MT. PISGAH ARBORETUM

project date: 2013 | by peter reedijk | 1 related blog(s)

Mt Pisgah Arboretum is a 209-acres living tree museum located with in the 2,300 acres of Buford Park. Although the physical boundaries are almost non-extinct (with the exception of a few small signs along trails that traverse in and out of both areas), the "feeling" of the place is different. The Arboretum has struggled, nearly since its inception thirty years ago, to define and nurture the intrinsic values of its small plot of land.

In 2010, Sea Reach Ltd was contracted to develop an Interpretive Master Plan. This included a site analysis of the entrance, all identity, wayfinding, and regulatory signs, an evaluation of the existing trail system with recommendations for eliminating trails and enhancing others, developing an integrated interpretive program to include strong educational components (the Arboretum is a field trip site for local schools), and to designing and developing state-of-the-art, ecologically sensitive interpretive nodes throughout the site.

Part of what makes this project unique are the people who work and play at the Arboretum: groups of retired adults frequent the place for guided nature walks, students (kindergarden thru college) come for classes, field trips, and independent study, residents often spend countless hours volunteering to maintain trails, build bridges, and remove noxious weeds, young families have favorite hiking and exercise routes - all these people have strong feelings of ownership and caring for this place. This interpretive plan has had to encompass the most basic values and emotions of a passionate user group.