Parks & Environmental

Parkland conversion creates new opportunities in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

By MARY JANE BOGLE | The Municipal

Murfreesboro, Tenn., is no stranger to parks management and wildlife preservation, and its Barfield Crescent Park is no exception. Nestled along the beautiful Stones River at the city’s southern tip, Barfield Crescent Park offers residents a unique blend of recreation and wilderness education opportunities. Those opportunities just increased exponentially, thanks to the city’s recent purchase of Oakwood Farm.

Made possible in part by a federal parkland conversion process, the purchase of Oakwood Farm was years in the making and adds 70 acres to the 405 acres of Barfield Crescent Park’s existing parkland.

“In many ways, Barfield Crescent Park feels more like a state park instead of just a city park,” said Rachel Singer, Murfreesboro’s parks and recreation assistant director. “To add another 70 acres to that property is huge.”

The benefits of the farm acquisition are many, not the least of which is expanded acreage, as Singer explains.

“With the growth of Murfreesboro, people have been gravitating toward the outdoor spaces,” she said. During COVID, Barfield Crescent Park especially saw increased use, with people seeking opportunities to get outdoors. And at Barfield Crescent Park, they found those opportunities in abundance.

The front 100 acres of the park offer the typical city park experience, complete with ball fields, disc golf, playgrounds and pavilions. The back 300 acres, however, offer a completely different experience, with five miles of hiking trails, both paved and unpaved, creating access to a wilderness camping area, fishing and wildlife exploration. Thanks to the park’s Wilderness Station, park guests can participate in any number of nature education and immersion programs, everything from toddler talks to kayaking, hiking ABOVE: Barfield Crescent Park offers trails for all skill levels. No matter the route selected, visitors will find themselves connected with nature. (Photo provided by city of Murfreesboro)

and backpacking—all part of an outdoor adventure program, which offers beginning backpacking opportunities and even rents out all the gear guests need.

With the popularity of these programs growing, the city was looking for additional space for continued programming, along with extended parking for school groups.

“Our parking near the current Wilderness Station alone was limiting our growth,” said Singer. “It’s hard to get buses back there, and fitting up to 200 school children into the retreat center was a challenge.”

That is, until the opportunity to purchase neighboring Oakwood Farm arose. “We’ve had a longstanding relationship with the owners of the farm,” said Singer, noting Mr. Lloyd, the family patriarch, had asked the city if they would be interested in purchasing the

Park guests can try their hands at off-road cycling in addition to hiking paved trails. (Photo provided by city of Murfreesboro)

farm. “When he passed, his heirs wanted to fulfill his wishes and see the property go to the park,” she said.

The process of purchasing the property, however, involved several steps and included a federal parkland conversion process. This process effectively removed restrictions placed on 6 acres of surplus property at another property, McKnight Park. This surplus property was bound by restrictions when the city accepted a grant to purchase it over 50 years ago.

“McKnight Park is located between the Murfreesboro Municipal Airport and a commercial development,” said Singer, “and there’s not much we could do with it.” In order to repurpose the property, however, the city had to prove they could purchase a property with greater acreage and increased value to their mission, one that would adjoin a current park property.

Enter Oakwood Farm. Working with an environmental consulting firm, the city developed a management plan, which included moving its outdoor programming and natural services division into a large building on the Oakwood Farm property, effectively housing the two programs together in one location. The city also plans to convert the open pasture into native pollinator and native wildlife habitat plots.

“We’re looking at the property’s natural features and hoping to manage those to the best of our ability for wildlife and interpretation purposes,” said Singer.

Once the plan was developed, it needed approval through the city as well as the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation before it could gain final approval through the National Park Service. The entire process usually takes about 12 months to complete, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Work on perimeter trails will begin soon, with native plantings and new programs coming in the spring, just in time for the park’s big World Turtle Day celebrations, not to mention the ever-popular Hummingbird Festival next fall. And with access to the property from the state highway, school groups and large buses will have no trouble pulling in for camps and programs all yearlong.

“Many people have lost their connection with nature,” Singer explained. “Thanks to this parkland conversion process, we can make sure that this beautiful property never becomes a subdivision. Instead, it will provide conservation of green spaces and conservation for the native wildlife. We are so thankful to the Lloyd family for this opportunity. They have been very patient. Now, they can come back and visit at any time and find the property relatively unchanged.” The Wilderness Station is home to a wide range of “wildlife ambassadors,” helping visitors connect with the native species they might encounter on the park’s trails. (Photo provided by city of Murfreesboro)

Beginning backpackers can hike a mile to the remote campground, a walk-in-only camping opportunity. (Photo provided by city of Murfreesboro)

Barfield Crescent Park’s outdoor adventure program encourages visitors to get into nature on paved and unpaved trails. (Photo provided by city of Murfreesboro)