On Tuesday, May 21st, officials from the City of Norwalk and community members gathered at Oyster Shell Park for an unveiling of the first phase of improvements planned and designed by BSC Group. The park, built on a reclaimed landfill, aims to educate the public about the importance of preserving and restoring our environment.
A plaza in the center of the park features materials such as recycled glass and special solar reflecting concrete pavers which help to reduce the urban heat island effect. These are just a few of the many elements of the project that support a commitment to ecological preservation. Subsequent phases of the project will include implementation of BSC’s design for wind turbines and photovoltaic cells to power lighting in the park.
Oyster Shell Park is a pilot project for Sustainable Sites Initiative, an interdisciplinary effort by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. Therefore, BSC carefully considered the ecological and environmental implications in selecting the various materials and plants for the project. Additionally, the project received a Merit Award from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.