THE BEAUTY OF NATURE: Preserving and enjoying Madison’s nature with Jim Chamberlain

‘Alabama the Beautiful’ graces the big green road signs that greet visitors crossing the state line on the various Interstates that cross into Alabama. It hints at a little known fact about Alabama’s environmental beauty and diversity.

According to Alabama Wildlife Federation, Alabama ranks fourth for most biodiversity in the country and ranks first in states east of the Mississippi River. It’s the most biodiverse state in freshwater species including turtles, fish, and snails. The state contains almost every kind of terrain from mountains to prairies to beaches.

North Alabama is home to many of our state’s natural wonders. Just the city of Madison hosts both rocky, mountain terrain and wetland plains.

As Madison County and Madison city grow in population, the natural beauty of the area continues to be an attractor for newcomers but also in competition with development.

Several organizations and volunteers in collaboration with the city of Madison are working to preserve, maintain, and promote green spaces, parks, trails, and preserves in the urban areas.

As president of Madison Greenways and Trails and former board member of Land Trust of North Alabama, Jim Chamberlain has been a force for keeping Madison’s outdoors beautiful for over twenty years and he’s appreciated Madison’s outdoors for even longer.

Chamberlain first moved to Madison with his family in 1986 and has enjoyed the natural beauty of the city ever since. As a Boy Scout troop leader for his son, he passed on an appreciation for nature to future generations. In the early 2000s, he started to take further action to share Madison’s outdoors and set aside green space in the burgeoning city.

He was a founding member of Madison Greenway and Trails, Inc. a non-profit that promotes the preservation and enjoyment of nature in Madison.

“We were seeing the rapid growth in the area and the need for more green space and places to walk, hike, and bike,” said Chamberlain of the motivation to start the non-profit.

The organization quickly became instrumental in establishing some of Madison’s most beloved and well-known nature areas.

“Our initial project in the early 2000s was helping to get Bradford Creek Greenway funded and built. So, we worked on that project, and I think that’s become one of the most favorite places in Madison to get outdoors,” recalled Chamberlain. “Then, we focused on the Rainbow Mountain Preserve, which is our largest local, natural area, about 150 acres.”

Situated in the heart of Madison, between Hughes Road and Slaughter Road, Rainbow Mountain is known for its breathtaking views of Madison and treasure trove of prehistoric artifacts. The preserve contains fossils of prehistoric creatures and coral and remnants of Native American tools. It’s home to unique rock formations and springs that feed into Madison’s creeks, including Bradford, Mill, and Indian Creeks. The preserve was named after Elisha Rainbolt who settled on the land in the early 1800s. The name ‘Rainbolt’ evolved over time into the area’s current name ‘Rainbow’.

Chamberlain says the preserve has enhanced Madison recreation by providing walking access to the surrounding neighborhoods located at the base of the mountain and has protected “one of the last truly natural areas in Madison.”

With the help of Madison Greenway and Trails’ efforts, the preserve doubled in size in 2005. Today, the natural wonders of the mountain can be observed on 4 miles of hiking trails and 10 different trails of varying difficulties. The newest trail, Rainbolt Trail, opened in October 2024 thanks to 700 hours of work by Chamberlain and forty volunteers.

“It’s the first trail from the bottom of the mountain up into the preserve. Until now, you had to drive to the top to walk the trails and now we have this nice connector on Eastview Drive that allows hundreds of homes, those people in those neighborhoods to walk into the park and as it gets more advertised, it’s getting very popular,” said Chamberlain.

Chamberlain and likeminded Madison residents have manifold incentives to preserve the city’s outdoor spaces. As development closes in on Madison, untouched green spaces are getting harder to find, and Chamberlain says that leaving some areas pristine carries both health and economic benefits.

“I think it’s partly just the beauty of the natural areas but also if you look at people getting exercise and getting out, it’s a very enjoyable way to get exercise, to walk in a greenspace area. In fact, there’s actually been a lot of research done that if you take a walk in a greenspace area versus a walk on a city street, it’s measurable, the difference in the physical and mental benefits of walking in nature,” he explained. “So, I think if we don’t develop these additional parks, the quality of life will decline and maybe we’ll become a less attractive place to live, could even impact property values.”

With these reasons in mind, Chamberlain’s work is not done, but he and his fellow volunteers have more plans for the future.

“We have an election coming up in August, and we really want to encourage our officials and candidates to make greenspace a priority,” he said.

Chamberlain and Madison Greenway and Trails have worked closely with the city of Madison to make many projects happen, such as, Rainbolt Trail, and the non-profit has a representative on the city’s Recreation Advisory Board. Chamberlain hopes to continue that as several projects are in works for the future, including extending Bradford Creek Greenway and creating a new preserve, a project expected to start this winter.

In the virtual world of today, real, natural beauty has become something of a commodity, a commodity that North Alabama happens to have a wealth of. The work of Madison residents like Chamberlain has allowed the natural beauty of Madison to not only remain but to shine as hidden gems for a wide audience and future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

Learn more about Madison’s outdoor spaces at madisonal.gov and Madison Greenway and Trails’ work and quarterly educational series on Facebook.