McCloud Nature Park Updates
As the celebration of McCloud ’ s 20th anniversary continues , our flagship park has been getting some facelifts this year .
MILL COTTAGE FACELIFT Mill Cottage is the house next to the McCloud Nature Center . Built in the 1940s , Mill Cottage is now structurally unsound , so it is only used for storage . However , it was starting to look pretty shabby , so our maintenance crew resealed all of the windows – over 50 of them !! – and then gave the building a new coat of paint and cleaned up the landscaping around it .
This project was funded by donations collected at the Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser in March . Mill Cottage will likely get a new roof in 2024 .
MCCLOUD NATURE CENTER FACELIFT The Nature Center also needed some TLC since much of its siding was rotting away and / or being eaten by a variety of critters . Our maintenance crew replaced all of the damaged siding and then painted the building . A new roof is planned for the Nature Center in the fall .
Meanwhile , our naturalists gave a few of the interior walls some fresh paint , and the maintenance crew created a new wooden backing for the Giving Tree – a celebration of our donors . The wood came from a fallen walnut tree at McCloud .
This project was funded by the Parks Foundation of Hendricks County .
HUNT PALMER GAZEBO FACELIFT In November of 2021 , our maintenance crew replaced the decking and shingles on the Hunt Palmer gazebo along Red-Tailed Ridge near the historic truss bridge . They also removed the built-in benches that were showing their age after 15 years in the woods .
This year , the crew re-stained the structure and placed a picnic table in it . With its new roof , stain , and picnic table , the gazebo looks brand new !
INTERPRETIVE SIGN By popular demand , a new interpretive sign is coming to McCloud in late summer or early fall ! It will be placed near the historic truss bridge and will outline where the bridge came from and how it came to be the iconic park amenity that it is today . On your next walk around the McCloud Arboretum , be sure to keep an eye out for the new sign !
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