HAVE YOU STEPPED UP TO THE CHALLENGE?
Sign up today for Mayor’s Challenge 5K Walk/Run

Join Nashville Mayor Karl Dean to take steps towards a healthier Nashville and sign up for the Mayor’s Challenge 5K Walk/Run!

Sunday, November 13, 2011
2:00 p.m.
Public Square Park
Free event! No registration fee!

Bring your friends and family members, and come on along with Mayor Dean and continue our efforts to improve the overall health of all Nashvillians – and have a great time!

Register online at www.mayorschallenge5k.com.

A PUBLIC WORKSHOP: Finding Inspiration for Public Art
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011
6-7:30pm
Shelby Park Community Center
401 South 20th Street
Nashville, TN 37206
Participants will hear about the Shelby Park Public Art project and how local history, nature, geography and other sources can provide inspiration to artists as they design new artworks. Come contribute your ideas for what specifically could inspire public art at Shelby Park.

PLEASE NOTE: This is the same day as the Nature Center’s organic food festival. Our meeting will be held inside in the Nature Center’s conference room. Come early to get signed in before the meeting starts please.

On Saturday, small groups of 10 to 15 will be led by NTOS birders along paved and grassy walking trails to search for and identify various bird species by sight and sound. The walk will cover about two miles and last about two hours, although participants are free to leave at any time. Although not required, participants will find the use of binoculars helpful and are asked to bring a pair. A very limited number of loaner binoculars will be available. The walk caps off the annual Walk Nashville Week organized by Walk/Bike Nashville.

The Shelby Bottoms Greenway is well known as a haven for migrating birds and other wildlife.

It takes a tremendous amount of volunteer effort to host an event of this size. We hope that all of our Friends will consider signing up for a volunteer slot (or two). Information on volunteer opportunities are listed here: NASHVILLE ULTRA MARATHON VOLUNTEER

Please join us in supporting this effort and cheering on these amazing athletes as they race their way through our wonderful city. Let’s show our visitors what southern hospitality is all about!

Sunday, October 16, 2011
VinnyLinks Golf Course
2009 Sevier Street . Nashville, TN . 37206
Phone: 615.880.1720 Fax: 615.880.1719
Email: ashley@thefirstteenashville.org

Format: 9 Hole, 2 Person Scramble
Shotgun Start @ 12:00PM AND 2:30PM
Entry Fee: $25 per person

For more information on this event, including sponsorship opportunities, click here:
2011 Rally for Life — October 16, 2011

If you have questions or want to learn more about the First Tee program, click here:
The First Tee of Nashville

• Encourage native plant growth, diverse habitats and wildlife use;
• Control non-native invasive plants;
• Maintain views and vistas for visitor enjoyment.
…
The process of ecological restoration will begin with the mowing of invasive exotic vegetation, to clear the field for native restoration. The time of early September was chosen to protect native vegetation on the site and minimize the impact on wildlife by avoiding nesting seasons.

Over the years since it opened to the public in 1997, Shelby Bottoms has been increasingly plagued by the invasion of non-native plants, in particular: privet, bush honeysuckle, and Bradford pear. The lack of Parks Dept. funds for periodic mowing has also led to the dominance of a youthful forest of sycamore trees.

But the concept behind the Bottoms as a planned greenspace, in addition to its recreational and alternative transportation opportunities, is to present the land as a succession of growth patterns: mature forest, youthful forest, forest edge, shrub and grassy fields, and wetlands. The point behind this concept is educational, a matter of habitat maximization, and even safety perception, by preserving vistas through the parkland.

Through a comprehensive presentation of life cycles in the Bottoms, visitors are able to apprehend how Nature performs; e.g., which trees triumph during the growth stages, with oaks dominating the mature forest, and sycamores, sweet gums and pines flourishing during earlier cycles.

The presentation of the growth succession also ensures that the greatest diversity of wildlife can coexist within the Bottoms. For example, birds that live and nest in shrubs near wetlands, such as red-winged blackbirds, are attracted to a section of the Bottoms different from the habitat available for owls and hawks.

This was the plan for Shelby Bottoms. The present reality, however, is that the Bottoms is rapidly devolving into a monoculture.

To halt this loss of horticultural diversity, the Friends of Shelby Park & Bottoms has contracted with EcoLogic of Bloomington, Indiana to clear a field near the observatory adjacent to the wetland near the Bottoms main entrance to demonstrate how a restoration project can work. EcoLogic is an expert on habitat maintenance and native plant restoration that has conducted many projects for parks systems in Indiana and Ohio.

Please watch for the return of beautiful native wildflowers in the spring.

Many thanks to FOS Board Member Christine Kreyling for leading this initiative.

FALL INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE
Sept 6th – Oct 27th
$40 Per Participant
Ages 5-12 (ages based on playing age of Spring 2012)
• Participants Receive a Fall Instructional Hat and Shirt

Practice/Game Every Tuesday & Thursday

Each age group will practice and simulate game action 2 days a week. This is a great opportunity for Jess Neely to not only grow our organization but build a foundation to better the program. Our kids will be taught fundamentals of the game, and learn how to react in game situations. Our overall goal for this new venture is to prepare our kids to play the game of baseball the right way. Additionally, this will give them the baseball knowledge necessary to come back in the spring and compete at a higher level. Registration will begin Saturday, July 30 from 10 am – 2 pm and every Saturday in August.
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Music on the Lawn
Summer Concert Series
At Woodland Presbyterian Church
211 North 11th Street
Friday, August 5th 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Featuring Carey Ott and Friends

Free Admission Family Friendly

All concession sales will benefit Jess Neely Athletics.

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A NIGHT WITH THE SOUNDS
Thursday, August 25, 2011TICKETS $12
(All Tickets Must be Purchased Online)
Jess Neely will receive a portion of every ticket purchased here:

http://sounds.streamlineticketing.com/web/group.asp

name: jessneely11
password: baseball

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Please join us in supporting this life-shaping organization. More information on Jess Neely is available at: http://www.jessneely.org .

For all the hot details, visit the event web site at Music City Hot Chicken Festival.

To learn more about the Land Trust’s effort as well as the history of Cornelia Fort Airpark, click here:
The Land Trust for Tennessee’s Cornelia Fort Land Acquisition Campaign

If you would like to make a donation to this fund via Friends of Shelby, you may do so via the following secure PayPal donation link:

Hold The Fort! Support Bigger Bottoms!