Building Momentum: Shelby

Did you know that Shelby Farms Park is one of the largest urban greenspaces in the United States? The Park is five times larger than New York’s Central Park and more than three times the size of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park – offering unparalleled size, scope and diversity of trails, fields, landscapes and amenities. If you think that this massive park is managed by the government, guess again! Shelby Farms Park Conservancy (SFPC) is the 501(c)3 nonprofit that manages and operates Shelby Farms Park and Shelby Farms Greenline through a private-public partnership with Shelby County Government.

The 4,500-acre park has hundreds of acres of woodlands, grasslands and wetlands; 20+ lakes and ponds; and 40+ miles of paved and unpaved trails. Popular features include the iconic Greenline, a 10.65-mile paved pedestrian and bicycle trail that runs through Shelby County, and amenities like the Woodland Discovery Playground, Wolf River Pedestrian Bridge and Hyde Lake. We operate a Visitor Center and Event Center, and are landlords for a restaurant - Coastal Fish Company. The park offers a wide variety of free and low-cost programs that serve adults, children, teenagers, seniors, community groups and schools such as fitness classes, camps, field trips, mobile classrooms and community events.

Shelby County Government provides 25% of Shelby Farms Park’s annual operating budget. SFPC raises the remaining 75% from private sources, more than $4 million dollars a year – and nearly $11,000 a day! They’re able to fundraise through a combination of charitable contributions from individuals, companies and other organizations and earned revenue through facility rentals, retail and events like Starry Nights. This is a win-win for Shelby County residents, maximizing taxpayer dollars to amplify public benefit and create a world-class public park. Because a majority of funds are raised through the nonprofit, Shelby Farms’ success is contingent upon private and corporate donors continuing to support the park.

Before the creation of the SFPC, you may remember Shelby farms as a working penal farm. Over the decades since, the Park’s future was stewarded by groups of engaged citizens determined to protect and preserve the land for public benefit. Thanks to them, as the Memphis metro expanded eastward, much of the land that would become Shelby Farms Park remained as green space. The Conservancy has raised and invested more than $70 million in park improvements to help bring Shelby Farms Park and Greenline to their fullest potential as the treasured community and public health assets they are today.

Funds raised during SFPC-produced events directly support the operations of Shelby Farms Park and Greenline year-round, making these special spaces possible and providing vital outdoor amenities for recreation, fitness, leisure, and community.

Here are a few great upcoming events to enjoy this Spring:

• Earth Day: In April, the park will once again offer Earth Day programming – a combination of volunteer opportunities and public programming focused on sustainability, how our community is going green, and what families can do at home to help create a cleaner, greener future for the Mid-South.

• Park After Dark: Also later this spring, the park will host the second annual “Park After Dark” gala event. Like last year, this will be a dressy-casual, outdoor event with cocktails, dinner, a silent auction and more. This is a rare opportunity to experience all the Park has to offer once the sun sets and the Park closes.

• Canoes + Cocktails: Canoes + Cocktails, one of Shelby Farms Park’s most popular and well-attended outdoor events, returns! Participants enjoy a guided evening paddle among one of Memphis’ best views followed by shoreside cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, yard games, and music overlooking beautiful Hyde Lake on Friday nights from May through September.

For more information on upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to give, visit shelbyfarmspark.org.