Dunwoody Park Stream Restoration Honored for Environmental Stewardship
When the City of Dunwoody set out to restore Dunwoody Nature Center, the goal was simple but ambitious: fix years of erosion, protect a fragile ecosystem, and improve the park for the community.
The center had experienced notable erosion throughout its stream reach, at stormwater outfalls, from pedestrian use, and from failing in-stream structures left over from a previous restoration project.
Freese and Nichols, working alongside the City of Dunwoody and Lowe Engineers, provided design services for environmental enhancements that incorporated stormwater/stream/wetland improvements, a boardwalk and reinforced educational opportunities throughout the park.
The team focused on a low-impact or a “surgical approach” for stream restoration and wetland improvements. This approach aimed to resolve areas of instability with minimal impact on existing functional streambanks and allowed the City to incorporate stormwater improvements while focusing on park improvements.
By defining specific work areas and leaving unimproved sections down to precise stationing, the design minimized the project’s environmental footprint on the Nature Center, preserved a significant number of trees and enhanced post-construction aesthetics compared to a typical restoration site.
For this thoughtful, innovative approach, the City of Dunwoody, Lowe Engineers and Freese and Nichols received a State Award in the Environmental category for the Dunwoody Nature Center Improvements project at the 2026 American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia Engineering Excellence Awards.
The design for park improvements at the Nature Center included an extended boardwalk to observe Dunwoody’s aquatic resources, an outdoor classroom and repair of stream and wetland issues.
The team developed a construction package for stream and wetland improvements that aimed to solve areas of instability with minimal impact on existing functional streambanks. Stabilization required the installation of a rock toe, reconfiguration of existing in-stream structures, installation of log vanes to redirect flow and bank grading. Invasive plant species were removed from existing wetlands, and native vegetation was planted to support the habitat restoration of the native forested wetland.
