Latest News
Online store is now live!
We’re excited to announce that for the first time, Overton Park Conservancy has an online store! We’re partnering with our friends at Bluff City Sports to bring you an easy way to stock up on park gear. Our initial stock includes logo merchandise such as baseball caps, tote bags, running shirts, and (at last!) an […]
Transforming Overton Park with Center for Transforming Communities
Two years ago, Overton Park Conservancy began asking park visitors to share their vision for an even better Overton Park. Through our conversations with you, we learned that you love the social connections you make at the park, and are eager for even more ways to foster them. You told us you love coming to […]
We need YOUR ideas for the east side of Overton Park!
It’s a critical moment in the life of Overton Park. Memphis College of Art has closed and we hope to welcome a new partner to Rust Hall soon. The Brooks Museum is moving to the riverfront in a few years, and the City-occupied 13 acres at the park’s southeast corner are set to transform back […]
#NatureTerror: What Are You Afraid Of?
Happy Halloween week, friends! Today’s edition of #NatureZen is decidedly un-Zen, as we asked you to share your deepest nature-related fears with us. We hope that it’s a light-hearted look at some creatures who are perhaps less conventionally lovable than some of the ones we regularly highlight in this space. But first, mark your calendars […]
#NatureZen: Backyard Chickens
A huge THANK YOU to all who donated to our matching-gift campaign for re-opening park facilities! We reached our $5,000 community goal, and International Paper will be generously adding a $10,000 match. We can’t express our appreciation enough for your support during this difficult year! We have a special guest author for today’s #NatureZen, but first–an […]
Playgrounds re-open + 2:1 matching gift opportunity!
As part of the City of Memphis’ Phase 3 re-opening plan, Rainbow Lake and East Parkway Playgrounds will officially reopen tomorrow–Friday, October 9. We’re so excited to welcome everyone back! We want to remind visitors that because of the difficulty of keeping playground equipment sanitized, all play is at your own risk. We’ll continue to […]
#NatureZen: Notecards + Calligrapher Flies
We’re excited to announce that you can now bring home a little bit of #NatureZen! As a holiday gift to yourself or a friend, pre-order a set of notecards featuring five of our favorite photos featured in past editions of #NatureZen. For $20, you’ll receive a ten-pack of cards (two of each design), which fold […]
#NatureZen: Thistle Defense
Hello, Overton Park friends! We’ve got some fun news coming soon on how you can bring a piece of #NatureZen home, so look for that in our next e-mail. For today, we’re focusing on a plant that gets a bad rap. Thistles are a plant in the sunflower family with feathery, puffball-shaped flowers in varying shades […]
#NatureZen: Let’s Talk About Sphex
Words and photos by Melissa McMasters I’ll admit it: today’s look at the creatures of the Old Forest is a bit of an image rehab project. When most of us think about wasps, we think about the paper wasps that build their nests on our porches or right over our front doors. Or maybe we […]
#NatureZen: Peopling the Park
Today we welcome a special guest author to #NatureZen. Dr. Ronné Adkins is the Memphis Field Office Regional Director of External Affairs for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. He has over fifteen years of experience in public service and the environmental field. Dr. Adkins earned his B.A. in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, an M.S. […]