By Shannon McFarlin WENK/WTPR News Director
Springville, Tenn.—A dream for the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge staff has now become a reality with the installation of “Animal Olympics” on the new Discovery Nature Trail. The trail is adjacent to the refuge visitor center at Springville and is a woodlands trail close to the shoreline of the Tennessee River.
The trail is a half-mile walking trail and Ranger Joan Howe said it is a way for families to connect with nature. “It’s an easy walking trail,” she said, “and it moves among all kinds of wildlife: deer, armadillos, turkeys, birds, raccoons.”
The “Animal Olympics” involve stations with signposts which explain the animals to be found in the wildlife, how to spot them and what their habits are.
“Kids will be encouraged to do a little more exercising while learning about our local wildlife,” Howe said, “and it’s just in time for fall hiking and field trip season.”
Howe gave credit to the Friends of the Refuge group which has worked hard on the trail and the stations along the trail. “The reason we call it the Animal Olympics,” she said, “is because it encourages kids to ‘jump like a deer’, ‘pump their arms like a butterfly’, ‘hang like a bat’. We’re encouraging them to actively exercise when they’re in the outdoors.”
Kimi Fitzhugh was responsible for getting the grant monies and volunteers David Fitzhugh, Kim Miller Skip Howe, Larry Mahan, Nina Garland and Tina Turek worked on the signposts and stations along the trail, Howe said. The signs themselves were produced by Abbott’s Printing.
Photos by Refuge: top photo, David Fitzhugh and Kim Miller at work; bottom, Skip Howe and Larry Mahan.
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