Contact: Maggie O’Neill; Ed Johnson
919. 772.4688
Wood from Old Home Site will be Salvaged for New Garner Nature Center
On Friday, July 18, wood from a farmhouse in Garner’s White Deer Park will be salvaged for reuse in the new Nature Center to be built there. Slated for demolition when the park is built, the dilapidated 1930’s farmhouse will contribute first as part of the new building, and also as part of the interpretive program for the park. Staff from Garner’s Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments and volunteers from the park design team will carefully remove the boards with hand tools. The 3/4” tongue and groove heart pine boards will be used as flooring in the new Nature Center.
The Nature Center will be the Town of Garner’s first LEED Accredited building. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a measurement tool used internationally to evaluate performance in site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Removing the boards is just one of the many environmentally sustainable initiatives the project is undertaking to achieve a LEED rating from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
“The Nature Center will have many environmentally friendly systems and features,” said Tom Maynard, Director of Garner Parks and Recreation Department. “It will include exhibits about protecting the environment. We believe the building itself will be a tool for use in teaching about how to care for and sustain the environment. The reclaimed wood is one example of how we can show people what they can do at home.”
“Reclaiming the wood is also a nice way to remember the people who once lived in the area and the history of Garner as a farming community,” said architect Louis Cherry of Cherry Huffman Architects.
The Town will store the boards until they are refinished and installed in the new Nature Center. The wood that cannot be salvaged will be recycled. The building begins construction in Fall of 2008 with expected completion in June 2009.
About the Project
White Deer Park is a 96 acre nature park located on Buffaloe and Aversboro Roads in Garner that is slated for construction this Fall. In addition to the nature center, the Park will feature 2.5 miles of paved walking trails, five picnic shelters, two new playgrounds, wildflower meadows and an arboretum. The Nature Center will also permanently house the white deer that the park is named for. The 2500 square foot Nature Center will achieve a LEED Silver Rating from the US Green Building Council for its many environmentally sustainable features.
The design team for the park includes Garner Parks and Recreation Department, obs Landscape Architects, Cherry Huffman Architects, Design Dimension, Stewart Engineering and ConsiderDesign.
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TOWN OF GARNER
(919) 772?4688
www.garnernc.gov
moneill@garnernc.gov
MEDIA ADVISORY
July 17, 2008
Town of Garner to Salvage The Homestead
The best photo opportunities related to this project will be Friday, July 18 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. or 12:45 to 2:00 p.m.
The address of the facility is 2400 Aversboro Road. It is located approximately .5 miles from the Aversboro Road and Timber Drive intersection. Please contact CB McDonald at 919?772?4688 if you plan to visit the site so we can arrange an escort to get you from the parking lot to the site.
Town Of Garner NC website
Garner NC City Guide
City5NC.blog
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