Volunteers needed at flood-damaged Radnor Lake

By Nicole Ferguson
Used with permission of WTVF Channel 5

NASHVILLE, TENN.--Every Saturday morning through the month of June, you'll find 40 to 50 volunteers like Chuck Robinson at Radnor Lake.

It's not the first time he's rolled up his sleeves to repair the park, and it won't be his last. MORE

Much has been accomplished these past two months as we have all worked together to rebuild Radnor Lake and make it safe for our visitors to enjoy. The torrential rains that fell during the first weekend of May caused 75 trees to fall on the trails and Otter Creek Road. Approximately 100 yards of Otter Creek Road slid, buckled and fell along the lake's edge. But a lot has been accomplished since our first Volunteer Day May 8th.

What's been accomplished

• More than 700 volunteers have dug out clogged culverts and laid gravel, rock and mulch to repair the Lake and South Lake Trails.
• Hundreds of hours concentrating on the damaged road have paid off. Where big chunks of pavement washed away, there is now one lane graveled and open and another section ready for paving.
• With the donations received to date and with the help of the State of Tennessee, we have reopened the road from the Visitor Center to the top of the spillway, allowing overflow parking up the hill and ADA parking to resume.
• The restrooms are now open!

Moooving Event

The Moograss Jam, originally postponed due to the rain, was rescheduled for May 29 to celebrate Nashville's giving spirit with great music, good food and water slides for the kids. Special thanks to Dan Smith and Debra Brawner at the Granny White Market for bringing this popular bluegrass festival back to the neighborhood and raising funds for Radnor Lake. MORE On that same night, Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory, held a special open house and collected donations for Radnor Lake too. Thanks to Rocky Alvey for thinking of Radnor Lake with this special event.

Valuable Volunteers

Volunteers galore have pitched in with bottled water, lunches, financial donations, media coverage, time and talent. Special thanks to:

• Brentwood restaurants — Chick-fil-A, Jersey Mike's, Granny White Market and Harris Teeter who fed hungry volunteer workers by donating food and discounts.
• The Tennessean, WKRN News Channel 2, WTVF NewsChannel 5, WZTV Fox 17 News and WSMV Channel 4 News provided excellent coverage of the park's devastation, sharing the Radnor Lake story with thousands of viewers and readers.
• Our neighbors and park visitors who have been patient during this entire rebuilding process, bearing with the noise and traffic associated with the clean-up.
• The 2010 Junior Ranger Staff.
• And most of all, we thank you for being a friend and patron of the park as you have shown your concern and love for our protected environment again and again.

Thank you to all of the Radnor Lake Volunteers

Great progress but more work to do

Volunteers have donated invaluable amounts of time, effort and sweat to rebuilding Radnor Lake's trails. Most trails are now open but considerable work is yet to be done.

• Approximately one acre along the South Cove Trail hill continues to slide after succeeding rain storms, and about one-third of the trail will need to be re-routed, a September volunteer effort. We're grateful that one of our neighbors is donating a new bridge design for this trail.
• The spillway observation deck will be moved and reinstalled later in July by Friends of Radnor Lake board members and the Junior Rangers.
• We continue to seek a more permanent solution to the restoration of Otter Creek Road with the help of the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

Dear friends and patrons of Radnor Lake:

Like so many Nashville landmarks, our park was severely damaged by the floods. It is a landscape changed — but one that we can restore and rebuild together.

The paved road suffered the worst erosion, cracking into 4-foot chasms in some areas. It has been closed indefinitely. Nearly one mile of pavement will have to be repaired or replaced. All the power lines to ranger stations and homes were knocked out. Roughly 75 large trees fell along the trails. Ground-nesting birds such as wild turkeys and geese have lost their nests. Sediment in the lake has disturbed the plant life and habitat for fish, ducks, turtles and otters. Well-engineered beaver dams survived the storms intact.

Nature is resilient — the trees and wildlife will recover. But the man-made infrastructure — road, trails and buildings — is in urgent need of repair. Further rainfall could cause even more severe damage if we don't get to work quickly.

Most of the trails have been reopened to the public thanks to tree-clearing efforts by park rangers. But the trails are not fully restored. Floodwaters wiped out certain sections that need digging, rock-laying and mulching. The more volunteer help we can get, the faster we can fully restore the trails. Repairing the road is more difficult — it could take six months or more.

You can help expedite the process in any of the following ways:

• Please join us for volunteer efforts to repair the trails. Volunteers will help dig out clogged culverts and lay gravel, rock and mulch. This help will allow the rangers more time to work on the road.
• Please comply with our barriers and warnings where posted. The ground is loose and trespassing on fragile roads and trails is dangerous.
• Donate to the Friends of Radnor Lake, whose mission is protecting, preserving and promoting the natural integrity of Radnor Lake through land acquisition, environmental education and park support.

Radnor Lake is one of the most popular parks in Tennessee. On average more than one million people visit annually. Thousands of people will not be able to enjoy the peace and beauty of Radnor Lake in the coming months due to the flood damage. This is a time when our city is struggling to recover and needs this sanctuary most.

With your help, we look forward to restoring this sacred place.

Sincerely,

The Friends of Radnor Lake