What is a healthy forest?

We know that many of you love walking, running, biking, or just reflecting in the Old Forest State Natural Area. It’s a different place depending on the season of the year, and you never know what sort of interesting plant or animal life you’ll see on your visit. It’s a place that has been treasured by generations of Memphians, and we take the task of managing it for the future very seriously.

So we want to know what you think! The Nature Conservancy has chosen the Old Forest, along with Shelby Farms Park’s Lucius Burch State Natural Area, as the subjects of a study about forest health. They want to know how park users perceive this space, why they value it (or don’t), and what they think about some common forest management techniques. A research team from the University of Memphis will be conducting the survey in the park over the next few months, but we wanted to give you a chance to complete it on your own time.

The survey should take you between 5 and 15 minutes to complete, depending on how much detail you’d like to provide. Your participation helps shape the direction of our management and communications, and is highly valuable to us. Please take a few minutes to immerse yourself in thoughts of the forest!

Here’s the link to take the survey.

Thank you so much for your help!