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Laurel Park completes phase 2 of nature park

Supported by a matching grant from the Legacy Tree Fund, the Town of Laurel Park planted additional trees in the Rhododendron Lake Nature Park, finishing Phase 2 of the restoration project.

Town Commissioner George Banta and a town crew of Town  and resident volunteers placed 28 nursery grown trees, augmenting the 374 native trees and shrubs planted during Phase 1.
Phase 1 of this nature park project, completed in 2013, restored an impaired stream system to its natural state. Phase 2, completed in April of this year with support from a Clean Water Management Trust Fund matching grant, removed 4 acre-feet of accumulated silt in the lake and improved downstream water quality to the French Broad River Watershed.
The Rhododendron Lake Nature Park is a 10-acre site that was formerly a lake, built in 1909 by W.A. Smith, the Town’s founder, for swimming, boating, and outdoor recreation. By the 1980s the lake developed into a safety hazard for downstream residents, and the dam breached, creating the property on view today. The Town purchased the property in 2009 and then devised a 3 phase development plan for a nature park.
The Town has applied for a matching N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant for Phase 3, which will complete the transformation of the site into an urban nature park. Phase 3 will add approximately 1 mile of walking trails, parking and other amenities to the site. Construction of Phase 3 is planned to begin in the Fall of 2016, pending grant funding approval.
The North Carolina Urban Forest Council’s Legacy Tree Fund is a tree-planting program that is dedicated to making North Carolina’s cities, towns, and neighborhoods more enjoyable and attractive places to live. For more information about Legacy Tree Fund, visit http://www.ncufc.org/tree-legacy.php.