Located within Basswood Lodge Arboretum, Big Muddy Workshop Inc. (BMW) is celebrating its 25th year as a master planning, landscape architecture, and green infrastructure firm. Big Muddy's clients include government agencies, nonprofits, and regional and national architecture and engineering firms including Kenneth Hahn Architects, Wilkins Hinrichs Stober Architects, BVH Architects, JEO Consulting Group, S.E.H. Inc., HDR, Inc., CH2MHill, and Tetra Tech. Its staff of six includes four landscape architects, an interpretive planner, and an administrator. Three of the licensed landscape architects have LEED???(R)???AE???? BD+C certifications, and founder John Royster, FASLA, is also an Envision Sustainability Professional.

Falls Park, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The Falls of the Big Sioux River are an unexpected feature in the flat prairies of eastern South Dakota. BMW created a master plan for the City of Sioux Falls to spark the revival of this historic and dramatic park, attract regional tourists and residents, and support a rebirth of the city's namesake natural feature. After the master plan, BMW designed the park's pedestrian and vehicle circulation system to bring visitors "face to face" with the falls. The design includes river overlooks, quartzite stairways that blend into the natural rock, and picnic shelters, sited near the visitor center/viewing tower. BMW developed two additional master plans expanding the park to the north and west, and developed the interpretive master plan and exhibits located throughout the park. Falls Park received a Great Plains Chapter (GPC) ASLA Merit Award for Built Projects.

 

Elmwood Park Stormwater Diversion, Omaha, Nebraska
The Elmwood Park Stormwater Diversion incorporates a series of colored concrete weirs, bioretention gardens, native grass areas, and detention ponds to slow, cleanse, and infiltrate stormwater rather than using a system of pipes to quickly convey water downstream. BMW was the landscape architectural subconsultant to the engineering firm of Veenstra & Kimm. BMW led the preliminary identification of "green solutions," performed the analysis justifying the effectiveness of the stormwater diversion approach, designed the stormwater diversion system, and developed a post-construction stormwater management plan. The stormwater diversion reduced overall project costs by $500,000, and transformed an unused, turfgrass ravine into a park amenity that provides habitat for diverse urban wildlife. This project was awarded the Omaha By Design "Green Leaf Award" for preserving and enhancing the area's natural setting and the public park system.

Valley Park Natural Area Master Plan, Kansas City, Missouri
This park gets its name from a narrow, forested valley that cuts deeply into bluffs adjacent to the Missouri River. Kansas City Parks & Recreation asked BMW to develop a park master plan, and design new trails through this natural area. The work included sustainable soft surface trail loops and repair or removal of eroding paths. The master plan proposed a new trailhead, outdoor classroom, nature play area and two fully accessible trails. The city is having volunteers construct most of the trail system. Big Muddy trained city staff in sustainable trail construction techniques, and developed a trail construction and erosion control manual to be used in the field. Volunteers have now constructed a significant portion of the trail. The project received a Central States ASLA Planning and Analysis Merit Award.

Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trail, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Bellevue, Omaha, Blair, Nebraska
The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trail tells the stories of Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery, using wayside exhibits and sculptures in 16 parks and public spaces along a 40 mile stretch of the Missouri River. The trail has 32 interpretive exhibits, six of which include audio recordings. At nine sites, 10' to 14' tall concrete sculptures are adorned with original artwork. One site displays the Children's Lewis & Clark Artwall, embellished with permanent artwork created by 700 grade-schoolers living along the expedition route. In addition to master planning, site selection, project management, and wayside exhibit design, BMW's services included grant writing, website development, solicitation of children's artwork, and fundraising support. Awards include the American Trails' National Trails and the Arts Award, and a GPC ASLA Merit Award for General Design.

Spring Lake Park Green Infrastructure, Omaha, Nebraska
Including a significant green infrastructure component as part of a neighborhood-wide sewer separation project in one of Omaha's historic parks allowed the City of Omaha to win twice. First, re-introducing a lake and adding constructed wetlands resulted in over $6,000,000 of savings construction costs for the overall project. A series of Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) will improve stormwater quality, decrease stormwater volume and enhance wildlife habitat. Second, the project expands recreation opportunities in the park. The new lake, which is encircled by a walking trail, will provide accessible fishing opportunities for families in the low-to-moderate income neighborhoods surrounding the park. BMW and S.E.H., Inc. were subconsultants to Kirkham Michael on this project. The project, which received a Central States ASLA Merit Award for Planning and Analysis, is currently under construction, with completion scheduled for 2016.

OPPD Arboretum, Omaha, Nebraska
As part of its mission to encourage home and business owners to plant trees, the Omaha Public Power District asked Big Muddy Workshop to develop a 26-acre teaching arboretum adjacent to a substation, that would educate people on how to "plant the right tree in the right place." The arboretum's main collections form a series of outdoor rooms, with trees and shrubs grouped by size to allow visitors to compare different species. The arboretum includes an outdoor classroom, visitor orientation structure, native trees and shrubs, shelterbelt plantings, trail through adjacent forest, and interpretive exhibits. Awards include an Arbor Day Foundation Project Award and GPC ASLA Merit Award for Built Projects.