Walnut Creek Wetland Center grand opening

Last evening I joined more than a hundred other Raleigh residents attending the grand-opening ceremony for the Walnut Creek Wetland Center in Southeast Raleigh. The city's first environmental education center, the sustainably-built facility is located in the 60-acre wetland area off State Street south of Martin Luther King Boulevard.



Among those who spoke at the ceremony was Dr. Norman Camp, who played a key leadership role in making the center a reality through his organization Partners for Environmental Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the Walnut Creek ecosystem and the communities of Southeast Raleigh. Dr. Camp chairs PFEJ, which he founded in 1995 in response to the pollution and flooding that plagued the wetlands. Its efforts garnered the group an Audubon NC conservation award earlier this year.

In his speech yesterday, Dr. Camp called the wetland center "a shining new gem in Raleigh's crown."

Following the ribbon-cutting, those gathered had a chance to tour the facility and enjoy live jazz on what's billed as "the longest back porch in the South," pictured above. The porch overlooks the wetland, photos of which you can check out at John Dancy-Jones' Raleigh Nature blog.

As part of the dedication, Raleigh poet and artist Christopher Rowland -- a.k.a. Langston Fuze, who grew up in nearby Biltmore Hills -- performed a poem he wrote especially for the occasion titled "Wetlands Bandstand." With his blessing, I reprint it here in full:

Wetlands Bandstand

Sitting within this great dream

made tangible reality, it is easy to see

from the beginning there was always sound —

jazz

rhythmic orchestral sweeps of the Great Conductor's hands

leading a mass ensemble of seasoned players

through history, across the space time continuum

to gather in this sacred place.

Upon a mere flinch of the Maestro's mighty fingers,

lady muse materializes instantaneously

from stage shadows to taking vocal front

inside a building mystic breeze moaned

across lush landscape. Together they join as rhythms of nature,

one all powerful big band passionately charging with touch

devices instrumental in the preservation of existence;

belting songs in the key of life —

melodic, productive, busy as Coltrane fingers

overwhelming the moment with movement,

inspiring sound to become flesh / evoking sensation into fabric.

The party has begun. A grand marquee welcomes all

with a plethora of vibrantly lit earth tone greetings…

For the land is now and forever has been open for business.

News of the most jumping place in town spreads

intrinsic the way of love as night upon the bare back

of an excited dragonfly jittering about. Subtle suggestive advertising sells

the air vintage electricity >>> to be shared by curious masses,

old to new, elder to youth… from far and wide

have they traveled through the ages seeking renewal

over experience gained from personal interactions

with variant patterns of vegetation and organisms,

magically setting spirits free with dance.

Upon catching the vibe, soulful melodies compel the trees

to sway and groove; fluttering their leaves,

filling the air about with glorious applause over the opening number.

Notorious for being party animals, they "throw their hands in the air waving them like they just don't care!" beneath solar strobe-lights cascading over outstretched arms, glimmering brilliantly as if embraced by an array of organic priceless jewelry —

a million sparkles of joy setting the sky illuminated.

Past and future energies time travel to the now for a tender glimpse of Mother Nature

swinging merrily about, Benny Goodman style across wooded tops.

A lady of varied moves she exhibits her trendy adversity

by gracefully stepping across the ballroom floor —

Bee-bop fuses with hip-hop creating an enriching re-creational medium

energizing, engaging, rejuvenating tired old limbs

still limber / eager to defy weathered, wrinkled skin rapping itself

around present day beats of a different generational drum.

Sensing a good time is to be had the wall flowers come alive…

Frogs do the hop / beavers do the waddle / deer shake their tales

locusts clap their hands in appreciation.

Mild mannered sparrows watch the cardinals flash their fancy red coats

like big spenders of the day,

while a flock of robins just entering the scene whistles

such an infectious tune, inciting everything to get involved

with Maceo's lively spirit reincarnating the atmosphere.

All the biggest names in town are here to pay respects

to this awesome cosmic force making many a toe tap through the ages…

The Ivies, the Willows, the Sycamores, and the Hollies snack on sparkleberries –

wash it down with sweet magnolia wine;

sitting comfortably before a plush backdrop of Japanese stewartia and red flowers.

The spread, crawling with the rich, moving and vibing together in song, paints

a warm picture of dignity inside the wetlands. They are not too good

or too big to socialize in humble harmony with the likes of everyday people –

common folks, farm hands, multi-color collar workers, church goers, students, walkers, bikers, runners, environmental enthusiasts, peace seekers, spiritualists, and all colors

of the hue-man rainbow as it should decide to show itself.

Regulars such as the Rochesters, the Camps, the Lightners, the Revises,

the Currins, the Dorrsetts, the Joyners, the Daniels, the Andrews, and the Rowlands humbly impart to children of men the importance

of having such a place to experience quality music /

how in modern context the matrix code runs through rippling brooks,

busy as bees in search of sweet honey in the rocks

resonating from streaming audio bites of ambient sounds

entertaining a captive audience of abundant holly draped over stones,

beneath the resident Greenway bridge.

To see the code is to hear it; to be amongst it is to feel it;

to speak fondly the wonder of this place through ample visits —

speaking of its ancient lure, respecting its divine blessing of accessibility

by keeping it clean — is to dance joyfully with festive feet eternally

the improvisational way of true happiness and bliss discovered out–side of ones self,

yet in–side the comforts of universal connectedness revealed

when visiting the Walnut Creek Wetlands Park.

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.

Riverkeeper, Raleigh settle dispute over groundwater contamination at wastewater plant

Environmental advocates have reached a settlement with Raleigh over pollution at the city's Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant.



The settlement with the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation and Upper Neuse Riverkeeper follows two years of negotiations over excessive sewage sludge dumping at the plant, which resulted in nitrate contamination of groundwater. An investigation by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources found the city's Public Utilities Department violated permits, with Raleigh paying in 2001 and 2002 a total of $73,650 in penalties for 124 violations.

The sloppy operations resulted in the contamination of private drinking-water wells nearby, with affected households eventually added to the municipal water system. Drinking water that has high levels of nitrates can cause health problems including potentially fatal blue baby syndrome. High nitrate levels in rivers are also promotes excess algae growth, which can suffocate river life and create health problems for downstream communities.

In 2007, Raleigh's Public Utilities Department applied for a waiver related to the groundwater cleanup, but the Riverkeeper opposed the application. The department and environmental advocacy group have now resolved their dispute over the variance request.

The Riverkeeper says the department has taken "dramatic steps" to improve the physical plant and procedures at the wastewater facility, significantly reducing pollution discharges to the Neuse River. Given those improvements, the group has agreed to end its fight against the city's variance request.

"The City has negotiated in good faith and made some very positive changes in the past few years," said Upper Neuse Riverkeeper Alissa Bierma. "We now have a solution and a working relationship that will benefit the river long-term."

The state Environmental Management Commission will hold a public hearing next week on the variance request, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. It will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the Archdale Building at 512 Salisbury St. in downtown Raleigh.