Depave and Restoration of Cave Spring

Project Date: September, 2020

Location: Shelby Park, Nashville, TN

Waterway improved: Cave Spring

Restoration methods: depaving, native plant installation

Restoring a historic spring in Shelby Park

Cave Spring is a unique oasis in Shelby Park where water bubbles up from the ground and forms a stream flowing to the Cumberland River. With its natural path interrupted by century-old crumbling paved surfaces, the stream was facing issues like pollution, erosion, and habitat loss. In 2020, a group of volunteers led by the Compact and Friends of Shelby Park removed the old pavement to restore Cave Spring’s natural beauty and functionality.

A Forgotten Gem in Shelby Park

Cave Spring is a beautiful secret hidden amongst the trees in East Nashville’s 150-acre Shelby Park. Just steps from a bustling neighborhood and a parking lot for park visitors, fresh water bubbles up from beneath layers of rock, creating the beginning of a stream that flows through Shelby, into Sevier Lake, and then to the nearby Cumberland River.

Spring water emerges from a rock wall. — Water flows from between rocks inside the cave.

According to the Shelby Park Master Plan, a year after the park opened to the public in 1912, its designers worked to highlight Cave Spring’s natural beauty by constructing a fountain, stone steps, and a pergola around it. Park visitors would sit in this “grotto” and appreciate the sounds of the spring and the naturally cool air provided by the cave. Unfortunately, over time, this and other original structures gradually fell into disrepair and became disconnected from the identity of Shelby Park. Many current visitors are not aware of Cave Spring’s existence or history.

Photos of Cave Spring when it was newly paved (left) and in 2019, when the pavement was in disrepair (right). — Cave Spring when it was newly paved (left) and when the pavement was in disrepair (right). First photo: Metro Archives

Environmental Problems

Even if the construction around Cave Spring had been adequately maintained over the years, it also posed other problems: the stream beginning at the spring was routed into a concrete channel, making it impossible for native vegetation, fish, and amphibians to inhabit its waters and banks. The smooth channel replaced the stream’s natural meandering, pebbly course, resulting in unnaturally fast-flowing water; this was leading to issues with bank erosion and muddy, cloudy water downstream.

a muddy stream channel (left) and a muddy, disgruntled box turtle (right). — Excess concrete was causing erosion and making the environment unsuitable for wildlife at Cave Spring.

The Restoration

In September 2020, a group of volunteers facilitated by the Compact and Friends of Shelby Park worked to restore Cave Spring by removing the old concrete and returning the stream to its natural state. Equipped with rock bars and wheelbarrows, they lifted up the concrete chunk by chunk, accomplishing most of the removal in under 2 hours. The following day, more volunteers removed the remaining gravel and some nearby invasive plants to prep the area for planting.

In October 2020, Friends of Shelby Park added some natural river rocks to the stream and replanted its banks with native plant species. With these additions, the stream began to resemble a natural environment once again, with the options for food and shelter that creatures such as dragonflies, crayfish, salamanders, and more need in order to live.

A red salamander rests on leaves. — Critters like this red salamander spotted at Cave Spring use stream habitat to breed.

2022 Check-in

Two years after the restoration of Shelby Park’s historic Cave Spring, Compact staff returned to find the stream thriving: its natural, meandering flow re-established and an array of native flora and fauna surrounding it. This restoration not only improved the immediate conditions around Cave Spring, but also improved the quality of water flowing through Shelby Park and into the Cumberland River.