schools
Jesse Turner
Raleigh School Commons
Raleigh School Commons
public garden
Jesse Turner
Discovery Trail at Toledo Botanical Garden
Discovery Trail at Toledo Botanical Garden
schools
Jesse Turner
Follow the Child Montessori School
Follow the Child Montessori School
institutions
Jesse Turner
NC Museum of Forestry
NC Museum of Forestry
public garden
Jesse Turner
Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden

Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University is home to the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden. Jesse Turner is proud to have been the landscape architect and lead site designer for this exciting public garden.

Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden

institutions

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Nature Trail for All at Woodend Nature Sanctuary

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Woodend Nature Sanctuary in Bethesda, MD is a valued asset in the local community. It serves as an event center, a conservation advocacy hub, a woodland park for daily use, and houses many environmental science programs for kids. The property is also home to a forest kindergarten and preschool, where kids spend the majority of their time outdoors in nature. When Lift[ED] began working with Woodend, the property was over run with invasive species and the trails were washed out and inaccessible to many visitors. Our goal with the Nature Trail for All is to create access for as many users as possible. We applied accessibility standards for parks and open spaces to our design, creating gentle slopes and firm surfaces for trails. Along the trails are a variety of resting areas that nestle visitors into plant communities. Our project removed all of the invasive species along the trail and nearby wooded areas, restored a perennial stream, and created a boardwalk that has access to the open water for science based programs such as dip netting for aquatic life. We worked with The Center for Watershed Protection, providing design guidance for accessibility, ecology restoration, and aesthetics. The entire trail and landscape is transformed into a place where Woodend can more deeply engage all users in the restorative power of nature.

Nello L. Teer Building Landscape

Completed in Spring 2018, the landscape renovations for the Nello L. Teer Building create a lush environment in a previously overgrown area. This site, like many older landscapes, was stricken with invasive exotic English Ivy, Chinese Privet, and a host of other non-beneficial plantings that eventually became unruly and served no valuable function. In response to this, we prepared a multi-layered planting design that creates a "green mulch" to discourage erosion and infestation of weeds. Native and ornamental shrubs provide accents throughout this shady place, creating seasonal interest and habitat for local fauna. 

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The Pond at the North Carolina Museum of Art

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The Pond at the NCMA is both a recreational facility and an ecological system. The project is a combined BMP that includes bio-retention, constructed wetlands, and open water to create multi-phase water treatment feature. Paths are designed to fit within the overall NCMA trail system and weave around the pond as part of the “Blue Loop”, a program sponsored by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation of NC that encourages exercise. Accessible paths weave through the lush landscape, allowing visitors to enjoy the plants and wide open space. 

Jesse Turner, PLA, ASLA Lift[ED] Director, was the Project Manager for the initial installation while working at another firm. During the first five years of growth, some of the plant life in the upper terrace fell into disrepair due to a lack of maintenance. In 2015 Lift[ED] was contacted by the NCMA to provide follow-up design services to renovate the upper terrace of the bio-retention area, with the goals of creating a planting scheme that provided water quality benefits and easy maintenance.

The pond at the NCMA has been studied by North Carolina State University’s Stormwater Engineering Group and found to be effective at increasing water quality. This was achieved by allowing water during various rain events to filter through bio-retention terraces that are filled with vigorous native plants. In turn, these plants provide habitat for a multitude of naturally occurring species such as red tailed hawk, crayfish, and many pollinator insects for a low impact, high result solution. 

In addition to design services, Lift[ED] coordinated with local volunteers, including a dedicated group of retiree volunteers, and the public at large to better understand ongoing maintenance needs. Lift[ED] conducted meetings to gather feedback and developed a management guidebook that assists volunteers in understanding how to care for the landscape effectively.

Biological Sciences Pollinator Garden at Duke University

Located on Science Drive, across from the Bryan Center, the Biological Sciences building is an older brick building that had a landscape comprised of overgrown invasive species, many of which were exotic introductions from a quickly fading horticultural philosophy of purely ornamental values. Our plan for this stately campus building is to rejuvenate the landscape and create a large pollinator garden to compliment the biological sciences being studied inside. Students, faculty, and staff will be able to step outside and be surrounded by a layered landscape comprised of native perennials, shrubs, and trees. 

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Discovery Grove at The North Carolina Museum of Art

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The Discovery Grove is a nature based play area to be constructed in the existing woodland behind the Joseph M. Bryan, Jr. Theater in the NC Museum of Art Park. The grove will incorporate universal design principles and sensory garden concepts to engage a broad user population including those with all manner of abilities and mobility constraints. The woodland area where the grove will be constructed is approximately 2.45 acres, allowing ample space for the grove to accommodate visitors. The grove will expand on the NCMA’s mission to explore the intersection of art and nature by engaging directly with underserved populations, families with young and school-age children, formal, and non-formal educational programs. Unlike other areas of the park, the grove will promote interaction, exploration, and manipulation through a series of carefully selected features that exhibit and highlight the relationship between nature and art. This grove is for a variety of types of learning styles but uniquely offers tactile engagement targeted towards heightening the senses, exciting the imagination, and inspiring further discovery.

Moroccan Courtyard Details

We worked with Achva Stein, under her direction and expertise, to provide design details for the Moroccan Courtyard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This amazing project was an opportunity for us to work on an important cultural and historic part of the museum.

NC Museum of Forestry

The North Carolina Museum of Forestry in Whiteville, NC is a satellite facility for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. In 2014, we assisted the museum team with re-visioning the existing facility entrance and landscape. Our goal is to create a vibrant compelling landscape that brings new life to the streets of Whiteville, a town that has seen low economic growth and is in a period of revitalization.