Guest Editoral in the Commercial Appeal

The nonprofit group Park Friends was founded in 1992 to help maintain Overton Park and to oppose plans to pave several of its green spaces for parking. We have been advocates for protection of the park ever since. We have defeated several proposed developments and completed projects that include sprinklers for the formal gardens, signs for the Old Forest trail, ongoing maintenance and clean-ups.

And now Park Friends has a modest proposal for city of Memphis officials: a conservation easement that would cover all the public green spaces of the park. Such a move would not only protect the irreplaceable old-growth forest but also prevent further paving and construction in the remainder of the park.

There has been a lot of ink spilled lately about the merits of proposed legislation that would establish the forest as a state natural area, versus the conservation easement that city officials prefer. But an easement and the natural area legislation could easily co-exist. Several parks across the state, including Shelby Farms, have a state natural area -- where the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation enforces restrictions on development and usage -- paired with an easement that protects the overall park in a way that allows for recreational facilities but prohibits inappropriate development.

An easement can be as loose or as protective as the property owner chooses to make it, but its advantage is that it would be an appropriate vehicle to cover all of Overton Park instead of just the forest. It is time for Memphians to stand up and demand a comprehensive and tightly written easement that would protect the entire park for generations to come.

The nonprofit Land Trust for Tennessee, which holds the easement for Shelby Farms, has been consulted by the city and is currently writing its first draft of an Overton Park easement. The Land Trust would hold the easement and legally enforce, if necessary, all protections written into the final draft. If the full park is covered by the easement, future generations of city officials would not be allowed to sell off or over-build the park.

Unfortunately, however, even with the excellent example of Shelby Farms in front of them, the city's Division of Park Services requested a draft easement that covers only the forest. Not even the Greensward, the large field and gathering place by Rainbow Lake, is covered in this first draft. Park Friends has been urging the city for months to cover the whole park, and it is disappointing that city officials are so far ignoring this opportunity to protect the crown jewel of the Memphis park system.

Expanding protection to all of Overton Park is crucial because the city has had an abysmal track record of defending the park in the past. Do we need a fire station? Let's put it in Overton Park. A maintenance area? Sure, put it in the park. More parking? Let's pave over another field. A senior center? Why not? Cut down some trees. Parts of the forest have been eaten away, but the other areas of the park are regularly threatened as well.

Shelby Farms and the new Shelby Farms Greenline have been prominent in the news lately, and there is a growing consensus that parks and recreational facilities are crucial elements for the city's future. Professionals deciding whether to bring jobs to the city and young creative types who enrich a city immeasurably are all drawn to green spaces and recreational facilities. Shelby Farms has been rightly hailed as a treasure, but the grand, old, urban park of Memphis remains Overton Park. It contains much of our history as a city and is accessible to and integrated with the neighborhoods on all sides. This park deserves comprehensive protection, not just for its forest but also for its remaining open spaces.

The golf course has been continually threatened by city budget cuts. It is important to the life of the park, and Park Friends is fighting to keep it operational; but if we ever do lose it, I worry that a land grab for asphalt parking lots or a sell-off of frontage along Poplar Avenue will follow. There needs to be protection in place to maintain the integrity and beauty of this historic and irreplaceable park.

Mayor A C Wharton has made park issues one of his major platforms. I hope he will step up to the plate and give Memphians an easement that has tight protections for both the forest and the other public spaces in Overton Park. The park deserves it. Memphis deserves it. Our grandchildren deserve it.

Martha Kelly is a Memphis artist and president of Park Friends.

Old Forest Good for Health

The New York Times published an article saying that spending time in parks and forests can boost your white blood cells and lower your blood pressure, among other benefits. The Japanese have long recognized this benefit and go "forest bathing". It's also the coolest place to walk these hot days, so go ahead and reconnect to the Old Forest.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Old Forest Wildflowers, part two

The wildflowers are still lovely in the Old Forest. Merlin and I have been enjoying walking the trails all spring. (Though look out for occasional stands of poison ivy now reaching out into the paths.) Here's phlox, which is in full bloom right now.
Jack in the pulpit. I've only seen this in one place (it's hard to spot, since the green blends in with the spring poison ivy tones).
Wild Geranium is blooming like crazy in several different places just now.
The Mayapples are at their peak -- some still blooming, while the early ones already have their apples.
Here are more Mayapples with Jacob's Ladder (almost gone now).
And the Buckeye is everywhere. I especially like looking up and seeing it against the sky.

Old Forest Wildflowers

The wildflowers are blooming their heads off for us in the Old Forest right now. It's a great time for a hike through the woods. Merlin and I have been taking full advantage of the paths in the forest on our morning walks lately. The wood poppies have been flaunting their yellow all through the heart of the forest. I think they spread more every year.
The periwinkle colored flower is Jacob's Ladder, one of my favorites, which has several rich swathes blooming near the center of the forest.
Trillium is all over -- we have a wonderful abundance of it.

The toothwort has just about finished now, but it was the first wildflower to put on a real display.

The mayapples are just beginning to open their flowers underneath their lovely umbrellas, so I'll try to get some photos to share here soon.

Flyer article on the Park

Mary Cashiola has done it again -- written a wonderful column about the latest developments in Overton Park. I really appreciate her keeping these issues front and center while the future of our park is mulled over by those in power. Read it here.

Natural Area Conversation

There's been a bit of back and forth lately on the CA editorial page about the proposed natural area legislation that's pending with the state. Naomi Van Tol of CPOP wrote a guest column last week arguing that the zoo's self-proclaimed interest in conservation and forestry should lead them to support this bill. Today's response by Chuck Brady, CEO of the zoo, said that the natural area would be too restrictive (control of the park in Nashville instead of Memphis) and that the city should institute a conservation easement instead.

Park Friends had a good discussion about this issue at our latest meeting. Historically the city has done a very bad job of protecting our most important park. "Do we need a new fire station? Let's cut some trees and put it in the park. Do we need a maintenace area/offices/new ADA building? Let's cut some trees and put them in the park? New senior center? Let's cut some trees and put it in the park." (Fortunately, Park Friends battled that one down.) "The zoo needs a new exhibit? Let's cut some trees and put it in the park." It is way past time for the city to step up and institute permanent, legal protection for Overton Park, and if the city isn't willing, Overton Park is precious enough that the state should do it instead.

With the natural area legislation hanging over their heads, the city and the zoo together are proposing a conservation easement instead. Park Friends has strongly suggested that if the city wants to pre-empt this legislation, they should protect more of the park than the proposed legislation does. We think the city should include the priceless Greensward in any easement instead of just covering the Old Forest. The Greensward does not meet the requirements for a state natural area, but it could easily be included in a local easement, and it has been threatened so many times that it, too, deserves protection.

The zoo argues that the natural area legislation is too restrictive for the city park usage that Overton Park gets (biking, jogging, roads through the forest). Many natural areas are quite restrictive, but each legislated area has a specific master plan written that is tailored to its needs. If the legislation goes through, we as citizens need to stay involved in the process and make sure that the master plan reflects our busy urban park, but both Senator Marrero and Representative Richardson, who are sponsoring the bill, have told me that they don't wish to restrict the park in any way, only to protect it for future generations. We also need to make sure that any city-written easement is strong enough to protect the park.

I think legal protection in either form is a wonderful step forward for the park, but Park Friends calls on the city to step up and do more than the natural area could and include the Greensward in any easement plan that they write. It is time to protect both the Old Forest and the Greensward for all Memphians in times to come.

Proposed Natural Area Bill

State Senator Beverly Marrero and House Rep. Jeanne Richardson have proposed a bill to make the Old Forest in Overton Park a state natural area. The idea is to protect the forest, including the acres behind the zoo's fence, from any more clear cutting, which Park Friends would totally support. We need to make sure all necessary research is done, however, before this bill becomes law.

Most natural areas have very restrictive rules that make them more ecological preserve than urban park. For example, many ban jogging, as too high impact on the trails. The default setting is to ban any cutting of grass or vines to maintain trails, as well as "re-naturalizing" roads. The number of people using a natural area can be restricted, which is not what we want for the central gathering place for the heart of the city. You can read more about the rules governing state natural areas here.

A master plan can be written with exemptions based on these specific needs, but there's no master plan in place yet, and Senator Marrero's office does not yet know the procedure for making one or who would be in charge of that process. Her Nashville staff is busily educating themselves on these issues at this moment and should be bringing the concerned parties together for discussion soon. We need to make sure that Overton Park would have an appropriate master plan that would allow for maintenance of the jogging and hiking trails, walking of dogs, and preservation of our asphalt pedestrian roads through the forest that are extensively used by biking families, parents with jogging strollers, dog walkers, and multiple races, including the Memphis Marathon. More protection for our park sounds lovely, as long as the park remains open for all its current uses.

Open for Winter!

In spite of the cold weather lately, Overton Park has been hopping. Sunday was the first of MRTC's winter cross country series, and OVER 300 people turned out to run in thirty degree temperatures. It was impressive to see them snaking all the way around the Greensward.

Other people turned out to play on the ice at Rainbow Lake (staying pretty near the edges, I was happy to see). It's not often we get to use ice skates outdoors in Memphis, so it's worth turning out in the cold to get that opportunity.
Still others came to just enjoy the glory of the winter trees against the sky and the beautiful patterns the snow made on the forest floor. Come on out and walk with us. It's worth a few wearing a few layers to be outdoors in the wide world instead of on a treadmill in a concrete block building somewhere.

Besides, the forest is the best place to walk in the winter as well as the summer -- the bare trees let in sunlight to warm you while blocking all the wind. Merlin and I have been there every day, even if I haven't written about it lately, and there is nowhere I would rather walk in the cold weather.

Hayride

The Hayride was a great evening out in the park. I don't remember when I've last had s'mores (chocolate is always first in my mind), the mules were charming, and it was lovely to ride through the Old Forest in the darkness and watch the stars and the tree tops against the sky. It was my first time at the event, and apparently our rain date cut down on attendance somewhat, but it was a lovely stream of neighbors and friends. I met some great people, saw some good friends, and enjoyed the perfect November evening. Hope to see all of you out there next year.


Willy Bearden dispensed hot chocolate to the crowd.

Teton Trek Opens

Brian Carter, the zoo staffer who's on our board at Park Friends sent along these photos for the blog. Teton Trek opened this weekend to the general public, along with its much anticipated orphaned bear cubs. It also contains wolves (further down) and a lodge meant to evoke the iconic grand lodge at Yellowstone (below).
It's been a rocky road to Teton Trek for the zoo, but the exhibit looks to be marvelous from the inside. I'm looking forward to seeing the bear cubs on my return to Memphis. They will be an asset to the city, and it's good recognition for both Memphis and our zoo that we were chosen to receive them.

Sadly, the exhibit looks less than marvelous from the backside, which is the side of itself that it shows to walkers, bikers, and everyone else enjoying our native Old Forest in Overton Park. Even a number of zoo lovers in the neighborhood have remarked on how ugly the forest road has become with the zoo building storage buildings right out to the road. They were supposed to leave a screen of trees but expanded right up to the fence instead. Brian answered my question about screening and said that the landscaping guys were supposed to be planting some screening plants within the next week, weather permitting. There's not much space left for screening plants, but hopefully now that the rush to get the front of the exhibit ready is over, the zoo will put some serious thought into how to make the back of the exhibit more attractive for their neighbors.
Because of the public backlash over both the clearcutting and the current appearance of Teton Trek, the zoo is working hard to solicit community feedback on their plans for Chickasaw Bluffs, the last of the Old Forest area that is behind their fence. Please take a moment to look at their proposed plan and submit your thoughts on the project.

Flasher warning

Word was being passed today between walkers that there was a flasher in the Old Forest this morning. I got it second hand (from someone who talked to her directly) that a friend of mine was flashed on the jogging trail. A short, stocky guy in a gray track suit was hiding in the fringe of the woods and stepped out onto the trail as she approached and pulled down his pants. She'd seen him earlier in the week as well.

The police had been called as I was leaving the park, but this is a good reminder that it's never a bad idea for women to walk back through the forested areas with a buddy or a big dog. We've made a lot of strides toward safety in the last few decades in Overton Park, but urban forests by their nature in location and lack of visibility can occasionally be taken advantage of by creeps and dangerous people. I got flashed in a similar setting in Athens once -- a big, forested park just opposite the Acropolis. So be cautious, walk with a friend when possible, and call the police if there are any problems. We want this stuff on their radar.

Wedding Vine

A neighbor just told me this vine is called Autumn Clematis, but I always think of it as wedding vine. It blooms in the park (and around Midtown) in the late summer. It was blooming in the month leading up to my wedding, when my planning was kicked into high gear, and it felt like the park was celebrating with me. Now every year it reminds me of that time and heralds my coming anniversary.

The great thing about walking in the park every day is that you become so tuned into the minor signals of seasons, the constantly changing quilt of nature. What is happening in the natural world becomes entwined with your everyday life. How lucky we are, in the heart of the city, to have a forest to walk in every day.

Construction update

Cindy Buchanan, director of Park Services, got in touch with General Services, which is the division building the new structure in the maintenance section of Overton Park. The building is within the maintenance area fence, but they had planned to run the sewer line out toward Poplar Ave. along an MLGW right-of-way through the Old Forest. Cindy talked to their administrator Larry Jenkins, however, and he agreed to keep the sewer line within the compound (tie it back into the existing sewer lines there) instead of encroaching out into the rest of the park. Many thanks to Cindy for standing up for the park and keeping city government from viewing it as their annexation area for government buildings and projects.

The Park Commission used to do this kind of bird-dogging of projects within parks, and our parks are less protected without them. The current mayor's race and change of administration seems like the perfect time to push for the restoration of an independent Park Commission. Please consider lobbying the candidate of your choice for more protection of our public parks.

Construction in Overton Park

I'd heard rumors of building in the city's maintenance area of Overton Park, though I hadn't been able to see anything when I drove up in there. Then this week a big plywood construction address sign appeared on Poplar just west of East Parkway, right in the deep part of the Old Forest, and the address said "281 East Parkway." After sending several emails to various people, Cindy Buchanan (director of Park Services) got back to me to say that the ADA (apparently we have a city government office in charge of disability compliance) is building an office building in the maintenance area on an old parking lot.

No trees have been harmed so far, but the construction plan has the sewer line running right through the Old Forest and out to Poplar. Cindy was unaware that they would be doing any work outside the maintenance area fence and has written to ask the supervisor to look into alternate routes for the sewer line that don't involve bulldozing a swathe of Old Forest. Watch this space for updates.

Zoo's Early Plans for Chickasaw Bluffs

The Zoo just posted preliminary plans for a boardwalk in the portion of the Old Forest that they have behind their fence. They are soliciting opinions from the public, which is a good change of policy from the Teton Trek days, so please take advantage of this opportunity to give them feedback. I'll post more information here as I get it. Click on the pictured image (once you're on their site) to see a slideshow of four drawings of the plans. They also have photos of similar area boardwalks, including the lovely Rossville Wolf River wetlands boardwalk that is well worth a visit if you haven't seen it.

Lick Creek Meeting last night

Park and neighborhood groups met again with the city engineering dept. last night to talk about updates to the storm water flood plan for Lick Creek, both in Overton Park and throughout Midtown. Since our last meeting, the engineers have met with Kevin Tucker, a golf course architect who redesigned Galloway and did a master plan (apparently unimplemented) for the Overton course some years ago.

The plan still calls for widening the culvert under Poplar (which is unfortunately likely to take about six months) and a berm across the front of the zoo and its parking lot (skirting the edge of the Greensward but taking no trees). They've decided to route the water coming into the park under Poplar east and across golf hole #7 instead of west and across several others. That route allows water to flow more directly into the forest, where it can help the thirsty sycamores.

They will also have to rework several bridges, including two newer ones by the golf house and by the Rainbow Lake playground. Still in question are the two older bridges, esp. the one just downstream of Poplar, which were built by the WPA. They can reroute water around them or rebuild them to be wider at the base. The bridges are in dubious repair and may succumb to floods in the highest of storms if left in their present condition. Hugh Teaford of the engineers is due to meet with several of us, including representatives from Landmarks and Memphis Heritage, to consider the question.

Bad news from the meeting was the report on the contracting engineer digging the retention basin at CBU. He has breached a pipe or two and not done effective erosion control during the project, and brown water has been released into Lick Creek. I'd noticed several days ago that the creek through the park was stagnant with a terrible smell, and this is the cause. CPOP has photos of the site and more information here. Given how badly this retention basin construction has gone wrong, park lovers can rejoice that nothing like this project is going to happen in the Greensward.

Old Forest Cool

Take advantage of the Old Forest this summer. CPOP did a study last summer taking the temperature of Midtown. They compared thermometer readings at different sites, ranging from the middle of the Overton Square parking lot to the middle of the Old Forest. The difference was a full 13 degrees cooler at the heart of the Old Forest!

So come on out and celebrate living in a city where you can live in the heart of things and still walk in a forest every morning. Merlin and I are taking full advantage of this benefit of Memphis.

We're also taking full advantage of the drinking fountains scattered around the park that are such a benefit on days like today. There are fountains in the "Greek temple" between Boss Crump and Brooks, behind the golf cottage by the first tee, on down the jogging trail past the fairways and at the edge of the Old Forest, on the east side playground, and by the Rainbow Lake playground.

Come meet your neighbors, walk where it's cool, and be thankful for good Memphis water!