Blogs

1. master plan (n) a plan giving comprehensive guidance

By now, park people, you've begun to notice some changes around this place. We've put in some new bear-proof trash cans (I've tested them, they're tough), doggie poop stations (for disposing of what you're dog's disposing of), and new directional signage. I think everyone can agree that these are good changes. Show of hands?

Fact is, the park's been changing all the time. From forest to penal farm to park, this piece of green has been in flux. All the lakes were man-made to support the crops grown at the penal farm. Patriot Lake was dug when dirt was needed to cap a landfill. While everyone and their brother has had an idea for what this place should be, there's never been a real plan. Fortunately, the land is now protected by a conservation easement (yeah!) and is being managed by a nonprofit in partnership with the county (woo!) and we're smack in the middlish-end of a master plan innovative design competition (alright!). Also, I'm turning my blog into a pep rally. GO BIG GREEN! I'm still cranked up from the Super Bowl. Thanks, Tom Petty.

The signing of the management agreement

A lot of people said it would never happen...that it couldn't happen.

Parks are operated by nonprofits all the time, but the road to a management agreement isn't without its bumps and curves. Thanks to the leadership and wisdom of the Shelby County Commission and Mayor AC Wharton, Shelby Farms Park is now counted in the growing number of public parks run by a public-private partnership. Central Park and Prospect Park in New York are operated this way. So is Piedmont Park in Atlanta and even the Memphis Zoo.

Cities across the country are making record investments in their parks and green spaces, and Shelby County had taken the first step toward prioritizing its valuable and unique natural resources as priceless public amenities. With the conservation easement secured in December of 2006 and the master plan innovative design competition under way, Shelby Farms Park's future is looking bright.

Shelby Farms Park Conservancy has big plans for this big park, and we know we're going to make Memphis proud.

Master Planners Come to Town

I'm at that age when everyone I know is either getting engaged, married or bitter. Needless to say, I've been to a lot of weddings this year. Don't get me wrong; these are lovely events. Months, sometimes years of planning go into weddings. You agree to do the thing, slap the ring on your finger, and you're immediately thrown into a maelstrom of decision-making. The chaos that leads up to the final day is enough to drive someone crazy (and frequently does).

The Green Army Unites, Can't Find Parking

A mass of folks 1000 strong crowded into the Memphis Botanic Gardens in February of 2007 to show their support for connecting parks and green space in Memphis. At Greening Greater Memphis, bodies were flooding out the doors, into the parking lots. Some people couldn't even find parking (our apologies). It was an incredible feeling to be part of something so big. We sent a message loud and clear to the powers that be. Memphians want green infrastructure. They want to be able to hop on a safe greenway in Midtown and ride their bikes with their families out to the park. They want to run all along the Wolf River. They want the abandoned CSX rail line converted to a multi-use trail. They want to be known not as the city with the biggest waste lines but as the city with the cool parks and greenways. And they want elected officials to prioritize these issues.

Local environmental and green groups of varying shades set up shop all around the building and talk to people about their various activities and causes. Three mayors attended the meeting, along with lots of local business and opinion leaders.

Park Team Gets Bigger, Acquires Chic Accent

A lot is changing around here, and you've probably seen some new faces around the Visitor Center and out in the Park. I considered making a metaphor here about the changing seasons and something about wind or tides, maybe. Anyway, I decided to forego that comparison to make, in my opinion, a better one at the end of the post.

The Night I Boogied with a Buffalo
You’ll hear me spout our unofficial motto pretty frequently:

“Make no small plans” –Daniel Burnham. 

We take this mantra to heart no matter what we’re doing—especially when we’re planning a party.  In 2007, we hosted our very first of many Earth Day celebrations.  Hip to be Green was a hugely successful day of volunteer projects, food, family, music and fun (it’s being reincarnated this year as Down to Earth).  When we began planning the event, we wanted to make it free and open to the public.  Obviously, that meant we had to raise some dough. 

So we pulled together a swanky soiree to raise money for the park.  The brilliantly titled GreenShoe Gala was a gathering of movers and shakers in Memphis who care about the park and like to have a good time.  With the creative and exceptional leadership of volunteer chairman Sheila Zaracor-Wilson and her truly talented crew, the fundraiser went off without a hitch and was the talk of the town. 

Boy Meets Doe

Now on the surface, a kid spying a deer might seem a little thin as far as “top moments” go, but let’s say this moment in time represents all the kids who had “first” experiences with nature at the park this year.

The Greatest Naming Competition that Ever Flooded My Inbox

One sleepy summer day in 2007, I decided to have a little fun with my beloved e-newsletter subscribers. We had a bumper crop of baby bison last summer, all of whom needed names, and--let me be honest here-- my creative juices were running low.

"Well," I thought to myself, "why not ask the good people of Memphis to do my work for me?" So, I sent out my request, thinking that I'd just kick back like Tom Sawyer and watch the magic happen. I expected 20, maybe 30 responses.

 The Robbery that Inspired a Thousand Predictable Headlines and the Bulldozing Demolition that Broke our Hearts

The park experienced a few baddies in 2007, but we're no worse for the wear.

Right out of a tired CSI plot, we were burgled by a guy who learned the meaning of karma. The thief broke into the office of the Visitor Center and attempted to steal some cash, but he paid dearly when he cut himself and-gulp-left part of his finger as penance. The thievery itself wasn't too bad-nearly everything taken was recovered. Even with all the great publicity the park got in 2007, I received more phone calls and emails from friends about this particular event than any other. Most thought it was hilarious. Several people claimed to have seen a guy with a bandaged finger roaming around the city. I felt bad for anyone with a bad paper-cut that week.

Kid, Park. Park, Kid.
A clever young man once explained to me that if I wanted city kids to care about forests, I needed to introduce them to a tree. (This idea is covered beautifully in the tour de force of nature/child-related literature, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.) And it became clear that no self-respecting, critically-thinking young person was going to believe the "because I told you so" rationale for why parks and green space matter. The Shelby Farms Youth Alliance was born from the idea that our park and our youth have a lot to learn from one another. The way we use parks now may not be the way parks are used in the future. What do kids want to see here? What can they get here that they can't get anywhere else? How are kids feelings about their environment, their city and their community?

And how do we, though the Master Plan, make the park so fun that the learning is incidental?