Three years ago, as a way to celebrate Wylde Center's 25th Anniversary, we launched a $2.89 million capital campaign to raise money for four of our five gardens so that we could optimize the way we show up for the community and offer even more educational programming for children and adults. Plans for updates to the gardens began before the pandemic, but as many stories go, the plans were put on hold as we navigated in a new reality.
The past two years, the Wylde Center staff and Board of Directors have prioritized funding to execute the much needed improvements in our gardens. In November 2024, we completed the addition of rain gardens and bioswales to the Oakhurst Garden in order to mitigate the regular flooding. We had a major rainfall after Hurricane Helene and can confirm that the garden improvements worked!
The most involved project of all was renovating our 75-year-old duplex that was barely functional--no heat or air, tiny rooms, and energy-wasting windows and doors. Construction began April 2024 and was completed in November 2024, providing guests with ADA-compliant access to the garden, ADA-compliant bathrooms, as well as energy-efficient construction and appliances. In fact, we are very proud to be EarthCraft certified!
As a result of the improvements, we are excited to welcome even more visitors to our flagship garden. In 2025, we are expecting a total of 40,000 people to come explore nature in our gardens with their beautiful plants, trees, and wildlife. Plus, with more accommodations available our educational programming can grow. Oakhurst Garden will be the field trip hub for Wylde Center in 2025!
Donate to the Capital Campaign
Although the biggest pieces of construction at the Oakhurst Garden are complete, the capital campaign is not yet over! We are working hard to stock our shelves with every day and program-specific supplies.
Additionally, we are still seeking funding for the Mulberry Fields and Hawk Hollow projects. We have made a lot of progress, but there is still just under $1 million left to raise. Can you help?
Overview of Wylde Center Improvements
Oakhurst Garden is a 1.5 acre greenspace located in one of the most densely populated cities in Georgia. It was created in 1997 and is the oldest of Wylde Center’s gardens. It was established to create a place for children in the community to explore nature and to grow and prepare produce they had grown.
The focus of the work being completed at this site as part of the capital campaign will be on the transformation of our 1950’s structure into an education center to better meet the demands of our growing education programs including field trips, camps, weekend scout programs, and afterschool programs. In addition, the beautiful new space will support our events and volunteer program. Every year, more than 3,000 students and 500 volunteers visit this site for field trips and service work.
To address the increased rainfall and flooding at the Oakhurst Garden, a series of engineered rain gardens and bioswales will be installed.
Hawk Hollow is a 1 acre garden located in Atlanta's Kirkwood neighborhood. In 2012, the original two overgrown lots were donated to Wylde Center. Over the last 11 years, Wylde Center staff and volunteers have transformed this site into a shady meadow featuring native flowers, trees, and shrubs. Every year, more than 1,000 students for field trips and 500 volunteers for service work visit this site.
In the early phase of this capital campaign, Wylde Center was able to acquire two adjacent parcels to Hawk Hollow thus doubling the size of this neighborhood garden.
A pavilion will be added featuring a screened in area that will provide shelter for the visiting students where currently there is no shelter available. The pavilion will also reduce the incidences when a program has to be canceled due to pending weather. Once built, the pavilion will allow us to expand our program outreach to scouts and new school partners.
Mulberry Fields is a 1.5 acre garden located in the heart of Atlanta's Candler Park neighborhood. Established in 1999 and came under Wylde Center management in 2016.
Named after a beloved goat of times past, Mulberry Fields is an acre of open meadow, mulberry groves, flower gardens, and towering old pecan trees. It offers an accessible greenspace for recreation, environmental education, community building, and organic growing. A haven for urban wildlife, the garden also shelters neighborhood hawks, owls, bluebirds and a variety of woodpecker species. Present-day Mulberry Fields was once part of a late 19th century dairy farm.
The focus of the work being completed at this site as part of the capital campaign will be systems to manage the flooding and erosion taking place during more frequent and intense rain showers. Wylde Center is working with a landscape architect and civil engineering firm to redirect the rainwater into a system of rain gardens that slow down water runoff, reduce onsite flooding and erosion, and alleviate pressure on the City of Atlanta’s stormwater system.
Edgewood Garden is a .5 acre garden located in Atlanta's Edgewood neighborhood. The garden was created in 2009 and came under Wylde Center management in 2012 with a focus on engaging the immediate community with this important greenspace. The garden was renovated in 2015 and in 2017, a community center was added. This garden is visited each year by 1,000 students and 300 volunteers.
The focus of the work being completed at this site as part of the capital campaign will be to reinstall the rain harvest system that will be used to irrigate the gardens on site. In addition, the building was made program ready with the addition of a fire panel.
In 2023, we successfully added a community garden adjacent to the Edgewood Garden. The beds are free and are now offering 16 families the opportunity to grow food where before there was not an opportunity. In addition, our key partner for this project, The Zeist Foundation, will be donating the Edgewood Garden and building to Wylde Center by year's end.
