Trust for Public Land in Tennessee - 2023

Tennessee THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF IN 2023 AND MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE YEAR AHEAD

Celebrating 50 Years of Impact, Thanks to You! Since its beginning, TPL’s vision has been rooted in a singular belief: access to the outdoors is essential to people’s well-being. What started fifty years ago as a bold idea in a small San Francisco office has become a nationwide movement to connect everyone, no matter where they live, with nature. At this significant milestone, we celebrate the important work that has been done as well as the incredible network of TPL advocates whose commitment continues to make this vision a reality.

With your support in Tennessee, TPL has preserved iconic landscapes and built dynamic spaces that bring neighbors together and foster a love for the outdoors.

The exciting work that has been done on Stringer’s Ridge and the newly opened South Chickamauga © J. ADA MS PHOTOGR APH Y

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Creek Greenway represent just the beginning of what is possible.

It is an exciting time to be a part of the TPL community, as we look to new opportunities to connect to nature, our histories, and each other. In Chattanooga, we are launching our Community Schoolyards® efforts with three pilot schools, and in East Nashville we are rescuing a “fairy forest,” a beloved neighborhood open space.

With your support, we will continue to build parks and protect land, making Tennessee a healthier and more equitable place for everyone. Thank you!

Dr. Kirk Walker Chair, Tennessee Volunteer Leadership Committee

Park Listeners Throughout TPL’s history, we have seen that land has meaning: it connects us to our heritage, it brings us together, and it can unlock a community’s potential for positive change. That is why we focus on more than just building a new park or protecting open space. We invest in people, in their relationship with the land, and their interconnected relationships with each other.

Putting community and place at the forefront of any park development involves fostering relationships with local organizations, government agencies, nonprofits, the arts community, and neighborhood leaders to create inclusive environments. Our Park Listeners initiative helps us meet our commitment to centering community and inclusivity in every aspect of our work. As part of Tennessee’s new Welcoming Places program, Park Listeners are trained and compensated to fan out into their community and ask neighbors what they want to see in their parks.

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with the Park Listener that she shared that she did not know how to read or write in Spanish. The Park Listener offered to fill out the survey for her, giving us the opportunity to understand the resident’s perspective on our local parks. These interactions support the process of creating outdoor spaces where residents see themselves and feel both welcome and represented.”

Participants learn how to use their expertise to better understand the community, which can take form as collecting quantitative data or as simple—but impactful— as listening. They go where residents normally spend time, whether at the hair salon or local park, rather than expecting them to come to us. While we know there is no one-size-fits-all approach, the Park Listeners framework can be replicated throughout communities, creating a structure that is equitable and helps sustain our work.

Daniela Peterson, who leads Tennessee’s Welcoming Places Program, recalled a recent Chattanooga project that exemplifies the importance of the Park Listeners’ work and how it is helping us understand more about the superpowers of parks: “Park Listeners assisted with gathering feedback for the city’s Park and Outdoor Plan (POP), which charts a path for reinventing Chattanooga as a ‘city in a park,’ and where every resident has easy access to high-quality green space. The survey response rate near East Lake Park was very low, so Park Listeners visited the area to talk to neighbors directly about their experience using the park and how the system could be improved to best serve their needs.

I witnessed one of the Park Listeners engage with an elderly Latina woman. The woman felt so comfortable

Park Listener, Faviana Gaspar (left), and Tennessee Director of Welcoming Places, Daniela Peterson (right). © BROOK E BR AGGER

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Lands and Trails Public lands are essential to healthy, thriving communities.

Our national parks, state forests, and other public lands inspire us with beautiful scenery, sustain us with fresh air and water, tell our stories, and employ us with good jobs.

They enshrine our history and culture and, if we care for them, will safeguard our future from climate change.

TPL’s new director of the Tennessee and Georgia Lands and Trails program, Chris McKissack, and National Board and Tennessee Volunteer Leadership Committee member, Franklin Farrow, discuss the impact of Tennessee’s Lands and Trails initiative and how it is evolving.

Chris, what is your role as Program Director for Tennessee and Georgia Lands and Trails? Franklin, tell us about yourself and your partnership with TPL. Chris: In my role, I help secure trail corridors and protect land, creating close-to-home access to nature. My goal is to build upon what TPL does best, and to do so within the rich, diverse landscapes throughout Tennessee, Georgia, and the Southeast.

Franklin: I’ve called Chattanooga home for the past forty years. I’ve witnessed Chattanooga go from being the most polluted city in the early 1980s to a model outdoor town. I’ve been on the Tennessee Leadership Committee for the past eight years and have recently joined TPL’s national board, where I serve on the finance and program committees.

What Land and Trails projects are currently underway?

Where are we headed?

Chris: We’re working from the ground up to refocus our efforts, starting with relationship building across all levels: with local, state, and federal agencies, communities, and nonprofit partners. Together with The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund, we’re protecting Sandy Branch, a 300-acre property outside of Vonore in the Appalachian foothills of East Tennessee. Sandy Branch has been included in the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget to receive funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. After TPL acquires the property, we will transfer it to the Cherokee National Forest.

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In Kentucky, as part of our efforts to protect and elevate sites that tell the story of the Black experience in America, we’re expanding Camp Nelson National Monument. The American Civil War-era camp was established in 1863 as a depot for the Union Army and evolved into a recruitment and training center for African American soldiers hoping to secure their freedom and aid in the destruction of slavery, as well as a shelter for their families.

What do you think contributes to TPL’s growing impact in Tennessee and how can it be emulated in other regions?

Franklin: What has allowed TPL to accomplish large-scale projects is a group of dedicated donors, longstanding advisors and staff, and a well-established relationship with governing authorities. Using these resources and experience, TPL can broaden its scope across the country through our national trail work. Trail systems not only connect residents to nature, but also help unite smaller communities with conservation awareness, tourism, and improved physical and mental wellness.

What programs are you most excited about?

Franklin: Nationally, I’m especially drawn to our work that attracts new users to trails and parks. Partnering with the International Mountain Bike Association to protect land and create new opportunities for bike-friendly trails is a great way to leverage resources across groups with a common goal.

Chris: I’m excited to focus on both protecting large landscapes and creating close-to-home trail access that communities can enjoy in their daily lives. One morning I might be lost in the woods working on a 300-acre land conservation project, and later that afternoon I can turn my focus towards a downtown rails-to-trails project that winds through multiple diverse communities across town.

It is the best of both worlds.

50 years and Counting!

In 2023, we reflect on and celebrate our first fifty years of impact, and we look ahead at the work still to be done.

From protecting vast stretches of wide-open spaces to revamping schoolyards, trails, and parks, we strive for equity, inclusion, and access for everyone.

Throughout April, we gathered in Chattanooga with community members and local partners for a series of free events located at spaces renovated and activated by TPL. We kicked off the month with a birding hike at White Oak Park, where participants explored the nuanced language and communication style of birds. We also strolled through the woods of Stringer’s Ridge and identified common native and invasive plant species in urban areas of Chattanooga. And along the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway, we learned about the pivotal role Chattanooga’s railroads played during the Civil War.

At our Cocktails & Conversation event, hosted by longtime supporter and 2012 TPL Ferguson Award Winner, Allen McCallie, 65 friends of TPL came together to celebrate the impact we have had in the region since our Tennessee office opened in 1994. Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly discussed the role of parks and trails as critical infrastructure and an investment in Chattanooga’s future. He also highlighted how TPL’s partnership has transformed the way Chattanoogan’s connect to nature, citing longstanding trail-building efforts like the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway.

We were honored to hear from other speakers including Trust for Public Land President and CEO Diane Regas as we celebrate this special milestone, and look ahead to the work that will make Chattanooga a healthier, more equitable place for all.

BOTH: © TPL STAFF

NATIONAL PARK HISTORIAN, JIM OGDEN (LEF T ), AND R AILROAD HISTORIAN, M ARK BR AINERD (RIGHT ), LE AD A CIVIL WAR HISTORY HIK E FOCUSED ON THE STR ATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF R AILROADS DURING THE CA MPAIGN FOR CHAT TANOOG A .

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Coming Soon!

Community Schoolyards® Countless studies show that spending time in natural areas helps lessen anxiety and depression, increases feelings of tranquility, and strengthens concentration.

Children with regular doses of nature have improved emotional resilience, test scores, and cognitive health.

That is why, for 27 years, TPL has worked alongside teachers, students, and other community members to transform schoolyard campuses into nature-rich open spaces, making the most of this resource that is hiding in plain sight.

In Hamilton County, we are partnering with the public school district and the City of Chattanooga’s Department of Parks & Outdoors to bring our Community Schoolyards to three schools. The pilot program will transform the barren lots at East Side Elementary, Clifton Hills Elementary, and Hardy Elementary, into accessible parks for communities after school hours and on weekends.

TPL’s Community Schoolyards are not a product but a process. When creating a schoolyard, we invite the entire school—students, teachers, parents, and staff—as well as neighbors and local partners to make their voices heard.

With the support of donors like you and a 1:1 match from the City of Chattanooga, we have reached our $400,000 fundraising goal and will begin the student-led and © ALE X A HOY ER

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SUPPORT THE CRABTREE CONNECTOR! Help us raise $300,000 to design the Crabtree Connector and make this impactful trail segment shovel-ready, setting the stage for competitive public funding. Together, we can improve access to parks, trails, and outdoor spaces for recreation and exercise, transportation, economic revitalizations, and community building in Chattanooga’s urban core.

community-informed design work on our first schoolyard this year. Together, we are transforming Chattanooga’s school grounds into vibrant, welcoming green spaces where students and neighbors can play, relax, and gather with one another.

The Crabtree Connector Located in the heart of South Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Creek is one of city’s largest forested watersheds, whose wetlands form a barrier for east-west connections. Only two roads, frequented by heavy traffic, cross the creek in the neighborhoods, limiting safe walking and biking options for residents.

The Crabtree Connector will create a crucial link between two communities separated by the Chattanooga Creek— the predominately African American neighborhood of Alton Park, and the predominately Latino community of Clifton Hills. As part of our continued efforts to connect South Chattanooga to quality outdoor spaces and the city’s urban core, this 0.6-mile connector trail will pass through Crabtree Farms, a local community-centered urban farm, to Alton Park and the Tennessee Riverpark.

TPL is working in partnership with the city to design the trail and link these disconnected neighborhoods to the city’s greenway network. Once completed, this much-needed community asset will set the stage for further safe walking and biking facilities along Rossville Boulevard to East Lake Park.

The ChickChatt Trail Tucked within the Tennessee Valley’s wooded hills and bright meadows lie treasured recreational destinations and historic landmarks—Indigenous cultural sites, Civil War battlefields, and areas of importance to the Black experience. Today, residents and visitors hoping to enjoy the outdoors, explore local history, or visit nearby towns, must drive for miles, speeding by breathtaking scenery along the way.

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The Chick-Chatt Trail offers a bold vision for connecting people to these special places and to each other through a network of urban greenways, backcountry paths, and rail trails. Building outward from the 25-mile Tennessee Riverpark–South Chickamauga Creek Greenway network, the trail loop will span 55 miles, running from Chickamauga, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and back.

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Trails are more than just paths connecting points on a map. When we create and protect trails—and the spaces around them—we help communities work together and take meaningful action to confront the challenges of our time: natural disasters, public health, and longstanding, systemic inequities.

We are building a task force of community partners to help advance this effort and are identifying and protecting key corridors along the planned trail loop.

Our priority is to conserve the Tennessee-AlabamaGeorgia Rail (TAG) line, a defunct rail line which runs south from Chattanooga to the small Georgia towns of Flintstone and Cooper Heights. On the way, the TAG line passes through an idyllic but rapidly developing valley offering spectacular vistas of Lookout Mountain.

Converting the TAG into a trail corridor would preserve the valley’s natural grandeur, provide new recreational opportunities, and connect these local towns.

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SUPPORT THE CHICK-CHATT Our first effort on the Chick-Chatt will link the City of Chickamauga to the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park via the Battlefield Connector Trail. Thanks to great partnerships with Walker County and City of Chickamauga, and strong support from the State of Georgia, we are nearing our goal of raising $850,000 to complete this segment. Help us cross the finish line as we expand our work in two states and create new pathways to health and prosperity.

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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE

Julia Bursch, City of Chattanooga

Caroline Walker, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Franklin Farrow, Morning Pointe

Kirk Walker, Educational Consultant

Senior Living Allen McCallie, Miller and Martin

Nicole Watson, Waller Law Flossie Weill, Weill & Long, PLLC

Rob Taylor, CityScape Development

THANK YOU for helping improve the health, equity, and climate outcomes for communities in Tennessee and beyond.

We could not do this without you.

Services

Noel Durant Associate Vice President Tennessee State Director noel.durant@tpl.org 423.265.5229

Join us Help ensure everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you. tpl.org/donate/tn

Debby Frederes Tennessee Director of Philanthropy debby.frederes@tpl.org 706.424.8575 P.O. Box 3240 Chattanooga, TN 37404

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