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HELP THE PARKS YOU LOVE!
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Friends of the Parks Position on the Woodland Preserve Development
Ned R. Murray, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks, shares the organization's stance on the Woodland Preserve development.
Friends of South Cumberland Hire First Executive Director
Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, Inc., has hired Ned Murray as its first-ever Executive Director. “FSC is now 30 years old. As one of Tennessee’s largest Friends groups, we are now supporting multiple Tennessee State Parks in the South Cumberland Region,” noted FSC President Tom Sanders. “The challenges our parks are facing are significant, as the parks become ever more popular with visitors. Our mission, to support our park managers and their priorities, while also helping to conserve, protect and maintain these unique and environmentally significant places, requires us to strengthen our organization and increase our capacity to support these parks. Bringing Ned on board is, for us, an outstanding step forward.”
Murray, who has a life-long passion for the outdoors, has successfully led nonprofit organizations through growth, maturity, and transformation. Murray’s experience includes strategic planning, fundraising, friend-raising, communications, marketing, partnership development, governance and organizational leadership. “These are the skills necessary for Friends of South Cumberland State Parks to reach a new level of organizational maturity and resilience,” Murray explained. “My passion for this work is rooted in the beauty, wonder, and diversity of this amazing part of the world,” he added, “The South Cumberland region remains such a wonderful area thanks to many folks who have worked and fought so hard to protect, preserve, and maintain the most unique areas of this wonderfully diverse landscape.”
Murray will work with FSC committee chairs and its Board of Directors to continue implementation of its current five-year strategic plan, and to guide the process for plan updates. “We are excited to have Ned’s expertise, coupled with his knowledge of our parks and their environmental significance,” noted Sanders. “Ned will be instrumental in helping us build a stronger volunteer organization by engaging with the people and organizations who care about the parks and who want to help enhance FSC’s work with their time, talents and financial support.”
“When my wife Lucy and I began a conversation about where to make our new home base, it was a short conversation. We both knew that we would settle on our beloved Cumberland Plateau. No place feels more like home. No place offers more of what we value in life. It will be incredibly rewarding to help support the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks and its people to develop greater potential to positively impact the ecological, educational, environmental, and recreational life of the community and its visitors,” Murray added.
Murray recently retired from his position after nineteen years as Head of School for the Episcopal Day School in Augusta, GA. Prior to that he was Associate Headmaster at Baylor School in Chattanooga. In both communities he was also an active member or board member of several nonprofit organizations, including Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga, Augusta and Chattanooga Rotary, SAIS, and the Augusta Chapter of American Red Cross. He was a founding organizer of both the Elementary Schools Research Collaborative and The Youth Board Augusta. Murray holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the Virginia Theological Seminary, a Master’s Degree from UT/Chattanooga, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of the South.
Ned and Lucy reside in Sewanee. Lucy, an alumna of SAS and an environmental educator, is a Georgia Master Naturalist and has begun the Tennessee naturalist program offered through FSC. They have two sons, both of whom are graduates of the University of the South.
Murray, who has a life-long passion for the outdoors, has successfully led nonprofit organizations through growth, maturity, and transformation. Murray’s experience includes strategic planning, fundraising, friend-raising, communications, marketing, partnership development, governance and organizational leadership. “These are the skills necessary for Friends of South Cumberland State Parks to reach a new level of organizational maturity and resilience,” Murray explained. “My passion for this work is rooted in the beauty, wonder, and diversity of this amazing part of the world,” he added, “The South Cumberland region remains such a wonderful area thanks to many folks who have worked and fought so hard to protect, preserve, and maintain the most unique areas of this wonderfully diverse landscape.”
Murray will work with FSC committee chairs and its Board of Directors to continue implementation of its current five-year strategic plan, and to guide the process for plan updates. “We are excited to have Ned’s expertise, coupled with his knowledge of our parks and their environmental significance,” noted Sanders. “Ned will be instrumental in helping us build a stronger volunteer organization by engaging with the people and organizations who care about the parks and who want to help enhance FSC’s work with their time, talents and financial support.”
“When my wife Lucy and I began a conversation about where to make our new home base, it was a short conversation. We both knew that we would settle on our beloved Cumberland Plateau. No place feels more like home. No place offers more of what we value in life. It will be incredibly rewarding to help support the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks and its people to develop greater potential to positively impact the ecological, educational, environmental, and recreational life of the community and its visitors,” Murray added.
Murray recently retired from his position after nineteen years as Head of School for the Episcopal Day School in Augusta, GA. Prior to that he was Associate Headmaster at Baylor School in Chattanooga. In both communities he was also an active member or board member of several nonprofit organizations, including Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga, Augusta and Chattanooga Rotary, SAIS, and the Augusta Chapter of American Red Cross. He was a founding organizer of both the Elementary Schools Research Collaborative and The Youth Board Augusta. Murray holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the Virginia Theological Seminary, a Master’s Degree from UT/Chattanooga, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of the South.
Ned and Lucy reside in Sewanee. Lucy, an alumna of SAS and an environmental educator, is a Georgia Master Naturalist and has begun the Tennessee naturalist program offered through FSC. They have two sons, both of whom are graduates of the University of the South.
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Please donate to the
Karl Dupre Memorial Fund Karl Dupre was passionate about the outdoors -- hiking and exploring every opportunity he had. He loved the South Cumberland region and spent a lot of time with friends in Savage Gulf. He passed away on March 4, 2023, while doing what he enjoyed. Proceeds from this memorial will go toward trails and/or campground development and maintenance in Savage Gulf State Park. |
Only a few copies remain!
New Book Chronicles the History of the Parks
New Book Chronicles the History of the Parks
Latham Davis, past president of FSC, has just published a fascinating history of the Parks. Copies may be purchased by contacting the Friends.) The beautiful book is filled with photographs and maps of the parks and wilderness natural areas.
Davis' history of what became the largest state park in Tennessee (before being split in two) begins with a prehistory of Savage Gulf wilderness area and continues with the growth of the park through the efforts of the people and organizations that campaigned for the park's protection. Special emphasis is given to the founding of the Friends of South Cumberland and the actions and strategies the Friends used to protect bluffs and watersheds of what today are important parts of Tennessee's two most spectacular State Parks!
Davis' history of what became the largest state park in Tennessee (before being split in two) begins with a prehistory of Savage Gulf wilderness area and continues with the growth of the park through the efforts of the people and organizations that campaigned for the park's protection. Special emphasis is given to the founding of the Friends of South Cumberland and the actions and strategies the Friends used to protect bluffs and watersheds of what today are important parts of Tennessee's two most spectacular State Parks!
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New Greeter Falls Staircase
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See the complete photo-chronicle of the creation of the new access trail and staircase on our Trails Team Progress Report page...!
Thanks to everyone for making Trails & Trilliums 2023 one of the most successful ever!
FSC's 19th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival, held this year in historic Beersheba Springs, adjacent to our new Savage Gulf State Park, set records for attendance, programs, and in funds raised to help continue the mission of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks!
Mark your calendars for April 19-21, 2024, when Trails & Trilliums will once again be held in historic and beautiful Beersheba Springs. Check the Trails & Trilliums website next spring for updates as plans are finalized for the 20th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival!
Thank you to all who attended, volunteered, organized, sponsored and supported this amazing event! Special thanks to all of our Tennessee Naturalist Program partners from across the state who came to participate in our T&T programs and hikes! Thanks also to Heather Lose and our other photographers for their wonderful photos of the event! To view the photo gallery, click here.
FSC's 19th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival, held this year in historic Beersheba Springs, adjacent to our new Savage Gulf State Park, set records for attendance, programs, and in funds raised to help continue the mission of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks!
Mark your calendars for April 19-21, 2024, when Trails & Trilliums will once again be held in historic and beautiful Beersheba Springs. Check the Trails & Trilliums website next spring for updates as plans are finalized for the 20th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival!
Thank you to all who attended, volunteered, organized, sponsored and supported this amazing event! Special thanks to all of our Tennessee Naturalist Program partners from across the state who came to participate in our T&T programs and hikes! Thanks also to Heather Lose and our other photographers for their wonderful photos of the event! To view the photo gallery, click here.
Join our Trails Team!
The FSC Trails Team assists Park Managers and staff with assessment, design, construction, maintenance and/or rerouting of nearly 100 miles of world-class trails and trail structures in South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks. The Trails Team also assists the parks with SCSP wayfinding (directional) signage and mile marking. The Trails Team welcomes all volunteers, and has opportunities for adults of any age and physical ability! Learn more by visiting the Trails Team page.
See what our Trails Team has been up to:
Email FSC Trails Team Chair John Collins to find out how you can help!
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The Trail Friends offer park visitors a cheery welcome and useful information about the parks, the natural surroundings, and the specifics of the trails. Trail Friends staff five of the busiest trailheads in the parks, and also walk these trails, answering questions and providing assistance as they go. The Trail Friends team is always looking for enthusiastic new members! Learn more by visiting our Trail Friends Initiative page.
Here's a video about all the great trails, and things to see and do in South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks:
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Please join us in saying Thank You
to all of our Sponsoring Partners!
WINE & WILDFLOWERS SPONSORING PARTNER
FRIENDS OF SOUTH CUMBERLAND SPONSORING PARTNERS
Click to view larger!
A new way you can share your love for the Parks!
Make a donation in someone's honor.
New this year, the Friends are offering these attractive gift cards, allowing you to make a donation to the Friends in the name of a family member, friend or colleague. Give the people you know who love Nature the gift of Nature this holiday season! A set of five "in-your-honor" cards are just $50, and include matching envelopes. You can order your cards here. Cards will be mailed to you. Donations to the Friends may be tax-deductible, but the awareness and knowledge these honoraria will spread to others is priceless!
Make a donation in someone's honor.
New this year, the Friends are offering these attractive gift cards, allowing you to make a donation to the Friends in the name of a family member, friend or colleague. Give the people you know who love Nature the gift of Nature this holiday season! A set of five "in-your-honor" cards are just $50, and include matching envelopes. You can order your cards here. Cards will be mailed to you. Donations to the Friends may be tax-deductible, but the awareness and knowledge these honoraria will spread to others is priceless!
South Cumberland celebrates 45 years!
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On July 1, 1978, South Cumberland State Park was dedicated with less than 10,000 acres; today, that has grown to more than 31,000 acres of protected wilderness, now divided into two parks, South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks. Today, these two parks are visited by nearly 650,000 people each year, and thanks to your support of the Friends, are as wild and spectacular as ever, with new trails and new ways to enjoy the parks now available through the hard work of our Friends volunteers! Please take a moment to support the work of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks!
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QUICK LINKS
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The Friends are now on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter!
Follow and friend us! Share your adventures in the Park on these Friends of South Cumberland pages: 
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Learn about the newest areas of the Parks
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South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks protect over 31,000 acres of pristine Tennessee wilderness. Click on any of these links to learn more about recent land areas that have been protected and added to the parks, and what work is underway to make these areas accessible to the public: |
Our Mission:
To aid and assist the managers and staffs of South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks in meeting their objectives, and to inform, educate, engage, and inspire our members and the public to protect, conserve, and enjoy all the resources of the parks.
Why Should You Be a Friends Member?
South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks now protect over 31,000 acres of pristine Tennessee wilderness. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for these parks. Trails must be maintained or upgraded. Trail bridges require maintenance or replacement. Additional interpretive and wayfinding signage is needed. Guided hikes, seminars and workshops, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete. Your support makes possible the many initiatives of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, working to protect, maintain and enhance two of Tennessee's largest and most spectacular state parks!
By becoming a member of the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks will always be safe, well-maintained and amazing places to experience world-class natural beauty!
Funding for the Friends of South Cumberland is derived from individual and corporate memberships and from private donations.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit corporation, your membership and gifts may be Federally tax deductible.
To aid and assist the managers and staffs of South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks in meeting their objectives, and to inform, educate, engage, and inspire our members and the public to protect, conserve, and enjoy all the resources of the parks.
Why Should You Be a Friends Member?
South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks now protect over 31,000 acres of pristine Tennessee wilderness. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for these parks. Trails must be maintained or upgraded. Trail bridges require maintenance or replacement. Additional interpretive and wayfinding signage is needed. Guided hikes, seminars and workshops, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete. Your support makes possible the many initiatives of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, working to protect, maintain and enhance two of Tennessee's largest and most spectacular state parks!
By becoming a member of the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks will always be safe, well-maintained and amazing places to experience world-class natural beauty!
Funding for the Friends of South Cumberland is derived from individual and corporate memberships and from private donations.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit corporation, your membership and gifts may be Federally tax deductible.
