Burgess Falls State Park has completed the Platinum Recognition Level of the TN State Parks Go Green With Us Initiative and Guidelines. Platinum is the highest level attainable. The guidelines include multiple areas of environmental sustainability including education and outreach, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste and recycling and much more. Congrats to this park for going above and beyond to be excellent stewards of our natural resources!

The mission of the Tennessee State Parks Go Green With Us program is to preserve and protect our state parks through sustainable park operations, resource conservation, and recycling. Program components cover a diverse array of initiatives, including energy and water conservation through equipment and operations upgrades, recycling programs, projects to enhance ecosystem health, and erosion control, among many others.

• Burgess Falls State Park is a natural area characterized by steep elevation changes. With a significant amount of day use on the park’s one trail, they are working to minimize erosion by installing recycled plastic steps on parts of the trail.
• They are also working to enhance and preserve their landscape in several other ways, including encouraging growth of native plants and butterfly-attracting flowers to increase habitat for wildlife.
• They installed 160 bluebird boxes to promote their habitat
• The park created a pollinator garden to provide food for local pollinators. The garden also served as an educational tool for local schools to learn about native plants and pollinators.
• Installed a compost area for food waste near pollinator garden that is also used to teach children about the importance of composting.
• Native butterfly garden
• Bluebird houses built in partnership with Friends Group and hung at local schools
• LED lights
• Solar powered traffic counter
• Composting at park office
• Bat houses, wood duck boxes and bluebird boxes hung at park
• Rain barrels in use