About this Sacred Place
Stillmeadow Community Fellowship and its PeacePark are situated in the heart of the Beechfield and Irvington neighborhoods in southwest Baltimore City, Maryland. Through this 10-acre forest the Stillmeadow Community Fellowship seeks to provide a beautiful and meditative space for their community, a habitat for birds and other wildlife, and an educational experience for those who visit on the benefits of onsite management of storm water conservation and other sustainable landscaping. Stillmeadow is ecologically unique as it hosts 3 distinct forest types on site. The US Forest Service is working with Stillmeadow Community Fellowship on a series of test plots to assess regrowth and reforestation capacity. Much of the site is very steep and therefore inaccessible, so part of the design work included finding ways to make portions of the site more accessible to those with limited mobility.
Nature Sacred and Stillmeadow Community Fellowship have embarked on a community centered master planning project for the PeacePark with intentional nodes and areas of discovery, including a contemplative setting for the Nature Sacred bench. Through the master planning process, we brought together an ever-growing list of partner organizations collaborating with Stillmeadow on this site, and conducted a number of small-group “meanders” through the site to familiarize community members with the space and to invite them into it.
The final masterplan reviews the origin of the idea for a PeacePark, the need for a masterplan, the existing physical and ecological conditions of the site, the community engagement process. This run-through gives people a more in-depth understanding of what was feasible to incorporate into the design at the PeacePark, why and how the process evolved as it did, and what guided the core themes of the masterplan. Then, the masterplan details 5 areas, selected through the engagement process, that will be designated as Sacred Place ‘nodes’ within the larger Sacred Place of the PeacePark, and notes the design intention for each one. Last, the masterplan outlines various stewardship plans and priorities, such as reforestation, signage and education, accessibility and universal design, ongoing maintenance and stewardship (including the Nature Sacred Firesoul Network), and volunteer priorities.
The Gateway will be the heart of Stillmeadow PeacePark, comprising the visitor’s center, outdoor classroom, demonstration garden, a place for quiet reflection, and a place for play. As conversations evolved with the stakeholders, it became obvious that a central location, welcoming and accessible to all, is needed to serve as a place to orient people to their visit to the PeacePark. Whether they are there to volunteer, take a walk in the woods or to attend a meeting or social event, the Gateway will be the place where visits begin. Because the site is so sloped, it was very important to make the Gateway accessible to those who may not be able to access the steeper parts of the park. The Gateway experience starts at the
entrance to the church, providing accessible parking and a level space for informal community gatherings. Across the drive from the parking terrace is the entrance into the demonstration vegetable garden. Here, raised beds, trellises and walls will highlight the growth of food crops, providing fresh food and the opportunity for hands on gardening for the community. An artistic, nature-inspired portal provides a transition between the “human” space outside the threshold and the “natural” space inside the PeacePark. Within the threshold, the gathering space is captured within natural stone walls and a natural stone terrace, both which incorporate native plantings to create a calming and nurturing environment. Movable seating for children and adults provides maximum flexibility so that this space can be used for both intimate conversation and formal presentations. Further up the slope, a stairway from the gathering space leads to a nature play space, intended to provide children and adults an opportunity for imaginative and spontaneous play. On the opposite side of the path is the meditation area, surrounded by native planting and set aside from the more active areas.
Design Team:
Zolna Russell, Nature Sacred Design Advisor, Floura Teeter Landscape Architects
Jon Gemmell, landscape architect, Floura Teeter Landscape Architects
