upoming events - wilderness louisville · 11/07/2018 · biking and rock climbing. the echo mobile...
TRANSCRIPT
July 2018
UPCOMING EVENTS
West Louisville
Appreciation Days Shawnee Park
Sat., July 28, 1:00pm–5:00pm
Archery Jefferson Memorial Forest Sat., August 11, 9am–12pm
Champions for Louisville's natural areas, from the nation's largest urban forest, Jefferson Memorial Forest,
to the ones in your neighborhood.
Unveiling Designs for New Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure in Shawnee Park
Join us on Saturday, July 28th as Louisville Parks and Recreation unveils plans for new
outdoor recreation amenities in Shawnee Park during the 38th annual West Louisville
Appreciation Days Festival. Design drawings for the proposed Shawnee Outdoor Learn-
ing Center and an associated boat ramp will be unveiled. Construction on the boat
ramp, to allow boating and canoeing access to the Ohio River, will begin in 2019 with
fundraising for the SOL Center yet to commence.
In addition, Louisville Parks and Recreation will cut
the ribbon on a new bicycle pump track in Shawnee
Park, in the vicinity of the old Fontaine Ferry amuse-
ment park. This small pump track will allow kids to
ride their bike on an unpaved neighborhood trail to
help them develop their trail riding skills. The idea of
a pump track is to allow bikers to use momentum of
rollers, or small bumps, to maintain speed around the
looped track, navigating technical features around
trees and up banked turns.
Construction of the track, led by JMF staff, is underway in the woods of Shawnee Park
with the assistance of youth participating in the Mayor’s SummerWorks program. It is
conveniently located next to a Louisville Loop trailhead.
All of these amenities are designed to create “nearby nature” opportunities for urban
youth to explore the outdoors.
West Louisville Appreciation Day will
take place on Saturday, July 28 from
1-5pm at Shawnee Park, and will in-
clude free family-friendly activities such
as fishing, canoeing, archery, mountain
biking and rock climbing. The ECHO
Mobile will be available for nature play
and music-making.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Invasive Shrub Removal
Forest Green Greenway July 7, 18 and 25 9:00am–12:00pm
Gardening JMF Environmental Ed.
Wed., July 11, 9am–12pm
Trail and Bridge Work Horine Reservation Gravel Lot
Sat., July 14, 9am–12pm
Invasive Plant ID/Removal
Beargrass Creek Greenway Sat., July 21, 9am–12pm
To participate in the above
events, please contact: [email protected] [email protected]
Contact [email protected]
for additional volunteer opportunities
Board of Directors
Theresa Zawacki, Chair
Lynn Rippy, Vice Chair
Dan Caudill, Treasurer
Alicia Ariatti, Secretary
Tom Armstrong
Richard Clay
Jere Downs
SteVon Edwards
Joanna Erny
Jenny Johnston
Andy Reynolds
Patricia Tennen
Linda Witt
Seve Ghose, Ex-officio
Bennett Knox, Exec. Dir.
About Us: Incorporated in 2013, Wilderness Louisville, Inc. is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization that partners with Louisville Metro Parks and
Recreation to support a variety of improvements to the wonderfully
varied system of public Natural Areas across this community including
Jefferson Memorial Forest, the nation’s largest city-owned urban forest.
Copyright © 2016 Wilderness Louisville, Inc., All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Wilderness Louisville, Inc.
P.O. Box 456
Fairdale, KY 40118 @Wilderness_Louisville @JMFNaturalAreas
Become A Member Interested in supporting
Wilderness Louisville?
Become a member and a
fellow champion of wild areas
that feed the human spirit.
Fairmount Falls: a Little Known Wild Place in Louisville. Reserve your visit to a secluded gem. By Jere Downs To find a waterfall in a quiet wild place, you might believe you have to journey far and be prepared for a hike. In Louisville, an escape to a peaceful glen where a waterfall refreshes the spirit is closer than you think. Just four miles south of the Gene Snyder Expressway on Bardstown Road off of Thixton Lane, Fairmount Falls awaits. As subscribers to the Wilder-ness Louisville newsletter, you are privy to information on how to steal away to this little-known retreat just steps from your vehicle.
To visit the eight-acre property that is host to not only the waterfall but a restful diversity of plants and wildflowers, visitors must first secure a hiking reservation with Jefferson Memorial Forest, the steward of this wild place. That reservation yields a code to unlock the cable that bars access to a small parking lot. Just three groups of visitors are allowed daily to this nature reserve and the hours are limited to daytime only.
The trailhead awaits at the corner of the parking lot. Within just 10 minutes of walking on this lightly-traveled path, there is the sound of the splashing waterfall ahead. At high sum-mer, the creek feeding the waterfall is running light but the water still tumbles over a ledge into the creek bed more than 30 feet below. The trail circles behind the waterfall and you have to ford the creek. To get closer to the water and the relief of its cool spray on a hot day requires some clambering down steep foot paths. Spend some time here breath-ing the cool air and watching for salamanders or crawdads darting around the rocks in the creek bed. The air here is soft and the sound of the waterfall mesmerizing.
Back on the trail behind the falls, the hike runs hotter and drier into a mature cedar and oak forest. Trail signs warn hikers to be careful of the cliff’s edge into the canyon formed by Fairmount Falls. At two points on the trail that loops back to the falls, hand-hewn cedar benches offer rest.
Wilderness Louisville is the nonprofit organization that sup-ports wild places in Louisville, including little-known gems like Fairmount Falls. Our flagship retreat is Jefferson Memo-rial Forest, the largest urban forest in the U.S.
For more information about securing a required hiking permit, contact the Jefferson Memorial Forest Welcome Center for more information, 11311 Mitchell Hill Road. Fairdale, KY 40118 at (502) 368-5404.
for more information:
wildernesslouisville.org/donate
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