Local parks add resource programs and improve land

By Julie Fann
star staff
jfann@starhq.com

   Because the public's interest in the outdoors, traditional arts and history has increased, Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area and Elizabethton Parks and Recreation spent 2003 adding programs and mending existing park land.
   Sycamore Shoals initiated The Naturalist Series, a program designed to teach the public about biodiversity -- the concept that more variety in nature produces a healthier world -- by offering several activities and hosting guest speakers.
   "The bottom line is that through appreciation people want to take care of things. When people come to see the enormous number of different species there are and how some of them depend on very specific habitats to survive, suddenly the more alive and important the world becomes," said Jennifer Bauer, who was hired as the historic area's new director in the fall.
   Activities like bird and butterfly counts, mushroom walks and an astronomy program were part of the series, which will continue this year. Also, a representative from the Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary brought to the park species of endangered hawks, owls and other birds.
   Results from the bird and butterfly counts are sent to organizations and universities such as Cornell, which specializes in biodiversity research.
   "I think it is important to understand nature because everything needs everything else; there's this kind of interaction between all organisms. If you're not seeing as many butterflies, it's probably because the plants that they need to lay their eggs on or their nectar on may be gone. It's habitat destruction. We hear about that worldwide, that different species are disappearing because their habitats are being destroyed," Bauer said.
   Environmental research and conservation were an integral part of daily life for settlers who made their home at the Watauga Settlement in the 18th century in Carter County. Dependence on natural surroundings for sustenance resulted in heightened awareness of the need to preserve and monitor the outdoor environment.
   "The settlers had to learn to work with the environment rather than use it up, in order to preserve their resources so they could meet their needs. If you were dying wool you needed to know plants; the same for food and herbs. You needed to know that if you pulled all of the plants up, you didn't have any left -- something we don't have an awareness of now because we're so disconnected from how things get from the earth into the grocery store," Bauer said.
   In 2005, Bauer plans to add a day camp for kids called Young Naturalist Workshops, activities with a specific focus for learning more about nature. Bauer plans to have games and other hands-on activities that are theme-related so that material is more easily accessible to children.
   "Kids don't easily understand biodiversity and the fact that all things are connected, so by letting them be outdoors and touch and explore, it suddenly hits them, and they understand," Bauer said.
   Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Director Mike Mains said his staff made improvements to several parks and both little league fields in 2003.
   "We've done a lot of landscaping, and at Cat Island we added two new pieces of playground equipment at a cost of $30,000. We also have a men's softball field there now," Mains said.
   Several local volunteers re-worked and re-sodded the infields at both Lyon's field and the American Little League field and installed irrigation systems. "What we've done is we've tried to make improvements to our facilities and make sure they are being maintained consistently instead of getting behind in a particular area," Mains said.
   One of the most successful events of the past year for Parks and Recreation was a youth baseball camp which allowed local kids to learn from members of the Elizabethton Twins. "We expected 20 kids to show up, and we had close to 90," Mains said.
   Improvements at the Franklin pool also resulted in record attendance during the summer. Park staff painted the pool and also expanded the concession stand to include pizza, hotdogs and other foods.
   Parks and Recreation staff are also increasing the number of leagues offered for sports such as co-ed softball. Registration for a new tennis program also began recently.
   Within the next five years, Mains would like to add a sports complex with softball fields for public use, and he said the Parks and Recreation Board are considering a skateboard park.
   "Really I think what we need to do is get together a committee of individuals in our community who are interested in skateboarding, and then move from there," he said.