new Doodle Park

PICKENS — Pickens officials have announced the Duke Energy Foundation recently awarded a grant for $13,000 to create a sensory rain garden at the Pickens Doodle Park.

The new Pickens Doodle Park, set to have its grand opening around Memorial Day 2018, is designed around five themes, which include being a downtown connector, promoting active living, promoting healthy living, remembering local history and being environmentally friendly. The grant will focus on the environmentally friendly theme and aims to keep rain

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water on site while showcasing environmentally friendly practices that enhance the park facility.

“The city council and city staff are working tirelessly to ensure that the Pickens Doodle Park is one of a kind — one that can accommodate all needs,” mayor David Owens said in a news release. “It is grants like these that help to make our ideas and dreams a reality.”

A rain garden is a storm water feature which uses plants to allow rain water to soak back into the ground. City officials want to provide a hands-on learning experience for the children and families who visit the Pickens Doodle Park, therefore the sensory rain garden will include elements that will enhance the five senses. The garden will be home to plants that a person can touch, taste, or smell; a sensory pathway made of wood, stone, etc. to experience different textures under their feet; outdoor musical wind chimes for their hearing pleasure; outdoor play elements; and educational signage marking the different plants and how to interact with them.

“We value partnerships like this that show our communities the importance of environmental stewardship while creating hands-on exhibits to enhance those lessons,” Duke Energy government and community relations manager Emily DeRoberts said.

The city of Pickens has been able to leverage several different state, federal and private grants to create the Pickens Doodle Park. With the help of the South Carolina Recreational Trails Program Grant, South Carolina Department of Commerce Community Development Block Grant Program Grant, Appalachian Regional Commission Grant, EPA Brownfield Cleanup Grant, Pickens County Accommodations Tax Grant and the Duke Energy Foundation Grant the park is set to open in May 2018.

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