Happy Summer! 

If you look around, you can see the signs of summer all around us. Various flowers are in full bloom, painting the ground and plant life in a dazzling array of colors, and everyday the appeal of a swim in cool water grows stronger. As the air heats up and the days continue to get longer, what better time to take a look at what’s around us to explore? Tallahassee is full of little gems of nature that we’ll be sharing with you over the next few months in our new series: Tallahassee Outside!

Traveling East through Tallahassee, you’ll find Tom Brown Park, located just past Capital Circle SE. This large multi-purpose park has everything you could ask for when it comes to fun summer activities for you and your family!. Entering the park is like entering a different world tucked into the high-speed lifestyles of urban Tallahassee. Birdsong filters through the trees and lizards skitter across the hiking trails. Sunbathers can be found scattered by the lake, absorbing sunlight alongside the various plant life that can be found around the area. Children play in the park near the front entrance, the sound of laughter carrying through the bouncing of basketballs on the courts and the cheers and buzz of small motors near the remote control raceway. Tom Brown park is truly a hidden gem of peace in a busy world. 

The park features multiple baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, and open spaces to enjoy the environment or participate in community events such as Tallahassee’s Fourth of July celebrations! That not enough for you? The park also offers Florida’s #1 disc-golf course, sand volleyball, soccer fields, basketball courts, and a remote control car racetrack. If you’re on the hunt for something a little more traditionally immersed in nature, just outside the central park you can find various trails for both hiking and mountain bikes. You can take a bike ride through the nearly three-mile Magnolia Mountain Bike Trail main loop and enjoy an easy ride with the sights and sounds of undisturbed Florida nature. If you’re looking for something a bit more exciting, travel off the main path and test your metal in any of the five Advanced Skill Trails alongside the more family-friendly trails. Whether you’re looking for an exciting day outdoors or a relaxing time to be one with the trees, Tom Brown Park has something to offer for everyone.

Even something as seemingly simple and easy as taking some time to spend outdoors supports various goals of sustainability and ties into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Perhaps most obviously helpful is generating public interest and economic incentive behind maintaining natural parks, which helps keep them running, and keeps urban green spaces safe, supporting the maintenance and creation of sustainable cities and communities—the main goal of SDG 11. Parks such as Tom Brown Park also support SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being, as they encourage individuals to head outside and get in exercise, whether that’s in the form of a good game of basketball, a hike through the forest, or showing off on the various bike trails. Tom Brown also supports the preservation of important habitats for native Florida species (as the park has become a hotspot for birdwatching in the state, home to cardinals, hawks, wrens, and more), upholding the goals of SDG 15: Life on Land. Sustainability starts with the individual, and sometimes that just means supporting the resources that are already there and having a good time while you’re at it!

If you want to learn more about Tom Brown Park and all of the activities it houses, click here. To follow Sustainable Campus on Instagram to stay updated with our new series, click here.