Henderson State University and Radnor Lake State Natural Area 2019

During the week of March 19-23, Dr. Doug Heffington and Henderson State University geography students participated in a geography field course at Radnor Lake State Natural Area. The field course was done in conjunction with park ranger staff, Tennessee State Parks and funded by Friends of Radnor Lake.
This event marks the second year in the partnership linking HSU and RLSNA. Henderson State University, a small state liberal arts college, is located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Dr. Heffington serves as the Geography Program Director.
Under the direction of Dr. Doug Heffington, students worked diligently each day in the field on assisting park management with our Harris Ridge Trail Planning efforts by clearing invasive-exotic plants which uncovered previously undocumented historic features our newly acquired properties.
In addition, thanks to support from GIS/Land Acquisition Manager Bill Avant and Trails Coordinator Michael Meister we were able to combine resources from this research on the ground to construct 2,000+ feet of trail to kick off our trail construction for the Harris Ridge Trail Project.
The goal of this research partnership with Henderson State University the past week was two fold:
1. Assist Radnor Lake in the preservation of these sites prior to any trail development along the Harris Ridge Trail, future resource management planning, historic interpretation of the landscape for our park visitors and ensure that our future trail plans highlight these historic features without destroying any historical features in the future.
2. Help construct a trail through this portion of the Harris 3 property to enhance future interpretation of these historic features while also meeting National Trail Standards for trail development.
We appreciate Dr. Heffington and these 7 students from Henderson State University spending their spring break working with the ranger staff for 5 days to help us achieve our future trail planning and construction goals.
Last, to end the week of work with these students, the park staff and State Park Trails Coordinator Michael Meister we were able to offer a unique hiking opportunity led by Dr. Heffington on Thursday, March 21st for our park visitors to see the current historical research being done in our trail planning for the Harris Ridge Trail Project at Radnor Lake.
Special thanks to our friends at The Church of the Advent for working with us to allow parking/meet up for this hike at their location and to Friends of Radnor Lake for funding the Henderson State University Research on the Harris Ridge Trail Project for the past two years!