Overton Park suffers significant storm damage
Overton Park sustained significant tree loss in this morning’s storm, causing some road, trail, and drainage blockages. Please use caution when visiting the park and turn back if you encounter a trail blockage–walking around debris creates new trails and disturbs vegetation. If you see a blocked trail, please send us an email at [email protected], or leave a message at 901-214-5450 with the location.
So what happens after a storm event like this? We work with the City and our partners to get roads and drains cleared first, although we ask for patience because the City must prioritize main roads first.
We’ll then work with our landscaping team at Echo Systems plus volunteer crews, including our Americorps team that has just arrived in town and a large group of Memphis City Beautiful volunteers, to clear trails of debris. Finally, we will put our research to work in the forest and make sure the cleared areas stay free of invasive plant growth, allowing native plants to refill the spaces left by fallen trees.
Storm cleanup is one of our biggest expenses in managing the park. One event like this can easily surpass $10,000 in cleanup costs. Fortunately, some years we get lucky and don’t have much damage, but 2020 is off to an expensive start. If you can pitch in, please visit https://overtonpark.org/
