Preserving our Parks Heritage in the "It" City

The unique challenges of managing and protecting natural and cultural resources in one of the nation's fastest growing cities

Bill Troup is a Superintendent with the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Parks and Recreation. He currently oversees nature/interpretive centers and natural areas management. Over his 30 years in parks and recreation, he has been a naturalist, ranger, greenways planner and superintendent of community recreation.

It is the mission of Metro Parks and Recreation to sustainably and equitably provide everyone in Nashville with an inviting network of parks and greenways that offer health, wellness and quality of life through recreation, conservation and community.

With an estimated 100 people moving to Nashville each day, it is no secret that our city has a tremendous amount to offer and to celebrate. But this unprecedented rapid growth has the potential to significantly and permanently impact many of the great things that draw people to this city. Our city's parks and historic sites are among those precious community amenities that are put at risk from this growth. In this presentation we will discover the diverse wealth of resources found in our city's 184 parks and 15,000 acres of open space, and explore the challenges and strategies involved in maintaining these priceless resources for current and future generations.

The Parks and Recreation Department offers a variety of facilities and programs throughout Davidson County. Currently, Metro Park oversees 15,114 acres of open space, including 184 parks and 85 miles of greenway. There's something for everyone in Metro Nashville Parks - after school programs for kids, senior programs, special population programs, cultural arts classes, fitness classes, dog parks, a variety of trails, nature programs, sports leagues, ice hockey, art galleries, and much more.

A list of Nashville parks can be found here.

History

Nashville's municipal park system was established in April of 1901. The first park in the system was Watkins Park. This was closely followed by the acquisition of Federal Park (grounds of the Customs House) and then Centennial park in 1902. In 1963 the first Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation was appointed in accordance with the Metro charter. Click here to read more of the parks history.