Flora Johnston Nature Park
Flora Johnston Nature Park, also called the Flora Johnston Nature Preserve or North Shades Creek Greenway is a 37.12-acre public park along upper Shades Creek in Birmingham's Eastwood neighborhood. The park's sole amenity is a 1.49 hiking trail, accessed from a trail head and parking area at 305–311 Elder Street. The trail runs along the creek's south bank, below Scenic View Drive.
As part of a 2003 settlement agreement regarding storm drainage, the city had been dredging upper Shades Creek and clearing vegetation from its banks using herbicides and heavy equipment. In December 2015 the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Water Act. The agency required the city to prepare and submit a "Construction Best Management Practices Plan" for future work on the stream. Volkert Engineering was contracted to prepare the plan, which was submitted and approved in September 2016.
A rose garden was planted at the trailhead in memory of long-time Eastwood Neighborhood Association president Lela Jenkins.
The trail is a part of the Shades Creek Greenway in the Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail System, with long term plans to link it to the Irondale Furnace Trail in Mountain Brook. The Birmingham City Council approved a $239,000 payment to Freshwater Land Trust to advance the planning for that connection, for which $1 million of the city's American Rescue Plan Act funding would be applied.
References
- Garrison, Greg (March 19, 2024) "Birmingham plans new Shades Creek hiking trail linking Mountain Brook to Irondale." AL.com
- "Parks" City of Birmingham website, accessed March 21, 2024
External links
- Flora Johnston Nature Park on Facebook.com