Everyone in our region’s workforce should be able to improve their career satisfaction and earning potential. Our businesses need people with essential skills to keep them going, and growing. Our young adults need to know there's a rewarding career right here, without ever leaving home. Establishing a career learning and business support center — focused on the specific needs and opportunities of our local economy — can prepare our people and businesses for future success.

Certification of our nine local communities as “Trail Towns” will help stimulate reinvestment and growth in our local economies. This Project team will work with our town leaders to inventory existing pathways, utilizing bike/walk audit techniques to identify opportunities for each town to qualify for its own “Trail Town” certification, taking into account trails of all types (outdoor recreation: hiking, biking, equestrian, kayaking/canoeing; arts and culture: history, artisan, farms, etc.) to connect trail users with main streets, downtowns, merchants and services.

A Design Guide can provide suggestions to area businesses, new or existing, for making their facilities more attractive and appealing to visitors — a type of “idea book” with many good tips for their use. The South Cumberland version of this book will include many examples with local photos, as well as suggestions and ideas local property and business owners can put to immediate use. This Guide also can be used to inform franchise and large-scale businesses how our communities would like them to adapt their standard designs to fit in more naturally with our area's preferred architecural styles.

This Project explores ways to promote production and sale of “Made in the Mountains of Adventure” products created by local businesses, including farms. The team will investigate ways to better connect visitors and online customers to our local “maker” community — including, but not limited to, art, furniture, textiles, printed items, aroma products, farm products, and more.

The Fiery Gizzard State Park Visitor Center, between Monteagle and Tracy City, is nearly 50 years old, and is located miles away from the park it represents. This Project investigates the possibility of creating a new, state-of-the-art Natural Science Visitor Center at Grundy Forest — a destination-grade attraction for visitors, and an engaging place of learning for our students and adults alike.

It has been well-documented that citizens of South Cumberland region are in need of new, enjoyable, healthy options for exercise. Other areas of the Southeast have found great success in improving fitness by creating Trail Mountain Bike (“TMB”) facilities, which can be enjoyed both by local citizens, as well as by visitors. This project investigates the feasibility of creating such a place in Savage Gulf State Park, near Gruetli-Laager.

Crow Creek flows from Buggytop Cave in Head of the Crow State Park, south of Sewanee. The Elk River begins in Burroughs Cove, northeast of Pelham.  These two beautiful rivers could be ideal for paddling adventures by kayak or canoe, and by making these rivers clear and accessible for paddling, would create jobs for outfitters, guides, shuttle services and other new local businesses.

At one time, majestic Elk used to roam and graze the South Cumberland area in large numbers. (The Elk River’s name reflects their prominence in the region.) This project investigates whether suitable land could be provided to support the re-introduction of an Elk herd, with grazing meadows and viewing areas, while keeping the Elk away from crops and farms.