Parks & Gardens Updates

If you've visited some of our county parks lately, you may have noticed some changes and new additions.  Parks & Gardens staff has been hard at work making improvements to our parks in order to better serve the community.  Recently completed projects include a new playground at Snows Cut Park and a new kayak launch at Pages Creek Park Preserve.  

Projects currently in progress include:

-Veterans Park Tennis Court Resurfacing

-Gold Star Memorial at Hugh MacRae Park

The Gold Star Families Memorial Monument is to honor Gold Star Families, preserve the memory of the fallen, and stand as a stark reminder that freedom is not free.  New Hanover County is honored to be placing a Gold Star Memorial at Hugh MacRae Park.  The monument will open with a ceremony on September 24th.  

-Pickleball Courts at Northern Regional Park

The sport of pickleball is becoming more and more popular, so we are adding pickleball courts to Northern Regional Park!  We are currently in the process of turning the two tennis courts at the park in Castle Hayne into six pickleball courts.  We expect completion later this fall.

-Kings Grant Park Renovations

Work has begun on a makeover of Kings Grant Park!  We took all the feedback from the survey conducted in February and the park is getting a new basketball court, playground and picnic shelter this fall.  Crews have already started removing the old basketball court to make room for the new court.  After completion of the new court, we will begin working on the picnic shelter and playground.  The old picnic shelter in the woods will be removed and the new shelter will be built in a better, more visible location next to the playground. 

The following projects are scheduled to begin in August:

• New Playground at River Road Park
• Ogden Skatepark Repairs
• Converting Veterans Park Orange Field to Full-Sized Rectangular Field
• Adding Lights to Murray Middle School Rectangular Field
• Ogden Park Baseball Infield Improvements

Visit Parks.NHCGov.com or follow us on facebook for more information and updates on these projects and more!

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Geocaching

August 18th is International Geocaching Day!  Haven't tried geocaching?  Then you're missing out on a fun way for the entire family to get outdoors and explore New Hanover County!  Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game that uses handheld GPS-enabled devices (like smartphones) to find geocaches (containers) hidden in different locations.  There are currently over 50 geocaches hidden in our parks!  Click here to learn more about geocaching and our Parks & Gardens Geo-Challenge
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Workshops at the Arboretum

Do you want to learn about the many facets of gardening in the Cape Fear Region?  Then check out the "Back to the Basics of Gardening in the Southeast for Homeowners" workshops!  The following classes will be held from 6-8pm at the Education Center at the Arboretum:

• Aug 6th- Soil and Compost
• Aug 13th- Vegetable Gardening
• Aug 20th- Talking Turf
• Aug 27th- Proper Planting and Placement

Individual classes are $10 and pre-registration is required.  Call 798-7660 or visit the NHC Arboretum to register.  Click here for more information
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Summer Butterfly Releases

There are three more opportunities to attend a Butterfly Release this summer at Airlie Gardens!  On Tuesdays, August 7th, 14th & 21st, Airlie educators will be in the Butterfly House from 2-3pm to give a talk on butterfly life cycles and the types of butterflies in the house that week.  After that, butterflies will be released.  In case of rain, the program will take place inside the classroom.  Free for Airlie Members and included in garden admission for all others.  More Information
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