The Lake Toxaway Nature Park is a private park for the Lake Toxaway Estates community. Lift[ED] worked with stakeholders for three years in an intense, engaging, and fun design process to provide a park that engages all ages and nestles carefully into a woodland of native rhododendrons and other native plants. Our services for this project included participatory design workshops, conceptual design, schematic design, construction documentation, fundraising assistance, construction administration, and ongoing engagement through annual inspections.

This is a special project for Lift[ED] because owner and director Jesse Turner grew up in the area, working with his family landscape design and installation business. As a child, Turner was at his father’s heels working for homeowners in the Lake Toxaway Estates development. His school bus in elementary school often stopped at the entrance to the development where he got off and went to work with his dad instead of going home. He grew up in an enriched environment full of nature, people working together towards common goals, and landscape design. Later on he received a scholarship from the Lake Toxaway Garden Club for college, and continued to pursue his passions with the support of his community.

This park is a way of saying thanks and an opportunity for Turner to bring his design skills home. The Nature Park is the first age-inclusive family park in the development and we are happy that we are able to make it all about playing in and being surrounded by the stunning natural context that makes the area special. The park has already been filled with visitors and nature-based programs for kids have already begun. It is with great pride and pleasure that we share this unique place, and we are grateful to the Lake Toxaway Community Association for trusting us to deliver something that serves the entire community.