Buttonwood Nature Center moves forward with campus improvements as Phase 1 of its Property Development Plan is underway
By The Daily Boro Staff
As Buttonwood Nature Center continues its mission to inspire Cumberland Valley residents to become stewards of the natural world, the organization has started a new chapter. Phase I of its Property Development Plan is underway at its Washington Township campus. Two projects are now taking shape, which, when completed, will enhance the public’s enjoyment of Buttonwood’s educational, conservation, and recreational resources for many years to come.
Tracy Holliday, Buttonwood’s Executive Director, commented on the dual projects during a recent interview. “It’s an investment in the future inspiration and enjoyment of our guests and our ability to provide a safe and comfortable environment,” Holliday said. “As we scale up with our school programs and other camps and opportunities for people of all ages, these amenities will provide needed facilities.”
While the two projects are being constructed simultaneously by DH Martin and sit side by side, they will accomplish different objectives. The first project will implement stormwater management measures that will facilitate the construction of a dedicated parking area. A foundation pad for a pavilion will be constructed, and environmentally sustainable restrooms will also be installed. Permeable pavers will create a pathway from the parking area to the pavilion and restrooms.
The stormwater system will be mostly invisible once the project is finished, since it will be hidden underground. Holliday said that as Buttonwood adds features that will displace the normal flow of rainwater or water across the ground, they must provide avenues for water to exit that area in another fashion. The underground system and a bioretention pond will accomplish that goal.
The retention pond will feature naturalized plants that will help slow down water as it leaves the property. Buttonwood’s plans for other parts of its campus are also baked into the stormwater management system.
Holliday mentioned that while this system is a practical solution, Buttonwood is committed to implementing these added features “with an eye towards a beautifully aesthetic setting, and with our sustainability mission in mind.”
The pavilion will be constructed immediately following the land development work. It will provide shelter from rainstorms and summer heat and serve as a setting for Buttonwood’s outdoor classroom, summer camps, and family gatherings.
“We’re working hard to make all these amenities a reality,” Holliday said. Buttonwood spent a year in the development phase securing the necessary regulatory permits and finalizing its plans. “It’s a really big undertaking.”
Across the lane from that project is a one-acre freshwater pond. When Buttonwood purchased the property in 2021, they were aware that this scenic water feature was suffering from bank erosion, a breach in its north wall, and inadequate circulation. Now, a pond restoration will correct those issues.
A South Mountain Partnership Mini-Grant and in-kind support from Triad Engineering supported an initial design study and construction drawings for the project. The plan required temporary lowering of the pond’s water level so the bank/berm could be repaired. A new feature called a weir (a concrete structure at a pond’s outlet that regulates water level and helps control its release as it moves downstream) is being constructed. On the weir’s outflow side, a series of stepdown pools will be added.
Holliday said the pond restoration was progressing smoothly. “The banks have been stabilized. They’ll soon begin construction of the weir.” She mentioned that the stepdown pools “will be beautiful to naturalize,” and they will create new habitat on the marsh side of the pond.
A solar-powered underwater aerator will be installed in the shallow pond to help keep algae at bay. Buttonwood has plans to add bacterial pellets that will naturally reduce the muck that’s accumulated on the pond’s bottom. “There will be some long-term investment in balancing the ecological health of the pond,” Holliday said. Native wildlife is still utilizing the pond, including frogs and herons, as they live with the temporarily reduced water level.
Pennsylvania requires that no trees be located in the pond’s berm, so several large trees were removed during the project. The root system of one of those trees had contributed to the breach in the pond wall. Buttonwood saved some of that removed wood to use within a natural playscape, which will be installed at a future date. Holliday stated that Buttonwood would repopulate some of the lost trees.
Buttonwood Nature Center is working with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which will provide some plant material. Buttonwood is also in discussion with the Catoctin Land Trust, and CLT may provide plants and continued plant maintenance for a future period.
In total, these conservation efforts will ensure the pond’s long-term health, preserving it as a lovely complement to Buttonwood’s educational efforts. Holliday said she expects the pond restoration may finish before the stormwater management system and parking/pavilion/restroom project. Both of these ventures should be completed by early autumn.
When finished, this ambitious phase of Buttonwood’s property plan will be another significant achievement during the organization’s five-year occupancy of a 40-acre tract.
In October 2024, a new bridge was completed across Red Run, giving larger vehicles (such as school buses) access to the property. “That bridge was a lynchpin project,” Holliday said, “because if we couldn’t get people to our campus, we couldn’t engage them here. We’re thrilled with the outcome of that project. It’s a beautiful, low-slung, quiet-on-the-landscape, but strong and sturdy bridge.”
Buttonwood expects to host school programs at these improved campus areas in the spring of 2027. However, Holliday mentioned that the organization will retain its partnerships with Monterey Pass (they built a garden at that park) and also with Pine Hill Recreation Center, where her organization installed a Story Walk. Both have served as satellite hosts for Buttonwood events during its transition to the new Nature Center property. Area students will continue to enjoy immersive Buttonwood experiences in the Michaux State Forest as well, connecting them to the legendary Appalachian Trail. Buttonwood is also committed to a continuing partnership with Washington Township.
After these current projects are completed, Holliday said Buttonwood would take a temporary breather, assess its finances, staff and volunteer capacity, and then set their sights on other campus improvements. These commendable aspirations will take the organization further on its journey of discovery, one that promises future learning, exploration, and stewardship.
