Blue Ridge Discovery Center Landscape Design

The Power of Natural Plant Communities in the Designed Landscape

by Devin Floyd
January 1, 2020

Piedmont Discovery Center’s Devin Floyd played a pivotal, foundational role in the landscape design, master planning, and ecological direction of the Blue Ridge Discovery Center (BRDC) campus in Konnarock, Virginia. Among the things that resulted from this process were two large detailed landscape architectural designs rendered in graphite. They included dynamic and detailed planview and section drawings that solidified the direction of the development and campus you see today.

Did you know that Devin was the co-founder of Blue Ridge Discovery Center (along with Scott Jackson-Ricketts)? Indeed, Devin, an archaeologist, naturalist, illustrator and restoration ecologist, came up with the idea of BRDC and PDC. He was BRDC’s first president and director and provided visionary leadership to establish BRDC’s values, mission, and organizational bedrock. Devin led the organization from 2007 to 2012 under a mission to “Inspire People to Explore, Discover, and Share the natural history of the Blue Ridge Mountains”, but was forced to step away by extenuating life circumstances. Six years later BRDC pulled Devin back into the strategic planning fold in order to help it get to the next level of capacity on a new campus in Konnarock, Virginia. 

Devin was recruited and hired to ensure the unique discovery-oriented energy and environmental education expertise that underpinned the founding of BRDC would form the basis for a master planning process. Additionally, he was tapped for his knowledge of Blue Ridge Natural History, ecological restoration, and landscape design. What ensued was a planning and design process that the people of Virginia and beyond have come to know through the environmental service work of sister organization, Piedmont Discovery Center:

1. Biodiversity assessment of the planned development area (understand before you tinker)
2. Landscape-scale planning and design that melds interactive natural plant community exhibition and restoration with education, recreation, and utility 
3. Presentation of the plan to the board of directors, and subsequent approval
4. Implementation support

BRDC undertook an expansive master planning process that included a residential education facility, campground, amphitheater, field station, and visitor center— Devin ensured the design honored the remarkable and unique natural history of the Mount Rogers / White top mountain region of the Blue Ridge. His philosophy prioritized building an environment that treats the landscape not as something to merely manipulate, but as a dynamic tool for conservation and public biodiversity education. 

Key elements of his design work on the campus include:

• Storm Water Management, Stream Buffering, and Education: Designing features like rain gardens and wetlands that serve a dual purpose: acting as outdoor classrooms for students while actively managing stormwater runoff – filteringthe center’s rain runoff before it flows into the sensitive montane streams nearby. 
• Ecosystem Modeling:  Utilizing natural, resilient, and locally-adapted ecosystems as references for how to plant and maintain native exhibitions, galleries, and gardens. 
• Habitat Connectivity: Laying the groundwork for grounds and habitat restoration, including native forests and wetlands designed to handle accessible interpretive trails.
• Recreation Integration: integrating natural elements into joyful experiential and recreational focal areas to facilitate passive learning around Blue Ridge natural history (e.g. amphitheater, physical recreation areas, wetland hopping stones, bridges, and dents needed plantings in high traffic areas, etc)

During the assessment phase, Devin’s ecological eye as a restoration ecologist, archaeologist, and field naturalist allowed him to identify some key components for development and preservation. For example, tiny remnant patches of beaver wetland were noted, complete with all of the typical plant constituents growing in an area that had been converted to a flat campground landscape. By recognizing that the land’s underlying hydrology was naturally built to be a wetland, he shifted the master planning conversation toward ecological rehydration and rewilding. This discovery allowed BRDC to lean into the true natural history of the site, utilizing beaver-inspired wetland restoration to manage water naturally while providing a rich, active ecosystem for visiting students to study. 

Devin’s biological assessment of BRDC land holdings resulted in an inventory, classification, and mapping of existing natural plant communities. Devin worked with his partner, Rachel Floyd, to do regional plant community analyses to identify the exact plant species that should be planted in all of the unique niches of the campus. While some areas were set aside for strict conservation and passive biodiversity education use, other areas would be heavily planted and restored. Devin and Rachel also worked with BRDC staff to find sources for the thousands of native plants that would need to be introduced.

Visit Blue Ridge Discovery Center to experience this dynamic landscape! blueridgediscoverycenter.org