Conservation
maintaining a healthy, biodiverse park ecosystem
Protecting Nashville’s Urban Forest
The Warner Parks forest is an essential ecosystem, crucial to the biodiversity of hundreds of species of native trees and shrubs, 285+ species of birds, and over 400 species of wildflowers. Our natural resource management plan aims to effectively create and maintain this natural biodiversity in our forests, increase carbon sequestration, manage the threat of invasive species and maintain the overall health of our forests for generations to come.
Invasive Plant Control
Nonnative invasive plants pose the largest threat to the native biodiversity of the Warner Parks. These invasive plants prey on our native species, outcompete them for food, carry harmful diseases, and can prevent our native plant species from reproducing.
In collaboration with Invasive Plant Control Inc., we have initially treated over 1,300 acres of invasive plants to date, targeting four main species: bush honeysuckle, privet, ailanthus, and euonymus. This project continues as we expand invasive plant control and management across forested land yet to be treated, with the goal of complete invasive species eradication in the Warner Parks by 2027.
- Invasive Plant Control Progress 45%
plant a tree or native shrub
Reforestation
15 % of Warner Parks’ canopy is projected to be lost in the next five years as a result of the Emerald Ash Borer (an invasive beetle infestation sweeping the country). This loss offsets not only the pristine landscape of the Parks, but the entirety of the biodiversity of our urban forest.
As we work to protect our ecosystem and proactively manage these threats to our forest, we have launched the Marianne and Charles Leach Tree Trust, through which reforestation and improved forest management will preserve our wildlife habitats, increase carbon sequestration in our forest, and protect the integrity of our landscape. Our goal? To plant 27,000 trees by 2027.
- Plant 27,000 Trees 40%
Edwin Warner Park Land and River Restoration Project
We believe in the power of local partnerships as we all work to preserve and protect Nashville’s sacred natural landscapes. In fall 2021, we partnered with the Cumberland River Compact to launch the planned restoration of the Little Harpeth River Watershed in Edwin Warner Park.
Edwin Warner Park shelters 10 and 11 sit right in the Little Harpeth River floodway, encroaching on the riverbank and riparian buffer zones. We plan to relocate these shelters and impervious parking areas to improve the floodway and restore the integrity of the riverbank. This project also includes plans to expand picnic shelter #9 to accommodate the increased use of picnic shelters within the Parks.
- project completed, 2023 100%
More Nature News
Warner Parks Forest Inventory
Collected June 2021
In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, a full tree inventory was completed in the Warner Parks in an effort to better understand our forest and find the best possible way to protect it.