BRIARWOOD ESTATES

Avery C allen

Briarwood Estates which is a family roleplay community that as some amenities like Evergarden Equestrian, Briarwood Mounted Police, and the biggest the Briarwood Wildlife Refuge which is on one of their seven sims. Briarwood Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge within Second Life. It is one of the very first wildlife refuges operated by Briarwood Estates and in Second Life. The refuge protects more than 14 acres of marshes, lakes, grasslands, and woodlands. Here you will find deer, red foxes, horses, donkeys, black bears, cows, and many other great animals!

I was visiting Briarwood not knowing what to expect when seeing a Wildlife Refuge in Secondlife. I did not know something like this could exist, so I was pretty excited to take a look around. It didn’t take long to rez in. I was on this gorgeous dirt path that had white picket fences and a donation box. It was honestly one of the most surreal but relaxed atmosphere I could possibly think of.

After I explored for a bit, I got to sit down with Frankie Foxpaws, the owner of Briarwood to ask him some questions about these amazing sims that he has created and continues to work on.

The first question I had to ask is, “Who are you in this amazing world of Second Life?”

Frankie’s answered, “I am just a creative soul who really enjoys that aspect of Second Life. In addition to owning Briarwood Estates, I also own Magnolia Hill Artistry & Design, a landscape and interior design company. I joined SL in 2008 and quickly fell in love with not only landscape design but sim design and interior design as well. Admittedly, landscape and sim design are my absolute passion within SL though. I have spent all of my second life doing one or the other and have never grown tired of it. It brings me my greatest joy inworld.”

I stared in disblief as I listened to Frankie with all the history he had going for him in creating these amazing sims, so my next question was a no brainer!

I asked, “Wow, you have a great resume there. So, why is Briarwood important to your vision in Second Life?”

Frankie smiled and answered, “Briarwood is important to my vision in Second Life primarily because I am able to not only create, but nurture and grow a community that either shares a similar vision or appreciates the vision of making meaningful connections that I have. The sense of community can often get lost inworld and that is something that I would like to help counteract. While I get a great deal of satisfaction from being able to flex my creative muscles with designing a sim from start to finish over and over, I really enjoy connecting with others within the community, forging new friendships and collaborating with others on projects within the community as well as with other communities.”

I smiled listening to him again, “I’m glad you found meaning to create Briarwood here in Second Life, I can tell a lot of heart went into this wonderful sim and I’m sure into the estate it self. So, why did you create the Briarwood Wildlife Refuge with Briarwood?”

Frankie nodded proud of Briarwood, “The wildlife refuge came about because I wanted to begin creating areas within the community that current residents as well others who may not prefer to live in a residential community can enjoy as well, without having to reside here. I went over a few ideas and finally settled on the Wildlife Refuge.” that, I love coming to roleplay sims even if I don’t live there. I think it’s fun and can give different experiences to those who want experiences like this.” She shifted a little bit, “Still on the topic of the refuge, what has the Wildlife Refuge done in terms of bringing awareness to the grid?”

Frankie smiled giving his best answer in knowing the refuge was still a new project, “The Wildlife Refuge is still very new and what I view as a passion project that is ever evolving. Currently, we have been adding in informational kiosks on the current animals that we have on display on the sim. These kiosks list information such as the species, their diet, and also includes if they are endangered or not. One fun thing that happens at the Wildlife Refuge is actually a scavenger hunt of sorts that one of the managers of Briarwood Estates, Meaarcane Resident started. She owns Little Goslings Daycare with in the community and creates these super cute little pictures of flora and fauna species and hides them around the refuge for her kiddos to find as an activity. Each picture you find will give you information/facts about that flora or fauna species. On average there are 6 hidden pictures for each hunt. This has been a wonderful and fun addition to the wildlife refuge. For anyone who would like to do one of the hunts, there is a poster attached to the information board at the landing point of the refuge. Currently the hunt underway is the Ladybug hunt!”

I smile and laugh a bit, “Hunts on a refuge sim? Wow! That’s got to be the most fun ever. I might have to come back and check that out.” She grinned giggling, “Does the Wildlife Refuge support any real-life charity?”

Frankie answered, “The Wildlife Refuge does not currently support any real-life charity. That is something that I would definitely be open to exploring if or when the sim started to fully support itself financially.”

I nodded, “I understand that and agree fully. My last question for you is what are some of the future plans for the Wildlife Refuge?”

Frankie smiled with excitement in his voice, “I didn’t realize that I would have future plans for the Wildlife Refuge until about a week or two after I finished it. The more I explored it and the more I spoke with visitors, the more I have been inspired. It is currently a homestead which limits a bit what I can do overall. So I would love to eventually be able to upgrade the sim to a full sim and add in more animals as well as more in depth landscaping. There will be another sim coming that will be an extension of the Refuge to some degree. It will have the same feel of the wildlife refuge and house animals as well but in addition to that it will also have some cabin or cottage type rentals and a few camping locations. I am hoping to break ground on that within the next few weeks and really look forward to it.”

I smiled listening to the expansion plans, “Wow! Well, Frankie I can’t wait to see the future for the Briarwood Wildlife Refuge sim and would love to see it when you full finish upgrading it when that time comes! It seems like it would be a perfect spot to have a home. Thank you so much for your time!”

Frankie smiled back and nodded, “Thank you.”

After the interview, I looked around once more taking in the aesthetics of the sim. I smiled knowing what Briarwood Wildlife Refuge could become and open so many doors for people who are looking for a fun family day adventure. Briarwood Wildlife Refuge should be visited by everyone as it subliminally also brings awareness to the real life refuges and has replicated it beautifully on the virtual level.