Urban wetland education center to open in Southeast Raleigh Sept. 29

The new Education Center at Raleigh's Walnut Creek Wetland Park will hold its official opening ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 5:30 p.m. The center is located at 905 Peterson St. in Southeast Raleigh.

The park covers 59 acres of formerly neglected and polluted land south of Peterson between Garner Road and South State Street. The city's 2003 Parks and Recreation bond referendum raised $1.2 million for construction of the 7,000-square-foot education center, which includes classrooms, offices, a laboratory and display space.

Designed by Raleigh architect Frank Harmon with the aim of minimizing environmental impact, the center was built six feet above the flood plain using recycled materials where possible. A geothermal system provides heating and cooling, while solar photovoltaic panels generate much of the electricity.

Rainwater runoff from the roof is collected in cisterns, and what's known as a "bioretention system" will naturally filter stormwater runoff before it's returned to Walnut Creek.

The center also has what's being billed as the "longest back porch in the South," which you can see in the photo above from Harmon's website.