Displaying items by tag: nature conservancy

KNOXVILLE — Learn how we can make cities safer for birds during this month’s Conservation on Tap at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Albright Brewing Company, 2924 Sutherland Ave., Knoxville.

Across North America, bird populations have declined by 2.9 billion since 1970. Cities, however, can play a vital role in reversing this trend by creating safer, healthier environments for birds. Learn about a Nature Conservancy partner program that is reducing urban hazards and engaging the community in helping out our feathered friends.

All proceeds from the event benefit Discover Life in America.

Jimmy Groton, a Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning board member, clears invasive plants at Worthington Cemetery in Oak Ridge during a volunteer work party in July.  Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press 

Volunteers nurture life in an Oak Ridge cemetery

OAK RIDGE — The northern corner here is a small place teeming with treasures, including the Worthington Cemetery Ecological Study Area.

Elza Gate Park off Oak Ridge Turnpike, also known as Tennessee Highway 95, is the starting point for walking trails taking visitors through a cedar barren, a somewhat open habitat including eastern red cedars. The barrens include plants more similar to a prairie than many East Tennessee forests. The trail reaches a cemetery dating before the founding of Oak Ridge.

Woven together in this small area there is a natural mix of wildlife and historical preservation. Visitors to the loop trail will encounter a pine forest and a wetland area complete with a boardwalk to observe birds. Tennessee Valley Authority designated the land as both an Ecological Study Area and Small Wild Area.