“Giles Outdoors is our call to GO explore and commit to grow. By attracting recreation tourism to trails, waterways, and open spaces, Giles Outdoors fuels local businesses and drives new revenue for Giles County.”
– Jessie Parker, CEO, Giles Chamber
Plan Purpose
Giles Outdoors is a community-driven initiative focused on creating a strategic roadmap to enhance outdoor recreation, connectivity, and economic development across Giles County. The resulting action plan will guide priorities for investment and implementation—helping expand and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities for both residents and visitors while supporting responsible, well-managed growth.
Led by the Pulaski-Giles County Economic Development Commission (EDC), Giles Outdoors is funded through a ThreeStar grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD). The initiative brings local partners together to expand the County’s outdoor recreation infrastructure by improving access, building and upgrading parks and trail systems, strengthening connections between communities and outdoor recreation destinations, and prioritizing projects that protect and steward the County’s natural resources.
By building on Giles County’s existing outdoor recreation assets, the plan will identify actionable projects and strategies to grow outdoor recreation and tourism, enhance residents’ quality of life, and support long-term environmental sustainability and economic growth.
Goals
Assets: Assess and inventory existing outdoor recreation assets in Giles County, evaluating their current condition and capacity to offer a high-quality outdoor experience for all users.
Partners: Collaborate with government entities, community leaders, and the public to identify ongoing and planned projects aimed at enhancing the quality of life for both residents and visitors.
Gaps: Identify new, compelling outdoor recreation infrastructure projects to promote the outdoor economy, enhance the quality of life, and drive private investment.
Unity: Identify projects that also help achieve broader community goals, such as economic development, small business growth, active living, and environmental stewardship.
Visual: Develop an action plan that captures community interest and inspires a shared vision by incorporating compelling renderings, site master plans, 3D illustrations, and other visual elements to clearly convey recommendations and ideas.
Strategy: Provide the steering committee and their partners with clear strategies and a prioritization schedule for implementing the plan recommendations.
Process
1.
Research and Preliminary Analysis
The consultant team will hold a direction-setting meeting with the steering committee to discuss key opportunities and challenges, compile a comprehensive database of existing outdoor recreation assets, and assess current resources and infrastructure.
2.
Stakeholder and Public Engagement
Host interviews and focus groups with government officials, key stakeholders, and community leaders to gather insights. Create a promotional video and leverage social media to encourage public participation in an online survey. Develop a dedicated project website to serve as an information hub throughout the planning process.
3.
Plan Development
Guided by the steering committee, stakeholders, and community input, the consultant team will develop a framework outlining preliminary recommendations for enhancing and expanding outdoor recreation assets. Following this, the team will initiate a second round of public engagement to gather further feedback.
4.
Final Plan Development
The final action plan will encompass all recommendations, a detailed phasing schedule, and an outline of potential grant funding sources. The plan will be made publicly accessible on the project website.
Creating a strategic roadmap to enhance outdoor recreation, connectivity, and economic development across Giles County.
