Note:This story reflects one neighbor’s understanding of events and is likely incomplete. Details may be inaccurate or missing context. If you have corrections or additional information, please share your story below.
During COVID lockdown in 2020, a neighbor named Michael got tired of looking at an ugly, overgrown ditch on the corner where Elysian Fields Road meets Croft Middle School. One day he just went out and started cleaning it up. Then he kept going.
Six years later, COVID Park had flowers, vegetables, ornamental grasses, trees, a little red chair, a dog water bowl, and a hand-painted welcome sign. He doesn't even live in the neighborhood anymore — he still drives back every day to tend the garden.
In late March 2026, Michael showed up to find his tool storage padlocked and his water hose cut into pieces by Metro employees. He left two handwritten signs on cardboard:
“THIS IS THE WORK OF METRO EMPLOYEES.”
“SADLY METRO DOES NOT WANT THE GARDEN HERE. Please take any plants you can use for your home and yard or garden... before the weeds take over. THANK YOU FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS for your support through the years of the garden.”
The Real Issue
The garden sits on a corner where three Metro departments overlap — Metro Parks (the Zoo owns the surrounding 195-acre parcel), Metro Water Services (those utility boxes are theirs), and MNPS (the school). Croft Middle's own website says it's been “located on the property of the Nashville Zoo since 2003.” Nobody can figure out who actually ordered the shutdown.
One of the utility boxes had a slow leak that Metro never fixed. Michael captured the dripping water to feed the plants and fill a dog bowl. He didn't steal anything. A Metro Water crew likely came to service the equipment, saw the hose, flagged it, and someone shut everything down without asking a single question about the garden or the six years of community that grew around it.
Councilmember Courtney Johnston (District 26) has been calling Metro Parks, the Zoo, and MNPS trying to figure out who made this call. Nobody is claiming responsibility.
What We’re Asking For
- Identify who owns and manages this corner
- Talk to Michael — don't send crews with padlocks
- Create a formal use agreement for the garden
- Fix the water leak and provide a real water source
A man made a forgotten ditch into something the whole neighborhood loves, at zero cost to the city, for six years. The answer isn't to cut his hose. The answer is to shake his hand.
Help keep the garden alive