The Nalley Brown Nature Park

Catherine Ladnier began her mission to establish the Nalley Brown Nature Park a few years ago when she read an article about a butterfly garden created by the students at West End Elementary School.

One of the students explained how, in the past, he would pull the wings off of butterflies. After his experience with the butterfly garden, he swore he would never harm another butterfly.

That is what caught Ladnier's attention.

"The kids who are exposed to nature and the arts are not going to be the ones to get a gun and shoot their classmates," Ladnier said. 

Ladnier said she still thinks about the tragedy that occurred at Columbine High School and several other schools since.

Ladnier, of Greenwich, Conn., frequented Easley to visit her mother Eva Lee Brown Ladnier. Eva Ladnier passed away on Mother's Day in 2001, and since then her daughter has been working on the Nalley Brown Nature Park project to preserve her family's land and to provide the residents of Easley with an outdoor oasis.

Since her mother's death, Ladnier has been slowly acquiring smaller parcels of the 38-acre property from her siblings.

"The land has been in my mother's family for 100 years, maybe more," Ladnier said.

The park's name is derived from the last names of Ladnier's mother and grandmother's maiden names, Nalley and Brown.

Ladnier's love for nature and desire to encourage outdoor experiential learning for children are what prompted her to start the project. 

"We've been working on this for a very long time," Ladnier said.

Soon after she began working on the project she was introduced to Angela Viney and Brad Wyche of Upstate Forever.

The Nalley Brown Nature Park is now under a conservation easement managed by Upstate Forever, a South Carolina conservation organization that protects over 14,000 acres of farms, forests, and other natural areas in the Upstate according to their website.

The nature park's board of directors recruited Earth Design Inc. of Greenville to design the park, which will eventually include an education center, nature trails, observation tower, amphitheater, bridges, themed exhibits, shelters, and sitting areas. The full master plan is available on the City of Easley website.

Ladnier said the Nalley Brown Nature Park has received some funding from donors but still need more contributions before the project will begin. 

For more information about how to contribute to the Nalley Brown Nature Park project email Nalleybrownpark@gmail.com.