MANSFIELD — Kingwood Center Gardens executive director Josh Steffen jokes the duck pond is “sacred” to Mansfield residents and Kingwood visitors.
“It’s not just about ducks, it’s about your connection to Kingwood,” Steffen said. “When people think of Kingwood, they think of the ducks and peacocks — and oh yeah, there’s the mansion.”
Steffen said renovating the duck pond was on his to-do list since his first week on the job last June. Kingwood staff celebrated the duck pond’s reopening with its board members and community supporters Friday.
Duffy Carto, chairman of the board at Kingwood Center Gardens, thanked the multiple attendees and the organizations that helped landscape and organize the refurbishment.
“Everybody helped contribute to make this project happen, which is another big step in the transformation of Kingwood Center Gardens toward growing its future while honoring its past,” he said. “The only thing we’re lacking right now is some ducks.”
The pond has new concrete in its original shape, with a brick path around the pond that connects to other walking paths. It still has coin-operated corn machines for visitors to feed the ducks.
Kingwood paid for the whole project from its own budget, including new concrete and a biofiltration system.
“A little bit of the money was leftover from the gateway capital campaign but the vast majority of this was funded by the trust,” Steffen said. “The trust won’t be able to do all of the projects, so there will be future need for support.”
Steffen said Kingwood will officially welcome ducks back to the pond in the spring, but he doesn’t know if Kingwood’s original ducks will return. The ducks relocated to a staff member’s family farm when renovations started and Steffen said they might be comfortable there.
“I won’t make that decision, I’ll leave that to my staff,” he said. “If they want to come back, sure. We’ll probably select some breeds and bring back more domestic ducks.”
The ducks’ return will test the new biofiltration system. The system will use plants to break down solid waste and naturally regulate the water’s nutrients.
“We’re showing how the power of plant material and the power of wetlands have a natural ecosystem function,” Steffen said. “That’s what we call green infrastructure — a more sustainable way of dealing with black water.”
Steffen said there are essentially three ways to treat and clean pond water — through a wastewater treatment plant, on-site treatment or organic treatment with water released back into the natural systems. Kingwood is trying a combination of on-site treatment and organic treatment.
“We will try to rely more on nature and more passive systems,” Steffen said. “It might be a good case study to look at how you can deal with water issues.”
For future Kingwood renovations, Steffen said staff will look toward landscaping the property to be more cohesive, specifically by adding benches and a path around the whole pond.
“It’s even more guest engagement by being able to cycle around behind it,” he said. “We want to make the space relates and fits with what the rest of the space is.”
Steffen said he was encouraged by the number of guests attending the duck pond reopening ceremony.
“I didn’t realize how special this was for people, but it’s deeply embedded in the community,” he said.
