At a Glance
An interpretive design guidance was created for a semi-rural public park in central New Jersey, based on its unique cultural history and ecological legacy.
Project Description
Biohabitats contributed landscape assessment support and ecological recommendations for an interpretive design guidance developed for Northwest Park, a part of Mercer County Parks, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The goal was to create a deep connection to the site through a deeper understanding of its ecological character, landscape legacy, and existing patterns of woods, meadows and waterways, while creating a framework for ongoing enhancements that enable visitors to connect to the natural resources of the County Park’s system.
As part of the design team Biohabitats assessed and characterized the existing conservation and restoration activities being performed at the park through field assessments, interviews with key stakeholders and the Park Commission, and a review of collected information. New site features were considered that would balance ecological function with visitor experience. From this assessment, a set of preliminary restoration guidelines were developed, which provided the basis for the draft interpretive design guidance.
Biohabitats prepared a report on the ecological processes, natural resources and wildlife habitat in the park, including conservation and restoration strategies which informed the suggested design guidelines. The guidance included an evaluation of the character and relationship of existing and proposed park elements, proposed concepts and precedents for park improvements, connections and linkages to areas within the park as well as other adjacent open space and recreational facilities and destinations, a conceptual park-wide planting strategy, and preliminary design guidelines for site features.