Parks and Recreation

WPNC Senior Naturalist

  • Join us for a Nature Center program.wpnc bird
    (See the quarterly schedule for a list of free programs.)

  • Discover the park. (Do at least one of the following.)
    • Hike a trail or walk the “Old Roadway” in Edwin Warner Park.
    • Read the history exhibit and visit three historic sites in the park.
      (Ask for a map of historic sites at the front desk.)
    • Introduce a friend to the park; invite your friend to a program or to take a stroll in the park.

  • Sharpen your naturalist skills. (Do at least three of the following.)
    • Pick up a Tree Trail booklet at the Nature Center and hike one the tree trails.
    • Identify ten wildflowers in the park. (A spring wildflower garden is located on the nature center grounds.)
    • Learn three Tennessee frog or toad songs and visit the Nature Center pond on a warm evening to listen for these vocal amphibians.
    • Begin a nature journal.
    • Identify 5 trees using characteristics other then leaves (bark, twigs, fruit, etc.)
    • Observe one of the birdfeeder stations and learn 5 different birds that come to feeders.
    • Read or listen to a nature-themed book – fiction or nonfiction. (Ask for a suggested reading list at the front desk.)
    • Research an animal that is relatively new to Tennessee. Suggested topics include coyotes, armadillos, and pine bark beetles. (The Nature Center Library is available for research.)
    • Learn the names of 5 insect orders and find 2 examples of each of these orders that live in the Warner Parks.
    • Visit the Nature Center organic garden. Name 3 techniques for successful gardening without the use of chemicals.
    • Visit the park and find 5 signs of animals that inhabit the park (tracks, scat, rubbing, burrows, chews, etc.)
    • Visit the fern garden and identify 5 ferns.
    • Hike one of the self-guided trails in Edwin Warner Park and read the interpretive booklet. (Pick up a booklet at the Nature Center or trailhead.)

  • Share your talents by choosing one of the opportunities below. (Volunteering can be a one-time or an ongoing event. Contact the Volunteer Coordinator at the Warner Park Headquarters, 370-8053, to sign up.)
    • Volunteer in the organic garden.
    • Bake for a program or workshop.
    • Make hummingbird food and help maintain feeders.
    • Assist with a public program.
    • Read stories to preschoolers under the museum beech tree.
    • Share your knowledge and experience by presenting a program or staff in-service.
    • Participate in exotic plant removal.
    • Stuff envelopes for Friends of Warner Parks’ mailings.
    • Help with parking during an astronomy program.
    • Adopt a section of the park.
    • Be a regular volunteer in the library.
    • Volunteer to fill the bird feeding stations on a regular basis.
    • Be a regular front desk receptionist.
    • Participate in Park Watch.
    • Pick up litter.
    • Join Friends of Warner Parks