// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Wheeler Nature Park say to the trail? "You're wheel good.
| Wheeler Nature Park | |
|---|---|
 Wheeler Nature Park in South Burlington looking eastward. | |
 Interactive map of Wheeler Nature Park | |
| Location | Intersection of Dorset Street and Swift Street in South Burlington, Vermont |
| Coordinates | 44°26′36″N 73°10′35″W / 44.443222°N 73.176383°W |
| Area | 119 acres (48 ha)[1] |
| Created | 1992[1] |
| Operator | City of South Burlington Recreation & Parks Department |
| Website | Wheeler Nature Park |
Wheeler Nature Park is a 119-acre park (48 ha) located in South Burlington, Vermont that hosts hiking trails and a natural area, as well as a 14-acre parcel featuring the historic Wheeler/Calkins House and the Wheeler Homestead Community Garden comprising garden plots, a children's' garden, and a tree nursery. A 1.5 acre off-leash fenced-in dog area also exists on the property. Originally purchased by the municipality in 1992, the natural area of the park consists of grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, and mixed forest.[2] The historic Wheeler/Calkins House located onsite was listed within the Vermont State Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1993 (listed as property #562).[3]
Wheeler Homestead
[edit]The Wheeler Homestead includes community gardens, a childrens' garden with a small pavilion, and the historic Caulkins House (historically known as the Fletcher House, constructed in 1903) which currently houses Common Roots, a community agricultural and food education non-profit.[4][5]
The National Gardening Association occupied the Wheeler Homestead from 2003 to 2013, leasing the original 14 acres and the farm house from the city for $1.00 per year. The lease allowed the NGA to conduct a capital campaign to restore the farm house as office space, the establishment of decorative gardens, and for the allowance of community gardens.[6] According to their Vice President Elizabeth Métraux, the NGA had spent over $450,000 on improvements to the city-owned property.[7]
Park history
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According to a study conducted by the Archaeological Consulting Team, Inc. in 2003, Native American activity dating between 5,000 to 7,000 years prior had been identified in the form of projectile points found within the park.[8] The first European-American who settled the property and constructed the original farmstead was Rufus Crossman, circa 1800. Over the next century the majority of the land had been cleared for agriculture where a smaller natural forest stand remained, most likely cultivated as a sugar bush for maple syrup. Aerial photos taken in 1937 indicated four structures, including a large barn existed on the northwest corner of the property.[9]
In 1999, the City of South Burlington acquired an additional 100 acres to be preserved as natural area and for use as passive recreation.[6]
On February 22, 2011, the South Burlington City Council voted to name the natural area as "Wheeler Nature Park", based on a 2010 unanimous recommendation from the South Burlington Natural Resources Committee (SBNRC) that had deliberated other historically related names, including Crossman and Calkins. "Wheeler" was considered most reflective of the property's heritage, due to Herman H. Wheeler who had constructed the three-story brick farmhouse on the property in 1903. Wheeler had served as the city's Town Clerk, Treasurer, and as a representative to the Vermont Legislature, where for a some time the farmhouse served as Wheeler's office. The Wheeler family maintained ownership of the property for nearly 40 years, before Rena Calkins purchased the property in the mid-1940s.[1][9]
On December 6, 2011 the City of South Burlington voted to exchange 7.25 acres of the Park for 21.27 acres of adjacent land (i.e. “the leg”) then called the “Wheeler Nature Park Connection Parcel”, which increased the park to approximately 119 acres.[10] The referendum called for the City Council to commit the Wheeler Nature Park into a third-party conservation easement. The City hence revised the management plan over the next four years.[1]
In December 2015, the city council honored the aforementioned 2011 ballot by initiating the process to commit the 119 acres into a conservation easement.[2] Soon after, the council convened the ad hoc Wheeler Conservation Easement Task Force which held a public meeting on June 16, 2016 to begin development of what would turn out to be an eight-year long process that eventuated an agreement, where the city would continue its ownership and management of the park under the constraints of a permanent conservation easement held by the Vermont Land Trust intended to keep the park open for outdoor recreation, education, and other community uses; while protecting the park's biodiversity, wildlife habitat, water resources, forest, and fields.[11]
In 2022, a fenced 1.5 acre dog park was constructed along the northwestern terminius park at an estimated cost of $55.000.[12][13]
Ecology
[edit]The roughly 35-acre (14 ha) inner forest area primarily consists of white pine, sugar maple, and hardwood trees including shagbark hickory established within dolomite, Vergennes clay (VeC), and glacial till soils that with a high pH value are ideal for their habitat.[14] Other soil types found within the park include Covington silty clay (Cv), Farmington-Stockbridge rocky loam (FsC), less-sloped Vergennes clay (VeB), and Farmington extremely rocky loam (FaC).[8]
Within the forest, there is a stand of over one-hundred sugar maples which are regularly tapped in the months of March and April. As it is situated on a hillside, gravity does much of the work to carry the sap to the collection buckets. The University of Vermont conducts a sustainability course that has used the sugarbush for a maple sugar production practicum.[9]
The park's 65-acre (26 ha) open space consists of shrubland, wetlands, and streams that are tributaries of Potash Brook which flows into Lake Champlain.[14] The early successional habitat (ESH) areas in Wheeler Park comprise the two categories of open fields and shrublands. Of the areas of young forest/shrubland cover, there is an estimated 18-acre (7.3 ha) habitat, where open fields cover an approximate 8-acre (3.2 ha) area dominated by grasses and forbs such as aster, goldenrod, and milkweed.[15]
Gallery
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Eastward view of Mount Mansfield from field of Asters in Wheeler Nature Park.
Parking area signage at Wheeler Nature Park
Northern view of the Fletcher-Caulkins House in 2017. Originally constructed in 1903 as the "Fletcher House".[3]
New England Asters at Wheeler Nature Park in October 2022.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 SE Group (6 December 2016). "Wheeler Nature Park Strategic Conservation Framework" (PDF). South Burlington, Vermont: City of South Burlington Wheeler Conservation Easement Task Force. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
- 1 2 Jonswold, Miranda (22 June 2016). "Conservation Easement Task Force Identifies Elements, Values, and Uses for Wheeler Nature Park and Homestead". The Other Paper. Stowe, Vermont: Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC.
- 1 2 "Online Resource Center (listing) HSSS #0414-21". State of Vermont - Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
- ↑ "Facilities: Wheeler Homestead". South Burlington, Vermont: City of South Burlington. 2026. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- ↑ "Common Roots: a Vermont nonprofit providing Food Equity, Food Education, Organic Farming". South Burlington, Vermont: Common Roots. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- 1 2 "Wheeler Nature Park: A Community Treasure". South Burlington, Vermont: South Burlington Land Trust Inc. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ "National gardening group leaving South Burlington: Association stays in Vt". NBC5. South Burlington, Vermont: Hearst Stations Inc. 7 January 2013.
- 1 2 "Wheeler Nature Park Management Plan". South Burlington, Vermont: South Burlington Natural Resources Committee. May 2015.
- 1 2 3 Park History (Interpretive signage within the park). South Burlington, Vermont: City of South Burlington Parks & Facilities.
- ↑ Lenox, Katie (1 December 2011). "December 6 Vote to Determine Charter Changes and Land Swap". The Other Paper. Stowe, Vermont: Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC.
- ↑ "South Burlington conserves over 100 acres of Wheeler Park". The Other Paper. Stowe, Vermont: Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC. 12 December 2024.
- ↑ McDonald, Corey (November 23, 2022). "City gets brand new dog park: Farrell Park still a ruff patch". The Other Paper. Stowe, Vermont: Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC.
- ↑ Kahrs, Lee (6 June 2019). "Wheeler Homestead dog park approved by council". The Other Paper. Stowe, Vermont: Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC.
- 1 2 "Over 100 acres protected at S. Burlington's Wheeler Nature Park". Montpelier, Vermont: Vermont Land Trust. 16 December 2024.
- ↑ Fowle, Margaret; Kain, Katherine (October 2020). "Wheeler Nature Park Property Bird Habitat Management Recommendations" (PDF). Huntington and Essex Junction, Vermont: Audubon Vermont and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
External links
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- Official website City of South Burlington, Vermont: Wheeler Nature Park