The Nine Mile Creek Watershed District transformed a large home within a five-acre wooded parcel into an innovative water-resources facility that serves as the district’s new office and education center, known as Discovery Point. Barr was hired to develop a landscape master plan for the site, which included designs for site grading and drainage; a 26-stall parking lot and entrance drive; electrical, water, and sanitary service utilities; retaining walls; and stormwater features such as rain gardens, multiple permeable-pavement systems, and a 1,050-gallon interactive cistern with a decorative runnel wall. The site showcases replicable commercial and residential landscaping and green-infrastructure practices that are low maintenance, ecologically appropriate, and aesthetically pleasing.
Barr also designed a suite of interpretive signs, which were installed in fall 2015. Ongoing work includes development and implementation of long-term plant-community restorations highlighting oak-savanna and woodland areas.