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Oyster Shell Park will be part of a pilot program that will test a new international rating system for green landscaping. Selected by SITES, the Susatinable Sites Initiative, the plans to refurbish Oyster Shell Park will be among 150 sustainable landscape projects located in 34 states as well as in Canada, Spain and Iceland that will test the new system. SITES selected Oyster Shell Park based upon its extensive environmentally friendly elements including its ability to manage rainwater, said a statement issued by the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency.
We are looking at ways the landscape can be transformed using on-site water and native vegetation, said Susan Sweitzer, senior project manager for Oyster Shell Park. Plans for the park were designed by BSC Group of Glastonbury, Connecticut. A former landfill, the 25 acre park will be developed to create an environmental educational facility and a recreation area. The city is in the process of finalizing bid documents for the project and, if it remains on schedule, work will begin early in the summer, said Sweitzer.
SITES represents a partnership among the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Botanical Garden. The rating system will test the effectiveness of sustainable landscapes that can clean on-site water, reduce pollution and restore habitats while providing economic and social benefits to communities, said a prepared statement. The pilot phase will run through 2012. Data gathered from this portion of the evaluation will be used to revise the final rating system in 2013.
This is a tribute to your work and to your design team, Mayor Richard Moccia said to Sweitzer.
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