This May, Mappy Hour will launch in Nashville, Tennessee. Leading the charge is Nashville local Atlee Tyree. We sat down with Atlee to chat about her love for the outdoors, parks in Nashville and the big launch event on May 23.
How did you find your love for the outdoors?
My love for the outdoors is probably innate. It’s something that’s very important, especially to my dad, but like growing up on the Gulf Coast, we were always on the water.
Sailing was a really big part of my life growing up. And then was fortunate enough in the summers to spend my summers at a camp inColorado. And that’s where I really learned about the wilderness and fell in love with the mountains and fell in love with the thrills, the groundedness, the peace that I get, the strength that I feel, being independent in the wilderness.
How do you like to spend your time outside?
It’s more like how can I do everything outside?
Like every activity, everything that I want to do in my day, I’m always trying to think of how I could do it outside. I’ve got a wonderful dog that loves to do everything outside and so I spend a lot of time in our local parks walking her.
I like to garden. I don’t have a whole set of gardening space but I make use with what I’ve got.
There are a lot of amazing state parks in Tennessee and so on the weekends, I’ll either go paddleboarding on one of our lakes or on the river or I’ll go backpacking or hiking with my dog.
There are a ton of day hikes close by or even like in the parks in the city. There are plenty of parks that have a ton of mileage in them. So it’s easy to get in a good long hike in the city too.
Why have been drawn to cities as a place to live?
I love cities for their diversity.
What I really like about Nashville is that there are just so many different people from so many different walks of life.
And what I’ve learned in my 10 years living here is that so many people value the outdoors in really different ways, especially along cultural or religious lines.
And it’s really cool to live in a city where that is celebrated because I think that Nashville does a good job of celebrating the outdoors for all sorts of different people.
How does Nashville achieve that?
So, for example, there are a lot of different celebrations that happen in the park. So a local park can be the place where you have your birthday celebration, your anniversary celebration, your big Eid celebration. It shows that people feel welcome in the outdoors in Nashville.
Another example: when I worked on the master planning for Millridge Park we met with different immigrant communities to ask them how they spent their time outdoors in their home countries and how they wish they could experience the outdoors in Nashville.
And it’s so cool to see that feedback actually integrated into the park now with elements like nice bathrooms, proper hand and feet washing stations, accessible ramps integrated into the playground, lots of shade and places like gazebos for people to rent and gather.
Why is Mappy Hour a fit for Nashville?
Nashville is a really community oriented place. It’s a very neighborhood oriented place. And I think that Mappy Hour could bring together a lot of those different segments of the city.
There are so many different outdoor communities in Tennessee more generally like the climbing community, the kayaking community, the cycling community, there are a lot of these subgroups based on particular sports or outdoor activities.
And I think Mappy Hour could be a really great intersection, intersecting point for all those people.
What inspired you to start a Mappy Hour chapter?
I am always excited to meet new people. And if I can meet them doing fun outdoor stuff all the better. I think Mappy Hours offers a great point of connection for me to meet like-minded people. We can just have more fun together than on our own.
Why are you excited about the launch? What should we expect?
I’m excited to just see who is as interested in this, to hear what other people want to do with Mappy Hour. We’re going to have space for people to give their input on what kind of stuff we want to plan, what kind of stuff we want to learn about. I’ve got plenty of ideas, but I’m sure everybody else has more.
And we’re going to be spending a little bit of time exploring maps of the city to share all the different places we love with each other.
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Register
Sign up by making a profile and click RSVP here: https://mappyhour.org/events/2024/05/mappy-hour-chapter-launch-east-nashville-beer-works
Details of the event include:
Who: Anyone who loves to hike, kayak, picnic, climb, and generally explore the great outdoors.
What: A happy hour with a twist to bring together the local outdoor community. To kick things off we’re gathering at East Nashville Beer Works to share our personal love for the outdoors, look at a few maps and envision how we’d like to grow our community.
When: May 23, 6-7:30PM
Where: East Nashville Beer Works
Cost: Free – just bring some guidebooks and maps to share!
