Obed River Park Opens New Outdoor Classroom Area

A new outdoor classroom facility has opened at Obed River Park in Cumberland County.

Parks and Recreation Director Donnie Moody said the roofed area can accommodate 50 people. It includes eight stone benches and 12 large seating boulders.

“This is a project that we have talked about for several years,” Moody said. “We’ve had interest with schools, TWRA and soil conservation for doing outdoor classroom activities. A grant became available through the AARP group. We applied for it, and we were funded.”

Moody said TWRA is already working on scheduling some fish identification and gardening classes. Moody said the area will also be available to schools and the general public.

“We noticed during the COVID times there were a lot of people coming to the park to enjoy the amenities there,” Moody said. “It just became something that could be useful no matter COVID or not COVID being able to take people out and show them the species of trees or fish.”

Moody said the classroom is located at the center of the park just below the playgrounds and bathroom.