During my time working as a Park Naturalist I used my artistic skills in many ways to create fun and engaging programs for our visitors, and tied it into education about the native wildlife species and habitats you could find there. My largest endeavor, however, is actually one inside a little building at the rustic Magnolia Springs State Park in southeastern Georgia. While I worked there I ended up with a fantastic Park Manager who decided that the little-used building next to the beautiful natural spring needed a little splash of color.
Historically this park had a small aquarium that was open to visitors to come see native species of fish and the occasional baby alligator on display. Due to budget issues and other difficulties the aquarium was eventually shut down, and the building has since been in such disrepair that there is no hope for re-opening. Locals in the area are nostalgic for their aquarium, and would often ask park management when and if it would ever be restored. In order to fill this void and hopefully improve upon it, management decided to create a new nature center. This would provide education and enrichment to the park visitors, and help to ensure a lasting love for the native wildlife and natural habitats.
Plans had already been made prior to my arrival to turn the old group shelter into the Nature Center, and that was one of the main reasons why I had been hired and brought all the way from California. Original plans for this center included lots of live animals such as native snakes, turtles, and fish. But creating a new nature center takes funding, and seeing as the state budget for this small but wonderful little park was limited, the new manager who came in thought if nothing else she could purchase a little paint and let me do some murals inside to start us off.
Well when someone gives me a direction and free reign to come up with ideas, I tend to go a little overboard... much to the suprise of everyone around of course. But with the manager's blessing we hatched a plan to showcase the four main habitats on the park, and I began to sketch it out.
From there I started to scale it up on the walls themselves, paying particular attention to the perspectives at which I thought people would be viewing it. Which was challenging for sure, and took me some time since we're talking about a full 360 degree viewing canvas where people can freely walk about inside it. I ended up compromising a lot, and there are now certain spots where if you stand there the mural closest to you will line up perfectly and the seams for the walls and ceiling seem to disappear, leaving only massive life-size trees and deep perspective landscapes.
Being it's a small building I wanted to open up the feel of the place, so I spent a lot of time in the beginning working on making it feel larger than it really was. This was my first attempt at something so large and with such a depth of field to it, so I had to do a lot of research and testing at home on my off hours. My intent was to get the walls to fall away and leave the viewer looking far into the distance, searching for hidden wildlife and interesting things (as you would while walking in nature). Whether I accomplished that essence is up to each visitor to see for themselves.
I have not been the only one to work on this project. We have had volunteers from all over come assist me and the manager in creating our physical displays and interactive stations for the kids. The most fun for me to design being the beaver lodge and alligator burrow displays, complete with real beaver-chewed logs and a realistic alligator head poking up out of the mud. The volunteers did a fantastic job putting together the wood in a way that hid the original cabinetry we built them out of, and clearly represents how a beaver's home is constructed. We got the cabinets donated from an old golf course gift shop and they had been just sitting, waiting for a facelift. The new direction for the Center gradually became an immersive experience with lots of exploration stations designed specifically for kids of all ages.
Of course we still have our live animal ambassadors, and have brought them out many times during the building's construction to give guests and even large groups of visiting school children a glimpse of what's to come.
As I continue this project into the latter half of the second year I have moved on to the most difficult part for me, the deep forest habitat. Striking a balance between being overgrown with thick vegetation to show the natural density of the habitat and not being downright claustrophobic has been quite the challenge. Going layer by layer trying to keep a sense of depth within this section is a monumental task. But I will persevere because I can envision the children and families who visit every year spending time under these trees I am creating, enjoying fun activities and being inspired to go explore the forests themselves.
Once this section is complete the landscape base will be complete and I will finally get to move on to the fun stuff - the wildlife! I envision showcasing many of the 350 different species that co-exist within the gopher tortoise burrows in the mural above Mercedes' indoor playpen. (See more information on gopher tortoises) I see images of hidden wildlife all over the building murals and tucked along with the physical displays, with fun scavenger hunts in the future for many kids and families on rainy days. I want to paint native wood storks in the wetland habitat on what we affectionately call the "bird wall" - a section where as you look out through the large windows towards the spring you can take up a pair of binoculars hanging on the wall and identify birds flying by or wading in the water. I can't wait to paint the aquatic wildlife that live in the spring, and I am excited to attempt the rippling water reflections on turtle shells and fish. This will be my favorite part and it motivates me to keep going despite the long hours of cramped necks and shoulders, and feet from balancing on ladders! But in the end it will be worth every moment spent, and the dream is that my passion gets through to others in my artwork and inspires them to help protect these iconic habitats.
The new nature center gives me hope for the future of this beautiful and underrated park. Magnolia Springs is a jewel in the middle of far reaching agricultural lands, and those lucky enough to discover it find a little of everything they could want in a park. Beautiful native habitats, a natural spring that flows year round, good camping, unique and interesting historical features, and abundant activities to do to enjoy the outdoors. It is my honor to help create yet another addition to this park, and long after I stopped working as the naturalist here I still strive to volunteer as much as I can to complete this project, and I enjoy giving back to the park that brought me to my new home in Georgia.
Stay tuned for updates on the Nature Center project and it's grand opening date in the near future! If you would like to donate to this project or the many otherspecial projects at the park in general you can in-person at the Visitor Center, at the Friends of Magnolia Springs State Park website (the donate button on the left side of the page, under the reservation link will direct you to that specific park), or by mail at their Contact Us page.
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Thanks for reading, cheers!
Cori
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