I spent a couple of hours the other day on one of the trails in the Old Forest Natural Area. I do this fairly often. On this particular day I walked on one of the unpaved segments.
There are several entries into unpaved trails throughout the forest from the old paved roads leftover from when motorized traffic was allowed inside the area.
You'd not guess how close you are to big city traffic when you're in the interior of these woods.
You'd also not believe how close you are to the other people walking out here. I didn't see another soul along this particular path.
It's peaceful here. Memphis is fortunate to have been able to save this area from development, although the zoo keeps encroaching and has designs on 17 acres that they've already fenced. Large and loud hardscape inside this woodland would alter its character.
This is what happened when the zoo decided to clear cut 4 acres of the forest to build a new exhibit:
I hope our city is able to preserve the remainder of this natural area for future generations.
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What a beautiful place to walk. Zoo's are ok but nothing beats nature in its pristine state. Hope the powers in you city recognize that and keep preserve as much of the forest area as possible.
ReplyDeleteIf the city powers can look at the clear-cutting the zoo has already done and still give them control over 17 more acres, I'm not hopeful for the forest.
DeleteIt's a good thing you brought your camera so you have this on record for posterity. It's a beautiful, peaceful, and serene area, and it sounds like it's soon history. So glad you shared these photos with us, at least.
ReplyDeletePart of it has been formally protected by the state, which they did after the zoo's clear-cutting escapade, but I do fear for that 17 acres they have fenced in. The zoo doesn't care for the natural environment but values hardscaped exhibits. I expect that from zoos, but I don't want them clear-cutting forest land to add to their exhibits.
DeleteThat looks like a fantastic place to walk. I bet it is peaceful and maybe you get to hear birds chirping. And I bet there's some pretty color once the leaves start to change color. Glad to shared this.Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! it's gorgeous when there's fall color :)
Deletere saving some animals that are near extinction--but the animals rarely get put back into the wild so what kind of a life is that for them? I think they should be more involved in saving the actual natural habitats all over the world and quit carting the animals into artificial environments, you know? Make adaptations for the wild animals--like over or underpasses on freeways for animals to naturally migrate back and forth. I've seen that done. Retaining larger parks and nature reserves.
ReplyDeleteOff my soapbox. But I agree with you. They should try to leave nature alone.
Zoos seem to have become more about building open areas for rental spaces for weddings and such -providing a setting where those people can view exotic wildlife- more than for the conservation of endangered animals. I don't object to zoos in principle, but I wish the emphasis could be on the well-being of the animals. There's an elephant sanctuary here in Tennessee, for example, that'd be a much more appropriate space for the elephants that are currently in comparatively tiny quarters at the zoo.
DeleteSomehow I lost half my comment. This new laptop is driving me crazy! Grrr!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get used to Windows 10 on my old laptop. The pain is real where computers are concerned!
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