from the 12th century. It is located at 828 Albany Street in historic downtown Brunswick, Georgia.
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Tree Name – Frank Vande Linde Live Oak
Tree Number:302
Location: Prince and Newcastle Streets
Approximate Age: 108
GIrth (feet): 9’5”
History:Frank Vande Linde (1924-2024) served as chairman of the Brunswick Park and Tree Board for 10 years. He was quoted in the Brunswick News as saying, "we've got some of the most beautiful trees anywhere, but they are getting old." Under his leadership, the Tree Board began planting 50 live oaks each year in the city. The four live oaks in Kings Square were the first trees he had planted. He was a forester for 39 years and embodied the proverb, "A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit."
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Tree Name –The Louisa Oak
Tree Number: 305
Location: 701 G Street Brunswick, GA
Approximate Age: 227
Girth (feet): 19’9.25”
History: The Louisa Oak is named for Louisa Robert Carroll who was an Olympic swimmer in the 1932 games. This tree was dedicated upon the arrival of the Olympic Flame at this spot on July 10, 1996 and in commemoration of the 1996 Olympic games in Georgia.
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Tree Name – The Nan Marie O'Hara Living Oak
Tree Number: 165
Location: Small Playground by the pier
Approximate Age: 165
Girth (feet): 12’
History: This large Live Oak is named in memory of Nan Marie O'Hara (1946- 2019). Nan Marie is remembered by her many friends for her love of our local history and the Live Oaks of the Golden Isles. This interest led Nan Marie to GIFT (Golden Isles Fund for Trees) where, in 2016, she took on the job of recording the dimensions and registering more than 100 specimen Live Oak trees (the first three were at her home on the South end of St. Simons Island). Nan Marie named them and wrote a brief history of each tree. Nan Marie once said, "that I can almost hear the sound of hoofs on the horses in the battle of Bloody Marsh!" Nan Marie’s project became the GIFT Tree Registry which is now online for all to enjoy. Her legacy lives on today.