Volunteers help build Fisher Farm Park
 Charlie Hepper, Frank Holder, and Jim Mead work on Fisher Farm trails. |
BY NATHAN HARTLE
DavidsonNews.net
Residents wishing to lend a hand in the development of Fisher Farm Park have found a new way to pitch in as Davidson continues to create a unique natural recreation area east of town.
Since late March, Cornelius resident Jim Mead has led a project to make the park’s hiking trails safer for hikers and bikers. He and other volunteers have been doing “bench cutting,” strenuous work that uses tools to level existing trails, reduce inclines and clear obstructions like rocks and roots. The goal, Mr. Mead said, is to allow easier and safer access to the park’s heavily forested areas.
“I wanted the public to be able to enjoy the solitude and scenery of the relatively inaccessible forested portions of the park,” he said.
FISHER FARM PARK
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Fisher Farm is a 200-acre town-owned park off Shearer Road. The Baxter family has lived and farmed there since before the Civil War. The town bought the property in 2002 and has been gradually improving it, including removing barbed-wire fencing and building trails. Volunteers have done much of the work.
“This is a great way for people to contribute to their community and enjoy spending time in one of the prettiest places in Davidson,” said Steve Fraher, the town Parks & Recreation director.
GIVING BACK
On weekend mornings at 9 a.m., Mr. Mead and a handful of volunteers gather in the Fisher Farm parking lot before walking to whatever portion of the trail is in progress. They work for two hours, weather permitting. Before beginning work, Mr. Mead gives a brief safety lecture and asks participants to sign waivers.
The volunteers come for number of reasons. Frank Holder, an engineer by trade, wanted to contribute some time and effort to the park that has given him many fond memories. “I spend some time [at the park] with my son,” he said. “I felt like I needed to put a little time back into it.”
Mr. Holder learned about the project from Mr. Mead, whom he has known for years through their mountain biking group, the Rocky River Road Club. Together with the rest of the club’s more than 80 members, the two have biked numerous miles together for fun and for the club’s various fund-raisers.
Charlie Hepper, a student at North Mecklenburg High School, participated in the project to help fulfill the public service requirement of the school’s International Baccalaureate program. He chose this activity because he values the fresh air and exercise it offers over the ease and convenience of less strenuous indoor projects. “It was an outdoor activity, and it involved physical labor, and that means more to me.”
Mr. Mead is happy with the help. “Those that have come out have been hard workers, and I am happy with the progress,” he said. In addition to volunteers’ work hours, he has received a donation of tools from Lowe’s. Other tools were purchased by the Davidson Parks & Recreation Department.
Once completed, the trail will be approximately 2.5 miles long. Mr. Mead and his volunteers completed the necessary bench cutting along approximately half of that length by the end of the last scheduled work date, April 27. He plans to continue work later in the year, once the weather cools.
LEADING THE EFFORT
Mr. Mead has been working as a volunteer on various projects at Fisher Farm Park since the park’s inception, including the original design process for the park and the construction of its mountain bike trails. An engineer project manager at McGuire Nuclear Station, he is an avid cyclist and hiker who has spent much time at Fisher Farm.
He is responsible for the creation of the park’s walking trails, the planning and development of which was a complicated process. Following an initial walk-down of the planned route with a town planner and Mr. Fraher, Mr. Mead installed a series of ribbons on trees an
d pin flags in the ground to mark the proposed route. After consulting experienced trail builder Marc Sullivan and obtaining a final approval from Mr. Fraher, Mr. Mead began construction, along with dozens of volunteers.
The town has planned numerous other improvements (see master plan map at right; click to enlarge), few of which are likely to take place in the foreseeable future, Mr. Fraher said. Possible additions include additional parking lots, an amphitheatre, a dog park and a pond. All will depend on budget limitations and the priorities of the community.
Jim Mead, for one, is far from finished with Fisher Farm Park. He’d like to see derelict vehicles and refuse scattered on the property removed. He also supports the extension of Davidson’s Greenway through the park.
Overall, however, he would like to see Fisher Farm retain the undeveloped, naturalistic feel that many in the community have come to enjoy. Said Mr. Mead: “I’d like so see the park continue primarily as a passive use facility, to ensure citizens can count on going there and enjoying the solitude of nature!”
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