PARKS
The members of Sweetgrass Design have participated in the design of parks for many years. Many of these projects, we did as members of our former firm, MDG, and others as Sweetgrass Design.
LYDGATE PARK, Kaua'i Hawai'i
Park and Bicycle Path
Located on the eastern shore of Kaua’i, along the coastline near the mouth of the Wailua River, lies Lydgate Environmental Park, which serves as an outdoor classroom for local teachers and public school children. The breezy sand beaches and crystal blue waters of this 60 acre environmental park spread out invitingly in a post-card perfect panorama.
The staff of Sweetgrass while with their former firm, worked with local school teachers to create the elements of the park and trail as outdoor classroom opportunities for teaching all of the subjects. Services included the planning, design and construction drawings that included working with students, teachers, garnering public support and input. The playbridge was built by community volunteers, and many of the artistic features, such as tiles and inserts were created by all the local schoolchildren.
The concrete trail is 2.35 miles in length, and the amenities include an ocean view overlook, shade shelters, signs, benches, camping sites, a Visitors Center, comfort station, a maintenance building, multi-use recreational fields, access roads, and maintenenace guidelines.
Stamps in the Concrete Paths we developed for the Lydgate Park project
WITHERS SWASH PARK, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Park Design
A swash is a tidal area where the salt water of the ocean mixes with the fresh water of the inlet streams and the saline content of the water is diluted. Withers Swash is in a very historic area of Myrtle Beach in a residential neighborhood.
We were commissioned to work with the Parks and Planning Departments for the City to coordinate with Coastal Council, assist in community input and consensus, permitting, design, preparing construction documents, and construction observation.
All of the areas of the park were designed to accommodate local public school teachers to conduct classes. These were to include the dock, the teaching overlook, the paths, shade structures and nature trail.
CHATTAHOOCHEE NATURE CENTER, Roswell, Georgia
Wetlands Interpretive Educational
The staff of Sweetgrass Design, LLC while with our former firm, MDG, worked with the botanists of Chattahoochee Nature Center to transform an asphalt parking lot into a nature trail.
This trail and amenity was designed to facilitate learning with students and their public school teachers, as a classroom to further the knowledge and study of the environs of the rivers and wetlands of Georgia. The trail is called The Living Wetlands and Bogs, and the design intent was to replicate the habitats of the state.
We worked with Chattahoochee to develop the habitats to reflect, the trail, overlooks, signage, and curriculum for the classes.
GATEWAY PARK & RIVERWALK, Macon, Georgia
Park and Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Gateway Park and RiverWalk is a passive recreation park located at the entrance to the City of Macon on the banks of the Ocmulgee River. The park and riverwalk provide a place for recreation, relaxation and give access to the river where none existed before. This park is the highlight of the Ocmulgee River Heritage Greenway which is a seven-mile amenity that provides non-motorized transportation and recreation along the river.
Gateway Park and RiverWalk give access and serve as a recognition point into the central business district. They offer a positive impression to those who are coming to Macon for the first time as well as for the residents of Bibb County. There is an interactive play fountain at the upper plaza which beckons children and weary trail users to take off their shoes and play in the refreshing water. Near the river’s edge is a lower plaza that has seating to accommodate picnics or small concerts. The two plazas are connected with a formal tree-lined promenade. Beyond the lower plaza is a brick pathway that provides access to the water’s edge both for the pedestrian as well as for those who would portage their canoes to enjoy the amenities of the park.
Elegant brick walls and pathways delineate colorful gardens that provide habitat for butterflies. The paths within the park are lit in such a way as to allow for use of the park at night, while not so bright as to disturb the wildlife that move up and down the river at night. While working with a former firm, we worked with the team to develop the Gateway Park and RiverWalk concept while completing the master plan for the Ocmulgee River Heritage Greenway. The contract work included completion of the final design and construction documents for the Greenway as well as for Gateway Park and RiverWalk. We further obtained all of the enviromental permits required for work on the river corridor.
MORSE LANDING, Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina
Rain Garden, for the Office of Coastal Resource Management
The State office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management hired us to design a rain garden for them at an existing park site in Murrell's Inlet to capture rain and run-off from the parking lots. This water is treated by bio-engineering as it filtrates through the plants before it is released into the ocean.
Overland Pond Educational Park
Denver, Colorado
Overland Pond Educational Park was once a gravel mine, adjacent to the South Platte River. The staff of Sweetgrass Design, LLC while with our former firm, MDG, provided master planning, design, fund-raising and construction administration services to the Park.
The concept of the Park was to function as an outdoor classroom, educating citizens and students about the local indigeneous natural environment. The park invites visitors to observe the native flora and fauna of the Rocky Mountain Region. Observers can also watch numerous birds, mammals, and reptiles feeding along the edges of the South Platte River and Overland Pond.
Sponsors contributing to the project include the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Denver Foundation, Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, South Platte River Greenway Foundation, and the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs.
