Heritage Park
TennGreen Land Conservancy assisted with funding the purchase of a 38-acre forested tract in rapidly developing Hendersonville, and protected the land in perpetuity with a conservation easement.
In 2018, the Friends of Indian Lake Peninsula (FOFILP) and the City of Hendersonville worked together to purchase the 73-acre Batey Farm, now called Heritage Park, in Hendersonville, Tennessee. As the only remaining open space on the Indian Lake Peninsula, the purchase came with a hefty price tag that exceeded $4 million.
The City of Hendersonville purchased the lower, 35 acres of the historic farm on May 30th, leaving FOFILP to raise $1 million to acquire the upper, 38-acre forested hill before the property’s purchase agreement expired on July 2nd. Thanks to a community of passionate citizens, FOFILP raised nearly all of the remaining funds before announcing a conservation alliance with TennGreen on June 13th. FOFILP’s effort to buy the hill became a movement, capturing the imagination of thousands of people in Hendersonville and enabling the organization to raise the $1 million in the remarkably short period of only 4 months. Over 850 households contributed to the effort; about 40% of those donations were $200 or less.
The movement touched the hearts of many, from donors in eleven other states to local pre-school children doing chores to earn money to take to Capstar Bank in Hendersonville to make their donations in person and numerous lemonade stands that raised almost $1,000.