James A. “Jim” Schmidt seems to know every nook and cranny of his prized baby, a 112-acre wildlife complex in Lacombe.

Driving throughout the spread known as Bayou Gardens in a state-issued white pickup truck, Schmidt navigates potholes and dips through the land’s makeshift paths, stopping only to showcase a natural artesian spring and 400 species of camellias.

But that’s only when the flowers can be seen.

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Many of the land’s original trails are abandoned and overgrown, with a variety of natural vines chocking the life of the land’s exotic plants. It’s a mess Schmidt calls a travesty.

That’s why for the past five years, Schmidt has spent his golden years of retirement as lead volunteer coordinator to restore the property once the home of former Louisiana governor Richard Leche.

“When I first saw the gardens I knew it’s what I was going to do,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt, a white haired older gentleman, doesn’t let his age that he did not reveal get in the way. He spends two to eight hours a day, five days a week, recruiting up to 700 volunteers a year to hack down vines or mark off future renovation projects. On Saturday, an industrial lawnmower roared to life in the background, manned by an AmeriCorps volunteer.

“I’ve talked to people who have lived in the area all their lives and never knew it existed,” Schmidt said over the noise. “It’s up to us to restore this place.”

It’s easy to see why. Amidst the lofty pines and moss-draped forest cover, Bayou Gardens on the bank of Bayou Lacombe is rich in history.

Judge Wayne G. Borah, a U.S. District Court judge, purchased the property in the early 1930s and later built a house, pond, boathouse and barn. His wife, Elizabeth King Pipes, built the now famous gardens lined with camellias. One such pathway, a moss-covered brick garden, boasts a natural artesian spring that’s never stopped pumping water through an aging and chipped fountain topped with a baby statue.

Several years later when former governor Leche bought the property in 1945 he continued the garden cultivation, and by 1950 a commercial garden attraction, known as Bayou Gardens, was born. At 25 acres, the gardens boasted manicured pathways with vibrant camellias, hanging dogwoods, blooming azaleas and even a commercial nursery and museum operating out of the former dairy barn. It was a smash hit for tourists, Schmidt said.

By 1956, the Redemptorist Fathers purchased the property and opened a seminary at the site. The former governor’s home became the priest’s home. Four years later, the seminary broke ground on a new school that eventually floundered and closed in 1980. Traces of that failed endeavor remain. Tucked in a corner of the property is a graveyard boasting nearly 50 gravestones of former priests who manned the seminary.

When the seminary moved, the property lay vacant for years. Overgrown weeds and vines swallowed the once pristine land. Then in 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services acquired the plot and moved one of its district headquarters there, deeming the land a national wildlife refugee, part of Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge. Fish and Wildlife now operate and maintain eight similar historical wildlife refugees throughout the South from the site.

“Unfortunately, Fish and Wildlife don’t have the manpower or funding to spruce up this gem,” Schmidt said.

So every Saturday for years, Schmidt attracts volunteers to the site with the promise of a free canoe ride down the Bayou Lacombe and lunch after a day’s work. This Saturday more than a dozen or so volunteers hacked away at overgrown bushes and rumbled industrial weed eaters through the brush.

“For years and years this place was just awful,” Jackie Schneider, a volunteer said. “Everything was overgrown. It was just a mess … The whole place is so gorgeous anything we can do to make it better we need to. It was unusable.”

Schneider’s husband, Brian, dressed in dark blue coveralls and wiping sweat from his brow, paused to listen as Jackie spoke. The two have volunteered to restore Bayou Gardens numerous times.

“I consider this to be one of the area’s great assets,” he said. “It’s just a gem that’s been covered in underbrush for years.”

With that, the pair headed off to grab a bottle of water. Nearby, a group of AmeriCorps volunteers from New York were finishing filling a trailer with brush.

“Frankly, it’s just a beautiful area to work in, so serene,” said Tiffany Penha, a 24-year-old New York native and AmeriCorps volunteer who has never been to Bayou Gardens. “It’s just so serene. Imagine what it was like back when. Hopefully we can help.”

With that, Schmidt pulls up in the white truck and Penha jumps inside. It’s lunchtime, he said.