South Fork with Sally: Teamwork Builds a Trail!

Co-founder Sally Sears reports from Peavine Creek, near the Emory University campus. 

At the Emory Village Alliance Streets Alive event, I made wreaths - from kudzu that South Fork Conservancy yanked from the creek - and decorated them with flowers.

I got so involved twisting them onto the heads of young boys and girls I didn't notice a young man studying the proposed trail maps on the poster behind me. At first, I thought he might be a little old for a wreath. But his comments were the crown of my day. 

He introduced himself as Lance Harden, cross country coach for Emory's runners. He says his team runs the trails along Peavine and the South Fork daily. And they'd like connections between the existing trails. He loves Zonolite, Herbert Taylor Park and Peavine's shorter trail. Could the trails connect so the runners could use them without having to drive? He offered an upcoming public service day for the team. Could they help?

COULD THEY HELP?

Photo by South Fork Conservancy Executive Director Kimberly Estep

Two weeks later, with big approvals confirmed by David Payne, Jimmy Powell and others in the Emory hierarchy too high or low to name here, this happened. Notice Dave Butler, in the green cap on the right. Certified arborist, former Greenspace manager from DeKalb County, wise in the ways of volunteer management. He got the materials to the site, across the green space from 1456 Emory Road, NE. Note the shovels from the Tool Bank are Emory Blue. 

Lance Harden and some thirty of his finest runners showed up on the dot of 9:00 a.m. (College kids on the dot? Wow! What discipline!) And off they went, carving a good running trail from the privet along Peavine Creek, adding some 200 yards of green trail to the Peavine Trail already well used, and installing nine of the dozen expected steps to let the rest of us ease on down the slope to the trail.

The Emory students opened the new trail with a ribbon-cutting using hedge clippers. 

Curious neighbors showed up. They helped drag unwieldy litter out of the woods. Enthusiast and landscape architect Kit Eisterhold stayed with Dave Butler, Lance Harden and the crew for the morning's work. Now we have more trail, more trail users, and a well-done day of public service by a winning Emory team.

How great is that?

Thanks, all, for the opportunity provided by Emory Village Alliance Streets Alive to further the South Fork Conservancy's vision of connected creeks and neighborhoods. I'm cheering for the Home Cross Country Team!

Sally

South Fork Conservancy Receives $500,000 Kendeda Fund Grant

Sept. 1, 2016 - Plans to connect Buckhead to an urban wilderness is getting a big boost. The Kendeda Fund has pledged $500,000 to South Fork Conservancy, which builds and connects trails along Peachtree Creek in Atlanta and DeKalb County. The Kendeda Fund’s many goals include sustainability and improving connections to the natural world.

The announcement of the grant coincided with the kick-off of South Fork’s first capital campaign: Revealing the Creek. The group hopes to raise more than $2 million to build an iconic pedestrian bridge, footpaths and other improvements that will link the Lindbergh area, PATH400 and the Atlanta BeltLine to South Fork’s existing creekside trails. 

"Kendeda’s magnificent grant gives us a solid base on which we can work to raise additional money – including promised matching funds – and demonstrates that our goal is within reach,” said South Fork Board Chairman Bob Kerr. 

“You have to experience the South Fork Trails to really grasp their importance,” said South Fork co-founder Sally Sears, noting that philanthropist Diana Blank has visited the urban greenspace. “She saw long ago what a difference this very generous grant might make.” 

Key South Fork supporters heard the news at an August 18 event hosted by capital campaign co-chairs Billy Hall and Joni Winston. Shortly before the surprise announcement, urban planner Ryan Gravel, best-known for inspiring the Atlanta BeltLine, recalled collaborating with Hall and Sears on South Fork’s initial Vision Plan.

“This topography and this terrain and this kind of watershed is all over Atlanta, but ‘all over Atlanta’ isn’t doing this,” said Gravel, whose new book is called “Where We Want to Live.” “I think that the South Fork vision here is a real model for the rest of the region in terms of connectivity, stream restoration, nature, biodiversity and all the other kinds of elements that are part of this plan.”

For information on donating, or visiting South Fork’s four completed urban wilderness trails, visit www.SouthForkConservancy.org. Check our Facebook page for updates. 

About South Fork Conservancy
South Fork Conservancy is actively developing walking trails along Atlanta’s Peachtree Creek. Its goal is to conserve the urban waterway, connect existing and future trails, and restore the area’s natural beauty. SFC’s first phase is to create a trail system that connects Buckhead, Atlanta’s upscale business and residential center, with Emory University’s campus. Open trails include The Confluence, Cheshire Farm and Meadow Loop trails in Buckhead, and Zonolite Park in DeKalb County.

South Fork Conservancy Adds Board Members

Atlanta (August 2016) – The South Fork Conservancy, which builds and connects trails along Peachtree Creek, is welcoming two prominent Atlantans to its board. They are: 

• Glenn Kurtz
• Christian P. Larsen, M.D., D.Phil.

"These two gentlemen bring additional capabilities to the board and enhance the abilities of the SFC to fulfill its mission,” said South Fork Board Chairman Bob Kerr. “They have excellent experience and exceptional energy, intellect and leadership skills. They also have a strong passion for connectivity of green spaces and neighborhoods through a low impact trail system, providing the opportunity for urban residents to get closer to nature within a reasonable walking distance and offering adults and children alike a nature-based education opportunity, improving both physical and mental health."

       Glenn Kurtz

Kurtz, director of parking at Georgia Institute of Technology, has been involved in transportation planning and management for more than 20 years. He serves as the chairman of the board for the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and the Grant Park Conservancy. He also serves on the Green Parking Council’s advisory board. He served several years on the Chastain Park Conservancy’s advisory board and was a member of the 2011 Leadership Atlanta class. Before joining Ga. Tech, he was executive vice president - Transportation and Sustainability for Lanier Parking Solutions. 

Christian Larsen, M.D.

Dr. Larsen is dean of the Emory School of Medicine, CEO and chair of the board of directors of Emory Clinic, and vice president for health center integration for the Woodruff Health Sciences Center. He is an internationally recognized leader in transplant surgery and immunology, and was founding director of the Emory Transplant Center. 

South Fork Conservancy is actively developing walking trails along Atlanta’s Peachtree Creek. Its goal is to conserve the urban waterway, connect existing and future trails, and restore the area’s natural beauty. The group’s goal is to create a trail system that will eventually connect Buckhead, Atlanta’s upscale business and residential center, with the Emory University campus and beyond. Active trails include The Confluence, Cheshire Farm and Meadow Loop trails in Buckhead, and Zonolite Park in DeKalb County. For more information, visit www.SouthForkConservancy.org.