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Here on the Carolina outdoors, we've talked many
times about getting youth and people
outside. And the health and wellness that the
outdoors can provide to them,
especially now during the information age with the
growth of technology and all the communities
that have erupted through social media.
Welcome everyone. I'm your host, Bill From our
sponsored Jesse Brown's
our goal here on the program is to
introduce you to people places,
and sports and adventure that can aid you
and your own personal adventure with the outdoors.
In doing so, we hope that you'll be
encouraged to get out, challenge yourself,
and maybe learn something new. Right now, we're
gonna
do just that. We're gonna find out what
a servant. The organization has done to bring
nature a bit closer
to a community. The Foot hills
of North Carolina opened.
Oak hill Community Park and forest to the
public in October of last year, and we're
gonna find out from a voice that many
of you will recognize
Tom Bart. He's gonna jump on. You may
recognize Tom's name and voice. He was a
president and Ceo of the Better Business Bureau
in the Southern Piedmont and Western North Carolina
until earlier of this year,
He led that organization for 22 years
before jumping into this new
venture and passion,
which is the Fit Hills consultancy and something
called Oak Hill Community,
Park and Forest,
Tom. Welcome to the Carolina Outdoors.
Hey, Bill. It's awesome. Do
to be on with you today. Oh, it's
always great to talk to you and always
great to learn about a new place for
us to,
enjoy
the Carolina
outdoors. We know that you're speaking to us
right now to from,
you know, the side of the trail in
the shade in the woods within the park.
But, Tom, when, you just kinda break it
down for us and tell us about this
new
652
acre property,
how it was acquired
by whom it was acquired,
and why it was begun?
Yeah. It's a it's it's a pretty amazing
park and a pretty amazing vision that the
Foot hills consultancy has for it.
Yeah. You're right over 600 acres, and it
used to be just
some
farm,
but the the hike I just was finishing
up. At the peak, I've I look 1
direction, and I've got a great view of
the South mountains. I look the other direction
and I'm looking straight at table rock and
Hawk.
So if that familiarize anybody with the area
that we're in is pretty close to Morgan.
And it's it's like you said, it, it's
brand new. Been here less than a year,
But what they developed already is just just
awesome. And it's a it's truly a hidden
gem here in in Western North Carolina. Well,
I not hope our listeners. I'm sure,
this part of,
Appalachia, if you will, there's... So many major
roadway that go through the Morgan area starting
with I 40. There's Highway 70.
Yep. Highway 64.
That all goes through this part of Central
Burke County
in the River Valley,
with the Blue Ridge Mountains right there, but
the cons consultancy
took it upon itself to not not the
city of Morgan
although there's a lot of community. The county
of Burke, not the state of Iowa. This
was the cons consultancy that did the what
was it about this piece of pro acquire
it and decide to put a park there?
Yeah. It's a it's an interesting story and
it's an interesting piece of land.
1 point, it was it was used for
timber. They had logging. They're still logging roads
that that cut right through.
Duke at 1 point owned it, and they
used it for a number of purposes, you
know, timber,
among them. But then none it's just kind
of morph vision is okay. So right now,
we've got over 3 miles of just straight
hiking trails
they're not straight. I mean just regular hiking
trails. And then about 7 miles of
of mountain bike trails
we've got the beginner trails that are open
now. They've just started to work on the
intermediate trails, and then there's gonna be more
more expert beyond that.
But there's also so much other
breathing on here There's a whole
layer of
agricultural work that's going to be opened for
I mean, it's got 50 acres of
agricultural that's
being farmed right now and it's going to
be open to the community to come and
Your own plot or just come out and
have the high school students come out and
learn more about hands on agriculture,
And so it's
a number of things and then just educational
parts of the trail too so that people
especially students can come out and learn more
about the environment that that we live in
that we need to protect, and that's really
what the conservatives is all about is protecting
the them, so that people can get out
and experience them, but then most of all
protect them from any other type of commercial
development.
Well, it kinda fits with what is in
that area already. There's a Meadows park, which
is they're close to downtown. There's baseball diamonds,
Volleyball,
court, soccer Fields that sort of thing.
There's a splash pad. The Martha Park they're
in downtown as well. Freedom Park, they are
next to the high school
has sports
facilities whether it be volleyball
football soccer, all of that.
Correct me if I'm wrong with this park
kinda helps connect via trail, you know, into
the Charlotte area, which is where we're ema
from here on the Carolina outdoors and Studio
d at 1 Julian Price place.
Connectivity is a big topic for us here
And if I'm not... If if if I'm
correct,
Freedom high school there in Morgan
and the middle school,
there's some connection there that you can get
their via bicycle or hiking
running
from
a to b is... Am I right on
the Yeah. Geographic end of of that? Yeah.
It it's it's... Yeah. That... That's, was part
of how that was built and now the
green way on the
Is, goes right by the right by the
school.
And so they... Has really opened up a
whole new avenue for students
to get out. And
the slogan for this area is it's Nature's
playground.
And, you know, living living 20 some years
in the Charlotte area and then moving here,
just the attention and the care and
and focus that they put on the outdoors
here is just it's awesome.
And it's really it's really
sucked me and, you know, not just giving
out and exploring but getting out and actually
being part of making it happen with, you,
with trail work I just got done with
2 hours using my mini Cloud, you know,
2 months ago, I didn't know what a
The cloud was. But,
now it's this 1 of the best tools
I've ever used.
Oh, you have to share. This is an
educational moment for for, a shall Say t.
Okay. It's for T j and I. It's
definitely for me.
What is a mini Cloud?
So
on,
it's a long handle like a like a
h and 1 side of it. It it
looks like a looks like a h, but
it's like 8 inches across instead of like
a h being like 4 inches across. But
then on the opposite side of it, it
looks like it looks like a rake, but
the times are like an inch and a
half wide.
So it's
where I've seen them used in the past,
I never knew the name was when you
see force
force.
Forced fire
using tools of digging around in the ground
and making a fire break. That's the main
tool that they use.
And it's also good for what we were
using it today. I was I was lead
on what we call, drainage features.
So
the the runoff,
basically
what you need to do to keep water
off the trail, because nobody likes to be
walking through puddle, nobody likes to be right
in their bike through a puddle. But to
have
the water
using gravity
and just clearing that path off the trail
so that the water has some place to
go besides just pulling up. And that mini
the cloud is a beast
Well,
we have plenty of,
people in in fire departments all across the
Charlotte Metro area who listen to the Carolina
outdoors early on the morning via the air
of W
as well as others listen to us via
podcast. So they are probably ashamed of us
saturday for not knowing 1 what a mini
Mc mcleod is. Here, it gave me the
opportunity to
to incorrectly say that some call it a
Kaiser blade, I call it a sling blade.
But that's from the famed Billy Bob Thornton
movie. And and our our lead from Foot
hills conservative,
she...
She's
pretty confident, that that's what you call it.
But that's what they call it. So that's...
This so that's what you call it. That
that that's good. That's good stuff. Our guest
here, Tom Bart on the Carolina outdoors. We're
learning a little bit about the Oak Hill
community park and forest. It's in the Morgan
area.
They're right there in the Blue Ridge Mountains
with views of South Mountains as Tom just
said, Tom, I mentioned it in the open
or or near there that this is not
a part of a municipality, the state at
not a part of the federal park system.
Talk to us about the maintenance of the
park. You're out there trail building. Learning about
these tools. It's who is in charge and
and of organizing and paying for and the
upkeep
of Oak hill community of Park forest.
Yeah. It's all Foot hills conservative.
They... They're a non nonprofit
that
is funded primarily by by donors.
And
I run... I mean, they have a a
paid staff, but
an army of volunteers. They had a a
group out today,
from from piedmont natural gas that was working
on
ref project that
has
basically trying to bring chestnuts back into the
habitat here, taking out some non native in
invasive
species and and building up the the core.
And I have... Have Britney Watkins here. She's
the expert on this. She led that crew
today if you'd like to talk to her
for a minute to, bill. Oh, I see
how you did this time. Yes. If you
throw Brittany Watkins on.
From the,
the Foot health consultancy of North Carolina.
Hello there, Britney Watkins... Tom got tired of
talking to us and said that you know
everything chestnut, and you're talking to, Bill Bart
here on the Carolina
outdoors aided by my friend Tj dj, the
Dj Bog on the other side, the listeners
here are educated somewhat
of the American Chestnut
foundation. And of course, we know about the
b that happened across
North America,
over a hundred years ago with the chestnut?
But is that 1 of the charges
of the Foot Hills consultancy of North Carolina
to not only have the Oak Hill Community
Park in Forest, but also be an advocate
for the renewal
of the new chestnut tree.
Yeah. Well, I am impressed with your knowledge
on the background of...
Chestnut tree, and that's awesome you already know
about the American Chestnut
Foundation. And
yes, that is something the hills is
pursuing and backing.
We are,
as an profit land trust. We look for
ways to conserve and protect
all types different habitats in this area. 1
of the things that makes this area so
awesome is the diversity,
and that's plus different
wildlife and also plants. So losing the American
test would definitely decrease
diversity. So we're
We're working with our partner, the American Chestnut
Foundation. They've got the trees. They're doing the
gene mapping of all of that. And we're
just putting them in the ground. So we've
got the land, and we like to kinda
highlight other partners doing conservation work, and
we really wanna be seen as, like, a
community resource where they can come and do
those experiments here in the park and the
public can learn about it and be part
of it you. So that's a bit of
the,
the the educational component. The park is not
just,
recreational release 4 people. I'm gonna ask you
about a little bit about that in a
second Britney, but it's also a large part
of agriculture,
not just
forestry, but also,
Tom told us there's a community garden for
people to,
to to grow their own crops, if you
will, and in garden and harvest and and
that sort of thing. But also for young
people who may never
young people of all ages who may not
have been exposed to where food comes from.
You can use the community park for that
for the education,
component.
Before I leave the chestnut trees, are you
able to see these these
new trees growing or they restricted from us
to see just because of... I don't know
they're b resistance and those sorts of things.
Yeah.
Well, it depends on the time of day.
They're not really morning trees. So
you have to catch them in the app.
No. They are...
That was the slow joke, but
you fit right in here, Britney.
Afternoon
They are
available for the public to come to. So
when you come into the park right now,
where... We just opened in October. So we're...
Still getting into infrastructure set up, and a
lot of that is getting community input on
what people wanna see and where they wanna.
But if you come into the park,
there's a gravel road that's about,
3 quarters of a mile long, and you
just...
Bike or walk down that gravel road until
you see the test on your left. And
there's, some educational sign there provided by the
Ac acs, and,
you can read all about it, and you
can walk up and down the field if
you want to, so it is,
It's not really advertisers open to the public
but you're hearing it here first.
Yeah, Well, it's breaking. Like gravel road.
Breaking news here on the Carolina outdoors. And
if our listeners are interested in learning more
about the American Chestnut and the American chestnut.
Foundation They can go to the podcast, type
in Doug Gill or chestnut and up those
interviews will pop, and you'll be able to
learn more about Brit What Britney is undertaking
in that partnership with the American Chestnut Foundation,
but also,
where you can see the tree, which is
in a relatively
new park. It opened up less than a
year ago. Oak Hill Community Park and forest,
It was done not by the city of
Morgan not by the state of North Carolina
and not by the federal government. It was
purchased and is operated by the Foot hills
consultancy
of North Carolina and Britney Watkins is on
the program
as
Tom Bart handed her the phone and Britney,
I wanna ask you this because where you're
located is really you have a view of,
table rock, Wilson Creek is in that gorge
area is very accessible.
A Lend Gorge is not far
from you.
However, there in Morgan, there are many people
who have not gone off to those places.
In fact, on the website,
1 of the teachers mentions that,
although,
it's not far,
young people,
especially don't make it to those places and
don't learn about these processes,
and that's where Oak Hills comes into play
because they are able to be innate sure
learn about nature and
enjoy nature, whether it be a mountain bike
trip, a hiking trip, maybe a creek walk
to all of that is available
moments from Morgan
at Oak Hills. It is that a part
of
the reason the
made that purchase?
Yes.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Everything you touched on,
just providing people a space, but, where they
can come out and connect his nature in
their own way
And also to to add to some of
the benefits you mentioned, a big part of
what I do with the conservative us community
engagement is
foster a sense of ownership over these lands
with our community because
I love that you mentioned that people from
here
don't even visit some of these places sometimes
because
I was 1 of those people growing up
in Len.
There were so many place. I've got out
to Wilson Creek a lot, but,
never made it to Limbo Gorge until I
was older, and, or like games, and
there are just so many beautiful places around
here to explore, and that's what we wanna
help people feel more comfortable getting out there
and doing this things and here in the
park. You can also...
Have an impact. So if you love being
outside, and you wanna learn more about how
to protect it. And what's good for certain
habitats. It's not to to them,
it's just a a great way to do
that. Well, it also sounds. We didn't even
get to, talk about the
Mild hikes that are available out there. There's
also beginner mountain bike trails that are out
there up to 7 miles
but the beginner friendly part has a no
drop ride part of it so that you
can... Gain confidence and learn more about the
sport of Mountain biking,
enjoy hikes and, of course, the the Creek
walks. And just Morgan area,
in general,
Britney Watkins
from the Foot hills consultancy of North Carolina.
Thank you for jumping on the program, the
Carolina Outdoors. Thank you for working Tom Bart
very hard in his retirement and sharing him
for a moment here on the program.
We hope that he's back out there sweating
using that mini mac mcleod tool that we
learned about. Of course, T j and I
called it a Kaiser blade.
Oh, I haven't heard that 1. No. I
saying incorrect tool. There's a bad movie quotes,
but Britney, thanks for jumping on the program
with us.
Yeah. Absolutely. Thanks for having me and. Tom
is just an awesome volunteer, and
it's great to have people like him are
excited to be out here and be part
of this, and,
yeah.
Britney? You let me book on that. Britney,
before you leave, will you send us to
the proper
website so that we can either come to
Oak hill Park,
or
participate as a volunteer in the Foot hills.
Yes. Definitely. And our... A lot of our
volunteer
events are open to people of all ages
and abilities. You don't have to be
super
outdoors to come out, We want everyone to
feel welcome and you go to
foot hills conservative dot org. Slash volunteer
or slash community event.
Fantastic.
Start there foot consultancy dot... 0RG,
the rest will fall into place. Brittany Watkins.
Great to having you on.
My best of Time as well. Off they
go and off I go, we're gonna come
back on the other side and wrap up
this edition, you're listening to the Carolina Outdoors.