June 2022

Dear Reflection Riding Supporters,

Every year at this time we sit down to write the Annual Report, and our team—staff, volunteers, and board—works together to tell the inspiring story of our conservation work. We talk, we laugh, we worry, we celebrate, but the conversation always comes back to you… our supporters. We remember dedicated volunteers who spent time, talent, and energy on complicated work. We remember generous donors who wrote checks, sent stock gifts, and even sent cryptocurrency for the first time last year. We remember board members who worked late into the night to finalize a project. We remember the followers who shared our posts on social media and the members who brought new folks to events, who then became members themselves. This is the best part of the journey we are on—sharing it with you!

This year was one of unprecedented growth for Reflection Riding. That growth allows a laser focus on our conservation mission. It takes exceptional philanthropic investment from donors, members, businesses, foundations, government, sponsors, planned givers, and many other generous partners. It requires a dedicated team of staff, volunteers, and passionate supporters. We continue to be inspired by, and grateful for, all of you who make our work possible. Thank you for helping to make 2021 a year of explosive growth and success. Below is a look back at some of that incredible work, which we know you’ll be as proud of as we are. 

Gratefully,             

Santosh Sankar Mark McKnight

Board Chair                            President/CEO

Historic Conservation Easement Complete.

Over the last year, Reflection Riding completed the process of permanently preserving its 300+ acres of idyllic green space in the heart of Chattanooga. We partnered with the American Battlefield Trust and the City of Chattanooga to further protect our scenic land forever through a historic conservation easement. This easement amplifies and solidifies Reflection Riding’s long-range vision, called the Framework for the Future, to restore the vital connection between people and nature. Thanks to this partnership, Reflection Riding will continue to provide access to the outdoors for this generation and those to come. You can read more about the easement here. Through the generous support of an anonymous donor and private landowner, we purchased about three additional acres just outside our gates to be conserved similarly for the community in the future.

Community-Driven Framework for the Future Plan Released. 

Our Framework for the Future is an inclusive and equitable vision for Reflection Riding that will: build a sense of excitement for both the history and future of our 300-acre campus; guide the restoration and conservation of the unique ecology of this place; and engage the next generation of nature lovers. More than 800 community members informed this plan and gave us ideas, feedback, and advice. We are so grateful for that support! This project even made it onto the front page of the paper. This new, forward-thinking vision will situate us as a national leader in environmental education, conservation, and land stewardship. Your support will make this vision a reality - thank you!

Nature Playscape Open and Flyway Mural Unveiled.

In the last year, we made some big changes and improvements to our campus! We unveiled our new Reflection Flyway bird mural, which happened thanks to a great partnership with UTC, local artists, and arts funders. This hand-painted mural at our Welcome Center highlights migratory bird activity we track on our campus. We also opened our Nature Playscape, with support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, which is already creating lots of joy in children across our community. The Playscape is located at the north end of our campus and is a 4-5 acre outdoor experiential learning area in which hazards have been removed and the landscape curated to engage children in the independent and full exploration of nature.

Native Landscape Management Apprentices Pilot.

Thanks to funding from the Benwood Foundation, Reflection Riding launched its Native Landscape Management Apprenticeship Program over the last year. We’ve welcomed eight apprentices, who have worked more than 1,000 hours across our campus, and we’ve made really exciting progress with their help. This project was designed to provide paid apprenticeships to students and recent graduates to build a pipeline of talent to care for native landscapes. You might have seen our team working on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays over the last year. Big thanks to Madison, Mayson, Drake, Henry, Abigail, Liberty, Hannah, and Brianna for all their outstanding work in our first year of apprenticeships. We are excited that three of the Apprentices have now moved into permanent roles with us!

The Native Plant Nursery’s Best Year Yet.

Would you believe our Native Plant Nursery had its best year ever too? Thanks to our dedicated Plant Nerd team, both staff and volunteers, we’re celebrating a banner year in which we sold or gave away more than 6,000 native plants, trees, and shrubs, which generated more than $112,000 in revenue to put right back into this critical work. We partnered with the City of Chattanooga’s Water Quality Program to launch Growing Resilient Neighborhoods. This unique project developed a healthier and more robust tree canopy for our community. We gave away 1,000 free native trees (chestnut oak, swamp chestnut oak, American beech, and shagbark hickory) to City residents and got approval to continue the program for a second year! Stay tuned this fall when we hope to expand the program to residents of a much larger geographic area. We also answered many questions from our community about why returning to a native landscape is so important, how to care for native trees, and what plants might work best in a particular green space.

Best Summer Camp Ever.

Summer 2021 was our most successful summer camp year ever! We partnered with our friends at the Tennessee Aquarium to ensure that, even in the second Covid summer, kids had access to lots of fun in the great outdoors on our 300-acre campus. We offered camps jointly at both locations, and kids from across our community flocked to the Best Summer Camp ever! Almost 640 children registered and were ably managed by 12 dedicated counselors and 20 top-notch volunteers. This partnership ensured that summer camp could happen no matter what the pandemic was doing, and it provided scarce child care for working families, reduced overhead, and allowed campers to experience the best of both locations. Like we said, it’s the best summer camp in Chattanooga!

Expanding Wildlife Conservation Programs.

Reflection Riding became a founding member of the American Turtle Saving Animals from Extinction, or SAFE, program. We now work as a part of a renowned, nationwide conservation team to protect several turtle species including our local favorite, the eastern box turtle. The program aims to end illegal trafficking and our part will be providing a home for seized turtles. Early in 2022, we received our first turtles and we are awaiting many more! As a longtime member of the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan, our work with the critically-endangered American red wolves expanded. Our Director of Wildlife Conservation became the inaugural American Red Wolf SAFE education committee chair, and served on the steering committee. Red wolves with ties to Reflection Riding were even released to the wild! Our Director of Avian Conservation spent a week with a forerunner group at the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators. This group works to spearhead changes in avian training to a more mindful, force-free approach that prioritizes the animals' health and well-being, aligning with Reflection Riding’s vision to teach people about the impact human actions have on wildlife.

Largest and Most Successful Prescribed Fire Season Ever.

We completed an unusually successful winter 2021-2022 prescribed fire season, using fire to restore more than 15 acres of our 300-acre campus, significantly reducing the risk of uncontrolled fire on the mountain. Prescribed fire is the best tool we have available to protect against wildfires while restoring the landscape. Fire helps in removing unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem. Our Native Landscape Apprentices supported this work as part of the fire unit preparation by cutting handlines, mitigating watch-out situations, and serving as line holders. You may have noticed burned areas if you were on the property over the winter and spring. As the 2022 growing season continues, you may notice a healthier, more diverse ecosystem sprouting up across our campus.

Your Support Creates Incredible Growth and Engagement.

The last year has been one of exponential growth for Reflection Riding, which only happens when the community is genuinely engaged in our work. We welcomed nearly 100,000 people to our campus, a 525% increase in visitation over the past four years. More than 15,000 students, teachers, and parents came on field trips. More than 2,000 people attended paid programming, bringing lots of folks with them. Membership support was up more than 60% from the previous year. Our 1,400 member households, including nearly 80 Annual Giving Society members, keep our work going. Our volunteers, including our garden crew, donated more than 5,200 hours last year, valued at nearly $155,000! We had our first Volunteer Appreciation Day event in December. Our community-based City Nature Challenge team made more than 3,000 observations of 1,165 species. A few months ago, we received planned gift proceeds from a person who had never even been a member, but obviously loved the direction Reflection Riding is headed. On behalf of our entire team, staff, board, and volunteers - THANK YOU for your support!