Here’s a rundown of the amenities and experiences that await you at Big Oak County Park:
◘ The picnic pavilion, clearly visible from Route One, was completed at a cost of roughly $80,000 by in-house County Parks Division forces and jointly funded by the DNREC Land and Water Conservation Trust Fund (DTF) and Levy Court. It provides 14 large, National Park Service Standard ADA picnic tables and four charcoal grills beneath a 4,000-square-foot pavilion roof. This facility, as with all Kent County Parks facilities and lands, may not be reserved for any exclusive use by any group or individual. Picnicking in the pavilion is available to all park visitors on a shared basis only.
◘ The youth play structures are deceptively larger than they may appear from Route One. A large climbing boulder measures 20 feet X 8 feet X 9 feet, 6 inches high and is the largest public youth climbing boulder in Delaware. Fall protection surfaces around this, and all Kent County Play Structures comply with federal standards for the protection of children from fall injuries.
◘ A 35-foot tall rocket-shaped play structure is intended for use by 5- to 12-year-olds (we are watching you Moms and Dads and older siblings!). It is also the tallest non-fee; free-standing youth play structure in Delaware, as well as the only such rocket by this manufacturer installed east of the Mississippi. A smaller tot play environment is intended for 2- through 5-year-old use. Separating the individual structures into fall-protected zones by about 75 feet offers an uncongested area in which incompatible activities such as picnicking and noisy youth play can co-exist.
◘ A large open field area is available for small group games and other youth and family activities. Landscaping of larger hardwood tree species native to the Coastal Plain of Delaware can be found throughout these recreation areas. They were funded by the County with the assistance of the Delaware Department of Agriculture and a local nursery donation. The play structures were jointly funded by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Kent County Levy Court and installed by the County Parks Division.
◘ The un-named headwater stream on the property is a tributary to Mill Creek and finally to Duck Creek and the Delaware Bay. The forested floodplain corridor is a modestly disturbed example of riparian habitats that endure throughout the County Growth Zone from which our main stem streams and rivers derive their source.
◘ We have preserved this stream corridor by armoring it with a perimeter hiking pathway and designated it a demonstration conservation site. It has been adopted by the Delaware Native Plant Society as a wetland management area. The trail presents the visitor with twelve interpretive signs, offering an informed sense of place in the Delaware coastal plain.
◘ The trail’s wetland boardwalk and stream crossing is the largest helical anchor pathway demonstration in Delaware, displaying a non-disruptive construction piling technique that supports an elevated crossing roughly 500 feet in length. Parks Division staff framed this remarkable amenity during the hard winter of 2004 on frozen ground, removing all site-disturbing activities by March 15, prior to the emergence of sensitive wetland vegetation. Part of the trail exposes walkers to a restored riparian floodplain whose geometry was re-created by excavation of fill materials and re-planted with native shrubs and trees. This is an exceptional place to visit during all four of Delaware’s seasonal variations.
◘ A major public restroom and maintenance building was completed for the Grand Opening in September, 2006. These facilities were constructed by Kent County and jointly administered by Community Services, Parks Division and the Department of Public Works. At an overall cost of slightly more than $300,000, these new facilities duplicate the public restroom features found at the County’s central park in Camden, Delaware; Brecknock Park. The O & M section of this structure was designed for Parks needs only, while the restrooms will be maintained by Kent County for joint use by DASEF and County Park visitors year-round, from dawn until dusk.
◘ A 9-acre recreation field was completed in the spring of 2005 and is open for soccer and other small group uses. This is located in the southeast corner of the Park next to the County’s new 60-space asphalt parking lot. To the immediate north of this recreation sports turf field is a 3-acre upland and constructed wetland mosaic that duplicates the functions and values of high quality emergent habitats lost by development and other land uses throughout the County. This habitat was the source of nearly 10,000 cubic yards of extracted fill needed to grade the recreation fields. Tours of this habitat will be available upon request.
◘ The recently completed 90-space parking lot was constructed by the firm of George & Lynch and was landscaped by Kent County Parks Division.
Planned Improvements to Big Oak County Park:
◘ With survey, design and engineering assistance of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kent County has designed a youth ball field complex to be constructed on the north side of the stream conservation corridor. Construction is not planned for completion and public use until Spring of 2009.
◘ Upwards of 2 miles of walking paths are in the planning stage for construction and public use by the Summer of 2009.
