Indian Springs Metropark’s James Clarkson Environmental Discovery Center earned the American Society of Landscape Architects’ 2008 Honor Award for excellence in landscape design.
One of eight awards out of a field of more than 300 entries from around the world, the 90-acre center showcases Michigan’s environment, with more than 60 acres of ponds, wetlands, and prairies within restored and created native ecosystems.
Trails wind along a sedge fen, tall- and short-grass prairies, a prairie barren and a demonstration garden with native Michigan plants. More than 30,000 plants, including 40 varieties of wetland species were planted, and nearly 60 acres were seeded with a mix of native prairie seeds to create the ecosystems.
Site construction began in December 2001 and it opened in 2004. It was designed by landscape architecture firm MSI under the direction of the Huron-Clinton Metroparks planning, engineering and natural resources departments.
Indian Springs Metropark in Springfield Township near White Lake is a 2,200-acre park encompassing headwaters of the Huron River. Facilities include a regulation 18-hole golf course, picnic areas, eight-mile paved hike/bike trail and a nature center.
The discovery center has received eight other awards from American Society of Landscape Architects, Midwest Region American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Engineering Society of Detroit, and American Institute of Architects.