Blogs

We hope that your holidays were both holly and jolly, and that you shopped yourself silly and ate yourself sick. And if you celebrated without invoking one of Dante's seven sins, kudos. My sister's shiny new Nintendo Wii helped me cover five in one fell swoop.

It's that magic time of year when every blogger worth his or her salt is busy creating "best of ‘07" lists and checking them twice...for misspellings and such. So, in the spirit of bloggin' like the big kids, I humbly submit my look back at '07, park-style. I'll be counting down each day until I reach my number one Park Moment of 2007.

10. Jen Gets an Office Pet, Visitor Center gets a Terrarium

"That is both personal and uninteresting," you say? Hear me out. I've always wanted an office pet, and I've tried dropping several unsuccessful hints:

* Can we get an office cat?
* If there's already a skunk in the dumpster, can he be our pet?
* Are bison strictly outdoor animals?
* How feral is too feral?

Whitney Houston and I don’t agree on much, but she’s right about one thing: Children are our future.  Of course, anyone who’s seen The Lion King and has middle school science under their belt already knows how the circle of life works. But it’s worth being reminded by the greatest diva of all that we should teach our kids well and let them lead the way. 

The Shelby Farms Youth Alliance hosted a forum last weekend in partnership with the BRIDGES Bridge Builders® program and Memphis Challenge to see how Memphis teens are feeling about their park. 

“Adults are asked for their opinions all the time,” said Branden Asemah, a senior at Middle College High School, “but we’re the next generation that will be using the park.”

Clear your schedule.  I’ve set up an appointment for you with the park from 1:00pm-2:30pm on December 1.  It won’t be all business, of course.  We want you to come share your ideas and let us know how you’re using the park and how your experience can be enhanced.  And if you don’t use the park, come tell us why not.  We’ll pass along your information to the three firms competing to design a master plan for Shelby Farms Park.

So, I’ll see you at 1:00pm on Saturday?  I’m no meteorologist, but I hear the weather’s going to be inspirational.  Join the meeting and then go for a run, wave to the buffalo or do what it is you do at the park.  Perfect!  See you then.

What’s better than a group of citizens coming together to talk about the future of a beloved piece of green space in their city?  If you said “Nothing is better than that, Jen” you were probably at one or both of our first two public input meetings (you should’ve been). We’ve announced two new dates, and we’re eager to listen up.  Here’s the full list of remaining meetings so far, in case you’re keeping track (you should be).

Nov. 26: UofM, FedEx Institute: 5:00pm-7:00pm
Nov. 27: Neighborhood Christian Center, Jackson Ave.: 6:30pm-8:00pm
Dec.   1: Youth Forum, Shelby Farms Visitor Center: 5:00pm-7:00pm
Dec.   3: Orange Mound Community Center: 5:00pm-7:00pm

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.

'Which road do I take?' she asked. His response was a question:

'Where do you want to go?'

'I don't know,' Alice answered.

'Then,' said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'" -Lewis Carroll

 

Nicely put, Mr. Cat. It's important to understand where we want to go before we make decisions. That's why we need you to come out to our public input meetings this month (and early next month). We need to understand how you're using the park and how your experiences can be enhanced.

We had our first public meeting last night, and nearly 100 folks braved the foul weather to share their ideas with us. We had BMX people, equestrians, mountain bikers and even the founders of the Friends of Shelby Farms in the house. Discussion was lively and interesting, and we learned a lot.

A college professor once told me and my class of fellow bleary-eyed freshmen that he would grade the groundbreaking ideas and opinions we had spent hours crafting into essays by throwing them down a staircase. The one that traveled the farthest would get an A, and the rest were doomed to be arbitrarily ranked according to distance covered. Our opinions were sacred to us, and the thought of our hard work flying down a staircase unread to the tune of maniacal laughter by an overworked, underpaid professor was unsettling. At Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, we want to know what you’re thinking about this great park. We want to hear every idea you have. We’re gearing up for a whole month dedicated to you—the public. We want to tell the master plan teams competing to help Shelby Farms Park reach its potential as the next great 21st century park exactly what you think. How are you using the park? Are there ways your experiences can be improved? Why aren’t you coming to Shelby Farms Park? What’s it going to take to get you here? Tell us about your mother.

There is a lot happening at the park these days, and everyone is buzzing about the release of the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the master plan. This is the first big step in an exciting process. By mid-November, three finalists will be selected! Designers are able to download the document on the new Shelby Farms website: www.shelbyfarmspark.org. You can check out the RFQ, the press release, and more at www.shelbyfarmspark.org. Also, take the park survey and let us know how you use Shelby Farms Park and what you would like to see here.