BREC will hold six community meetings to collect input from residents across the parish on the proposal to create the first of its kind regional park at Greenwood and to find a more sustainable location for the Baton Rouge Zoo. The BREC Commission will vote on taking the next step in the process at its regularly scheduled meeting August 24 at 5 p.m.
BREC in partnership with Friends of Hilltop Arboretum and the Bartram Trail Conference dedicated a Bartram trail marker in memory of Fred G. Benton Jr. on Friday, June 9 at 6 pm. The trail marker indicates a portion of the route taken by William Bartram, America’s first native-born naturalist artist. Bartram recorded animal and plant life during a four-year trip crossing several southeastern states between 1773 and 1777. The trail marker is located at BREC’s Airline Highway Park at 17200 Airline Highway and Bayou Manchac. The trail marker was dedicated in memory of Fred G. Benton Jr., who was a Bartram Trail supporter and a civic leader in the Baton Rouge Community. A plaque was unveiled in his honor with many of the Benton family in attendance.
Following the public unveiling of concept plans to create the first regional park in the BREC system at Greenwood Park, which will involve the relocation and development of a state of the art Zoo in a more sustainable location of East Baton Rouge Parish, BREC will hold a public meeting where residents can weigh in on the proposed plans, hear a presentation from Superintendent Carolyn McKnight, submit questions to BREC staff regarding the plans, and provide comments for BREC’s consideration.
BREC recently completed construction of new amenities at Kathy Drive Park located at 1801 Kathy Drive. The public is invited to attend a ribbon cutting on Saturday, April 8 at 10 a.m. immediately followed by a host of recreational and fun activities until noon.
Six months after the historic flood, CSRS Consulting Group gave the BREC Commission an update on ongoing efforts to repair and reopen buildings damaged by storm waters. While 22 buildings suffered damage, many of them are restrooms and maintenance buildings.
This year the Highland Road Park Observatory (HRPO) celebrates its 20th anniversary of “brining astronomy to the people.” The Highland Road Park Observatory is brought to the public by BREC, Louisiana State University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society and held its first public night in the Fall of 1997. The observatory houses a state-of-the-art 20-inch reflecting telescope, which has been used to discover more than 40 asteroids, and an accessible 16-inch reflecting telescope.
BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight received the 2016 National Distinguished Professional Award at the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Annual Congress and Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri.
A major expansion is on the way for one of BREC’s oldest and busiest parks, Howell Community Park, located at 5509 Winbourne Avenue.
The Recreation and Park Commission for East Baton Rouge (BREC) as a finalist for the 2016 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.
The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) is mourning the death of Commissioner John Taylor.
The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) will celebrate Black History Month on Feb. 19 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Independence Park Theatre, 7800 Independence Blvd. This event is free and open to the public.