On the Boardwalk

Project gives researchers better access to Rocky River Nature Park wetlands

By Cameron Cook

Choirs of frogs sing as the still marsh waters teem with life underneath your feet, each step echoing as you walk on the Rocky River Nature Park’s new wetlands boardwalk.

The 600-foot boardwalk spanning a key section of wetlands provides visitors with a better view of the wetlands as well as easier access to the area for researchers.

The nature park is an approximately 200-acre tract off Old Williamston Road near the main Anderson University campus. It is owned by AU and managed by the Rocky River Conservancy, a private non-profit organization that aims to preserve the natural beauty of the wetlands.

Completion of the boardwalk was one of the longterm goals for the park, said Tom Kozel, a retired AU professor of biology who has overseen the project.

Tom Kozel

Photo by Cameron Cook

Kozel said the boardwalk was built for about $100,000 and to the highest quality so it will not only function well but also blend in with the environment. Even the curving and bending of the boardwalk was designed so that boardwalk would create as little disturbance as possible, he said.

Along with the boardwalk, the AU and the Conservancy has also completed other projects including an outdoor classroom and an elevated perch that helps visitors experience the nature park.

Photo by Cameron Cook

The boardwalk at the Rocky River Nature Park snakes 600 feet through the park’s wetlands.

Photo by Robert Reeves

The new wetlands boardwalk at the Rocky River Nature Park provides researchers and visitors with the ability to observe the wetlands up close without disturbing the fragile ecosystem.

(Photo by Robert Reeves)

(Photo by Robert Reeves)

(Photo by Robert Reeves)