Wetland Playground
Albina Hickel
Walnut Creek Wetland Park is a part of the Nature Parks, Preserves and Programs team, which includes the Annie Louise Wilkerson MD Nature Preserve, Durant Nature Preserve, Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve and Environmental Education Programs Support office.
Walnut Creek Wetland Park serves to support the mission of both our team and the late Dr. Norman and Betty Camp: to connect people and nature through experiences, education, and conservation. Our vision is to create strong, healthy, sustainable communities and the environment.
The park office is located in the lobby of the Norman and Betty Camp Education Center. Our Education Center offers public restrooms and water fountains as well as two classrooms that are available for public renting. Additionally, the Norman and Betty Camp Education Center provides ADA accessibility to park patrons and hosts a variety of green building features. The education center lobby is open and free to the public Tuesday through Sunday during operating hours and offers access to several free amenities:
Walnut Creek Wetland Park lies at the confluence of Little Rock Creek and Walnut Creek Greenway trails, at about the halfway point on the Walnut Creek Greenway between Lake Johnson and the Neuse River Greenway.Cyclists enjoy using the Walnut Creek Wetland Park as a place to adjust or pump up their tires at the bike repair station. Additionally, the Center currently maintains two natural surface trails totaling in roughly a half of a mile of walking trails.
The Norman and Betty Education Center currently hosts two, indoor, classroom-style rooms for public renting as well as the ability for additional add-ons like private deck usage and birthday party packages. Request your rental online using RecLink or by reaching out to the facility.
For budding naturalists or kids who just enjoy being outside, there's no better place for a birthday party than Walnut Creek Wetland Park! We offer several nature-themed birthday party packages as an add-on to facility rentals. Party packages run an hour long and require a three-hour minimum rental. Party add-ons and chosen themes should be booked a minimum of four weeks in advance for adequate staffing. Fees associated with this style of program cost $30.
In response to a history of environmental injustices committed against the Black communities of Southeast Raleigh, the concept of the Walnut Creek Wetland Nature Center arose from organized cleanup efforts led by the local Episcopal Churches, who later became a unified group still known to us as Partners for Environmental Justice (PEJ). Created in 1995 by Dr. Norman Camp and Ed Mulligan, PEJ is an interracial, grassroots organization designed to restore wetland health with the goal of providing economic, educational and beautification benefits to the historically Black communities of Biltmore Hills and Rochester Heights.
Annexed by the City of Raleigh in 2003 and opened in September of 2009, Walnut Creek Wetland Education Center and Nature Park still moves to uphold the ideologies of Dr. Norman Camp by continuing its partnership with PEJ and the surrounding communities to increase awareness of the importance of wetland health and foster positive human interaction with the natural environment. The park is intended to protect this urban green space for the continued enjoyment of all people and the promotion of environmental stewardship.
The 52-acre urban research site is situated adjacent to the Olentangy River and consists of two experimental wetland basins, an oxbow wetland, bottomland hardwood forest, and a mesocosm compound. The Heffner Teaching and Research Building located on the site includes analytical and teaching laboratories, a wet laboratory, a classroom, offices, and meeting spaces.
The Delridge Wetland, located on 23rd Ave SW and SW Findlay St, is a project spearheaded by DNDA to protect, restore, preserve and expand the existing wetland to improve water quality in Longfellow Creek, meanwhile developing the space as a public park for all to enjoy. Beside wetland restoration, other plans for the park include the creation of an urban garden, community orchard, as well as developing the space as an outdoor classroom for local students and the community to learn hands-on environmental science and wetland stewardship.
Our weekly wetland restoration work parties serve to bring people together under a common cause. Working together to make our neighborhood a healthier place to live can help strengthen our community ties and relationships.
The Delridge Wetland Park project is creating space for increased community use in addition to restoring a unique urban greenspace in the Longfellow Creek watershed. The Wetland Workshop Series of free community events put on by DNDA offered a re-introduction between our communities and the Delridge Wetland Park. The goal for the workshop series was to address community priorities, offer fun and informative environmental education experiences, and support further community connections and resiliency.
In the final Wetland Workshop we learned about resource management from staff from Coast Salish tribes' departments of natural resources, and a specialist on the waste management infrastructure in Western Washington.
In Food Systems & Food Sovereignty with Yakaiyastai Gorman, an indigenous scholar, mother, and wife we learned more about how to preserve inherent rights for future generations through higher education. This event was held on Saturday, March 6.
In our final wetland workshop of 2020, we shared a brief overview and history of current restoration practices, and local ecosystems. We discussed the influence of climate change on the science and practice of restoration ecology, and explored ways scientists are addressing the way we think of restoration today.
Developed in partnership with the National Park Service, this community health profile examines existing health indicators and needs of residents living in the Delridge corridor, a planning zone along Delridge Way SW. It considers both community health and the built environment. It contains information about the potential impacts of the future Delridge Wetland Park on the health of Delridge residents and makes recommendations for its planning and design, programming, and monitoring and evaluation.
This document is a result of research on existing plans related to health in Delridge, as well as input from a team of local community leaders and organizations that have come together as thinking partners to make decisions on the wetland park. A big thank you to all who contributed their insights to this community health profile!
The entrance to this walking/hiking park is located at the base of the water tower at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. This loop gravel path travels around a fishing pond, benches, gazebos, and a fishing pier for a quiet way to enjoy natural wetland ecology.
FDR Park suffers from frequent flooding, even after a mild rain, due to low-lying land, poor drainage, and a broken tide gate. The FDR Park Plan is designed to address this regular flooding as we face a hotter, wetter future from climate change. This is the first time in Philadelphia that a park plan has incorporated climate change projections and a comprehensive hydrology study, alongside extensive community engagement, with the goal of establishing a resilient park to be enjoyed for generations to come.
During the planning process, the airport conducted a hydrology study that looked at the entire 348-acre park and identified the southwest corner of the park as the most appropriate location for a restored wetland. This southwest corner is currently inaccessible to the public and was historically the low point of FDR Park, however a buildup of soil and debris in recent decades has been clogging the natural flow and drainage of water throughout the park.
The wetland is the third major project to begin construction through the FDR Park Plan, along with the future Welcome Center and Anna C. Verna Playground. The wetland is also the first of 12 projects in implementation of the Nature Phase of the FDR Park Plan.
A 1,500-ft. boardwalk trail winds its way through the wetland with scenic views and overlook areas, allowing visitors to get a closer look at the diversity of underwater plants and wildlife throughout the park. Boardman Wetlands Nature Park is an ideal location for photography and bird-watching. Be on the lookout for the red-winged blackbird and northwest tree frog. In the spring, you might also catch a glimpse of baby ducklings scurrying about.
The park includes a nature play area, inspired by natural elements for more interactive play and greater connections to nature. An outdoor classroom plaza and hands-on education area with pond access provide opportunities to learn about the ecology of a wetland up-close.
This project is the result of a partnership between NCPRD and Oak Lodge Water Services District. Additional financial support through grants came from Metro and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Learn more about the project here.
The trail, education plaza, playground, and wetland access overlook are all wheelchair accessible. Dogs and other pets are not allowed on the park property, in order to protect sensitive habitat and wildlife.
Created as a wetland mitigation bank, Bulrush Open Space was granted a charter by the Army Corps of Engineers. The developers of the wetlands donated the property to Frederick, who took over management of the wetlands in 2007.
Under the charter granted by the Army Corps of Engineers, this open space is open by appointment only from sunrise to sunset. Periodic closures may also occur to protect wildlife and for resource management.
In 2014, Sankofa Community Development Corporation (CDC) identified an opportunity to develop 40 acres of wetlands in the Lower Ninth Ward to help with flood protection, as well as environmental education, community revitalization, economic development, and recreation for all to enjoy.
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