Green Valley Community Park (or GVCP) exists to provide Recreational and outdoor educational opportunities for the children of the community, to benefit the residents of the Green Valley Community, Citizens of Watauga County, and visitors to the greater High Country; and also to protect the area's natural beauty and ecological health. The GVCP was borne out of a desire to provide recreational and outdoor educational opportunities for the children of the community. They set out to create, within the general vicinity of Green Valley School, a multipurpose community Park.
In September of the year 2000, after over a year of searching for the best, and most ideal site, Green Valley Community Park purchased 12 acres of land on Big Hill Road nestled alongside the New River, about a little over 3.5 miles from Green Valley School. In partnership with the National Committee for the New River, They purchased about 7 acres adjacent to the original property, using the funds provided by a grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. Plans for most of that acreage involve the protection of the native stream to lessen sedimentation in the river establishment of a healthy vegetative buffer along the river and the stream.
They continue to preserve the original beauty of the property, protect the New River Riverbank, the wetland area, and provide a variety of recreational amenities as well. They anticipate more hiking trails and benches along the pathways, and a boardwalk for wetland viewing. They are interested in fostering various conservation activities, like water quality monitoring and native plant restoration.
Green Valley Community Park invites more community groups to use the park for both recreational programs and educational science and nature programs. They also look forward to having church groups and families using the park for reunions and other gatherings. They envision that the uses and the benefits of the park will grow and evolve over time, as area groups discover all that this beautiful piece of land has to offer.
