Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center has added additional acreage at its gateway on Garden Road and will put this land into a permanent conservation easement to preserve it for the community, forever. This week, through support from an anonymous donor and a private landowner, Reflection Riding acquired roughly three additional acres just outside its gate. This transaction will allow Reflection Riding to conserve this land forever through the same process used for its existing 300-acre property.
The result is that the organization has secured permanent public access to popular adjacent trails. This mechanism uses federal grant dollars to permanently conserve and protect lands where Civil War battles took place, so they cannot be developed.
"Reflection Riding partners with the American Battlefield Trust to protect its historic, scenic and important landscape through a permanent historic conservation easement," officials said. "This partnership will amplify and solidify Reflection Riding’s long-range vision to restore the vital connection between people and nature. Thanks to this partnership, Reflection Riding will continue to provide access to the outdoors for this generation and those to come. As dedicated stewards of the land and natural resources, Reflection Riding and the Trust, together, will add permanent legal protection that prevents the land from ever being developed. This gift will benefit the Chattanooga region and her people for decades to come."
“It’s really been inspiring to work with our anonymous donor and our neighbors on Garden Road to make this happen,” said Mark McKnight, president/CEO of Reflection Riding. “These incredible people made possible a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to permanently conserve this property, which benefits our community in so many ways. This transaction expands the amount of land we can protect and restore, creates permanent public access to the Kiddie Trail and ensures that our children, grandchildren and those who come after them, will experience even more of this beautiful historic landscape. We hope other private landowners and donors will be interested in working with us to accomplish similar long-term impact for this community.”
“While individual buildings may come and go, this historic landscape and its botanical heritage will stay unchanged for future generations once this extra layer of legal protection goes into place,” noted Santosh Sankar, chair of the Reflection Riding Board of Trustees. “As the Chattanooga region grows, we lose opportunities to conserve land — especially open fields and grasslands — every day. Our leadership felt strongly that permanently protecting this place and protecting and restoring as much of the surrounding landscape as we can is one of the most important ways we can leave a strong legacy for the people of our community.”
Officials said, "In announcing the Framework for the Future over the summer, Reflection Riding has made important progress in developing a comprehensive vision for its long-term future, including improved accessibility, enhanced trails and recreation opportunities and better connections to Lookout Creek and the adjacent National Park lands
"Reflection Riding is excited to partner with the Trust as we work toward the expanded protection of our beloved natural resources."
“My kids grew up coming to Reflection Riding — from attending summer camp, to learning to hike longer distances, to figuring out how to paddle on the creek,” remembers Jim Catanzaro, a former board chair and long-time volunteer. “I can’t imagine my hometown without this place. With our partners at the American Battlefield Trust and generous support from our Chattanooga community, this landscape and the connections to nature it holds will be protected forever. There’s just not much more important than that.”