W . S . Gibbs Memorial Park Updates
As our youngest property – the park just turned 2 years old on July 21 – W . S . Gibbs Memorial Park is where most of the park improvements have taken place over the past year .
INTERPRETIVE SIGNS Two new interpretive signs were installed at the park – one by the fishing dock and one along Turtle Crawl – describing the fish and ecosystem in the two ponds . These signs inform guests as to what species of fish have been stocked in the pond , as well as what other plants and wildlife call the ponds home .
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Okay , maybe it ’ s not exactly a stairway to heaven , but there is now a wooden stairway up the east side of the 30-foot-tall observation / sledding hill . Designed by Park Manager Jim Holtsclaw and constructed by Oather Duncan III , Caleb Hawkins , and Ralph Wilkinson of our maintenance crew , the 50-step stairway provides a much safer way of ascending and descending the hill . This project was funded by the Parks Foundation of Hendricks County .
POLLINATOR PLOT An 8-acre pollinator plot was planted this summer in the southwest section of the park . With generous financial assistance from West Central Quail Forever and the Hendricks County Soil & Water Conservation District , a large batch of native pollinator seed was purchased , and then our maintenance crew planted it using a seeding drill that was loaned to us from West Central Quail Forever . Upon maturation , we expect the pollinator plot to be both beautiful for park guests and useful to native pollinators .
NEW TRAILS On the west side of the park , a new trail has been installed . Woodland Passage is a 0.69-mile-long trail that branches off of Walnut Walkway , winds through some woods , and circles back to connect to Turtle Crawl in the southern portion of the park .
Additionally , Pollinator Path will soon be added in the southwest corner of the property , branching off of Woodland Passage and traveling 0.35 miles around the new pollinator plot before reconnecting with Woodland Passage .
MAINTENANCE HUB As of press time , the construction of a maintenance hub in the far northwest corner of the undeveloped section of the property is still underway . Significant progress was made in May and June , but we hit a bureaucratic
snag in the 11th hour that has temporarily halted construction .
Once completed , the hub will house our maintenance crew and some of our equipment , making it much more efficient to care for the property . The maintenance crew currently has to transport equipment to and from McCloud Nature Park to work at W . S . Gibbs Memorial Park , burning up a lot of time , man-hours , and fuel , so we are looking forward to having a secure storage area on site soon .
Fall 2023 • 17