Parks and Recreation

Specific Judging Considerations

• To recognize public sector parks for achievements in implementing best management practices and creating innovative solutions to today’s recreational issues
• Extent to which project addresses issues of recreational trends and environmental balance

2008 Winner of Parks and Recreation

Winner – Bell Buckle Park (Bedford County)

The Bell Buckle Park is an approximately 10 acre park developed in the heart of historic Bell Buckle. The park was created by renovating the old Bell Buckle Elementary School property along Bell Buckle Creek and the old Nashville Chattanooga Railroad line. This area is prone to flooding and the project reclaimed the property by constructing a half mile asphalt walking path, playground, picnic pavilion, and a Poets Garden. There are also plans for a future amphitheater. Bell Buckle is the smallest city in Tennessee to have achieved Tree City USA status from the Arbor Day Foundation.