Flowing over four miles through the heart of Pensacola, Carpenter Creek and Bayou Texar comprise a large urban watershed dotted with beloved landscapes core to the city’s ecological and cultural history. For two years, SCAPE collaborated alongside team lead WSP (formerly Wood) with Escambia County and the City of Pensacola to develop a long-term watershed management plan. The plan addresses key risks affecting the watershed today—pollution, erosion, flooding, and disconnection from adjacent communities—funded primarily through the post-Deepwater Horizon RESTORE Act.
Following an extensive in-person and virtual engagement process with residents and stakeholders, the team developed a series of recommendations for 15 potential restoration sites. The recommendations ground each of these sites in the Creek’s cultural legacy and enhance its open space potential through trails, water access, and other programming opportunities throughout its length. Three catalytic projects were identified that combine these goals at potential pilot sites, including the site of Jenny’s Swimming Hole—a social hub for Black Pensacolans during the Jim Crow era—where interpretive features, installations, and other engaging landscape elements can educate visitors about the site’s history and lead them down to the restored creek edge.
Finalized in December 2022, the plan also outlines methods for monitoring the various proposed restoration projects over time, identifying potential funding sources for each.
Learn more:
Client
- Escambia County, Florida
- City of Pensacola, Florida
Collaborators
Wood
