Blue Wall Center

The Blue Wall Center sits within the mixed hardwood forest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The original site was cleared and used as a camp, and its soils became compacted so severely that they had the physical properties of concrete. SCAPE worked with a diverse team to develop a biotic soil matrix and forest the site so that it will grow over time to reveal specific habitat “rooms,” setting the stage for the development of a regional environmental education center. The site is planned to be a forest preserve, art park, education center, eco-retreat, and rural event space. Each program-driven outdoor “room” focuses on an individual microclimate and reveals details about the Blue Ridge Mountain’s unique flora, fauna, geology, or hydrology while emphasizing the surroundings’ historical, cultural, and ecological influences. Today, native meadow seed mixes and small caliper trees are growing to regenerate the landscape section, and will be thinned in the future to create garden rooms that amplify regional ecological interactions often invisible or inaudible in the forest.