Rockwall welcomes new Pettinger Nature Preserve with ribbon cutting

(ROCKWALL, TX — June 25, 2020) Rockwall Parks and Recreation hosted a ribbon cutting for the new Pettinger Nature Preserve – a 26-acre preserve located behind the Walgreens in north Rockwall. The project is named after the property’s owners Wesley and Hedwig Pettinger, who dedicated the land (nearly $700,000 in value) to Rockwall Parks and Recreation for the strict purposes of leaving it as a preserve where people could come learn about nature and enjoy local wildlife.

The preserve offers the perfect place for a peaceful walk among nature, complete with a mile-long trail looping inside the property and a beautiful butterfly garden installed by local Eagle Scout Chandler Robinson. Three outdoor education areas will be built for the preserve in the future. A total of 10 parking spaces are available on site.

The property borders Squabble Creek and is mostly forested with Pecan trees and Black English walnut trees, as well as a couple of meadows and a pond. Rockwall Parks and Recreation partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife and an urban biologist for Rockwall County to help inventory the wildlife found in the area through a free BioBlitz event held in 2017.

During the ribbon cutting ceremony, the Pettinger family was honored with a proclamation recognizing June 25, 2020 as Pettinger Appreciation Day in Rockwall.

By Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News. Photos courtesy Rockwall Parks and Recreation.

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