Saturday Panels

Saturday Panel Sessions Lay Groundwork for Grant Work

Friends of South Cumberland State Parks Boost Conservation Planning with Grant from Open Space Institute

Friends of South Cumberland Parks (FSC) has secured a Catalyst grant through the Open Space Institute’s Appalachian Landscapes Project Catalyst Grant program. The work will involve developing a climate-informed conservation plan for identifying priorities for land protection on the South Cumberland Plateau, an area that includes the state parks that the FSC supports. 

A first step in the project will be convening a strategic landscape conservation advisory board made up of members of the FSC board, regional conservation stakeholders, public officials, and landowners to establish priority projects. An opening activity for this work will be two panels to be delivered at Trails and Trilliums event on Saturday, April 11.

In the following months, FSC will follow up the Trails & Trilliums discussion with a conservation summit, gathering both local and regional conservation partners to develop a broad vision of conservation on the South Cumberland Plateau–not just edgeholdings and inholdings of the park but also other properties that have significant potential for climate resilience. The summit will be an organizing event for the creation of the South Cumberland Conservation Network. 

This project was supported through the Open Space Institute’s Appalachian Landscapes Project Catalyst Grant program, which is made possible with support from J.M. Kaplan Fund, the Great Island Foundation, Anonymous Foundations, as well as other foundations and individuals.

Saturday Panels

Why Save Great Spaces? - 10:00, Smith Hall

The first panel will look at the value and values of nature, from the ecosystem services model presented by Dr. Keri Watson of Sewanee to the importance of access to nature in child development explained by a founder of a forest school, Michelle Brown. With Tom Sanders moderating, this panel will also explore human responses to being in nature as presented by Dr. Melissa Jean, an environmental studies professor and forest therapy guide, and Dr. Andrew Bailey, principal investigator at the UTC Brainwave Project. The Brainwave Project investigates the influence of outdoor environments and outdoor activities on mental states through novel procedures and innovative technology, using this data to advocate for urban planning, green space development, and outdoor activity participation as catalysts for mental and physical health.

Let’s Keep Saving Great Spaces - 11:00, Smith Hall

The second panel, moderated by Joel Houser of Open Space Institute, will be a convening of conservation leaders in Tennessee who direct statewide efforts to conserve natural spaces–from farmlands to pristine forests. Alice Hudson Pell is the Executive Director of TennGreen Land Conservancy, Tennessee’s oldest accredited statewide land trust. Liz McLaurin is the President & CEO of the Land Trust for Tennessee and serves on the Steering Committee of Land Trust Alliance National Leadership Council, the Williamson County Stormwater Appeals Board, and the Advisory Board of Franklin’s Charge. Zachary Lesch-Huie serves as Tennessee State Director for The Conservation Fund, advancing land conservation work with public and private partners across the state. Zach Irick serves as the Southern Appalachian Grasslands Ecologist based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, working with a variety of partners to accomplish on the ground research and restoration activities of rare plant species and plant communities across the Southern Appalachian region.