WPNC Through the Decades

The Warner Park Nature Center was established in a meeting in a motel in Crossville, TN.  Mary Wherry, who was the Metro Parks Recreation Division Superintendent at the time, is often called the “mother” of the Nature Center.  Legend has it that she drove to Crossville during a winter ice storm in order to meet with USDA representatives from Knoxville to sign the paperwork which would ultimately establish the Warner Park Nature Center.  Many nature centers across the United States began in the early 1970’s in response to the first Earth Day in April 1970 and increased awareness of environmental issues and the need for conservation/environmental protection.

WPNC’s First Director, David Shaffer, was the only staff member when the nature center was established. A newspaper article called him “Nashville’s Own Nature Freak” and he was charged with starting a nature center in Warner Parks.  He lived on site in an existing farmhouse (now the Library Building and office for the BIRD program) and developed the first programs, trails, displays, and nature center campus features.

The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), a federal program that paid young people to work on conservation initiatives on public lands, employed the first summer staff at WPNC.  These teams of young people were responsible for building the Warner Parks Hiking Trails, clearing the nature center campus and creating the first organic garden and greenhouse, digging the first nature center pond, and much more.

The YCC program also involved an environmental education component where staffers could learn about Warner Parks flora, fauna, and geology and engage in weekly outdoor recreation activities.  Each summer the program culminated with a backpacking trip to the Cumberland Plateau.  Many YCC staffers return to the nature center and often share that it was “the best job they ever had” or that they’ve gone on to have careers in conservation and natural resource management with their introduction to the profession at WPNC.

Bob Parrish, Deb Beazley, and Sandy Bivens began working at WPNC.  Legacy naturalists and WPNC Leaders Bob, Deb, and Sandy, all began their careers at WPNC in 1977.  Bob and Deb started on the same day, February 25, as YCC Leaders, and Sandy came on board in June as a Metro Parks Recreation intern.  None of the trio had any experience in conservation, environmental education, or natural resources management, and over the 40+ years all have been employed in Warner Parks, they learned “on the job” and were the driving force behind many WPNC and Warner Parks institutions that still exist today.

Dr. Charles Farrell, retired Vanderbilt University professor of Zoology, was hired as the first Naturalist at WPNC. Starting on April 1, Dr. Farrell spent years inventorying the diverse plant, animal, and fungi in Warner Parks, mentoring and training the young WPNC (Bob Parrish, Deb Beazley, and Sandy Bivens).  Dr. Farrell conducted research on vulture flight and chiggers, and during his tenure at WPNC kept two “pet” vultures on the grounds, named “Stupid” and “Damnit”.  A section of the Warner Woods (white) trail, Farrell Road, was one of Dr. Farrell’s favorite areas of the Parks.

Many of the Place Names of Warner Parks can be attributed to early Nature Center staffers, who named them during explorations led by Dr. Charles Farrell.  Locations such as “Quiet Point”, “Buggy Bottoms”, “Basswood Hollow”, “Ramp Hollow”, “Larkspur Hill”, and “the Bread Tray” still appear on maps today and aptly reflect their descriptive monikers.

The White-Breasted Nuthatch was chosen as the official “mascot” and brand of Warner Park Nature Center in the late 1970s, inspired by Dr. Charles Farrell’s opinion that it was a bird with great “élan”.  The staff at that time (Bob Parrish, Sandy Bivens, Deb Beazley, and Dr. Farrell) enjoyed watching their swift movements and unique antics and decided the nuthatch was a perfect bird to represent WPNC.  Today, these birds are still frequent visitors to nature center bird feeders and can be heard and observed throughout Warner Parks.

People’s Weekend, the first Warner Park Nature Center special event, was held annually each April, celebrating Earth Day.  People’s Weekend included music, games, hikes, guest presenters from Ft. Nashboro (who led things like sheep shearing or blacksmithing demonstrations) and much more.  WPNC alumni remember that it almost always rained, and that “it wouldn’t be People’s Weekend if it didn’t rain.” Today, Centennial Park is home to Nashville’s city-wide Earth Day Celebration, and WPNC celebrates Spring Nature Fest, which will be held this year on April 29th.

The Flora, Fauna, & Fungi of Warner Parks was first inventoried, cataloged, and documented by Nature Center staff in the 1970s, before the era of GPS coordinates, GIS map overlays and digital databases.  Equipped with binoculars, hand lenses, field guides and notebooks, the WPNC pioneering naturalists created comprehensive lists of the birds, butterflies, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, fish, trees, wildflowers, ferns, and mushrooms found here, providing a baseline of invaluable data which today informs resource management decisions and environmental education programming.