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March 9, 2009

Expansion will double size of Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park

T. J. ROYAL

The second development phase at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park broke ground Friday, and when done it should "double" the size of the world's largest waterfowl reserve.

Sylvan Heights Executive Director Mike Lubbock said the second phase would be done by the end of the summer.

Scotland Neck Mayor James Mills called the Waterfowl Park "a great achievement" for Halifax County and Eastern North Carolina, one that "has proven to be a positive (addition) in the community.

"It's interesting to note that Sylvan's expanding where everything else in the economy is declining," Mills added.

Since it opened in October 2006, Sylvan Heights Board of Directors Chairman Walt Sturgeon said the park has welcomed 40,000 visitors and has been a "tremendous engine for the economy" of Halifax County and the area.

Lori Medlin with the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau said that she believes "the world is going to be at (Sylvan Heights') doorstep" because of demand for attractions in the state that are "new and different."

"This is it," Medlin added.

When the park's second development phase is completed, Lubbock said it will add the first wheelchair-accessible tree house in North Carolina, Lubbock said. There will also be an interactive area, where children can feed some of the parks' 1,000 birds that are on public display, he said.

The tree house will be raised around 14 feet off the ground, as Lubbock said it will provide a view of the three different stages of wetland that waterfowl and other animals inhabit in the world.

By adding on the three stages of wetland area to the park, Lubbock said it would "enhance (the park's) education and outreach program terribly well."

The "only way" that wetlands can be preserved that are crucial to the survival of the worlds' waterfowl species "is through education," Lubbock added.

Brent Lubbock, Mike's son and Sylvan Heights membership and development projects manager, said that even the restroom area of the second phase would be outfitted with an aquarium.

He added that once the second phase was completed, it should double the size of the preserve.

While 1,000 birds are on display to the public, the park also has 1,500 additional birds that Mike Lubbock has bred throughout the years. The park also does not feature just waterfowl, but also has a collection of birds ranging from turkeys to toucans, a 6-foot-tall Emu named Emma to a green-billed Cape Barren Goose named Matilda.

Mike Lubbock extended thanks to the state Department of Justice, The Rural Center, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, The Cannon Foundation and The Conservation Fund, all of whom contributed more than $320,000 to support the park's new expansion and wetland education program.

He also thanked the N.C. Zoological Society for its help establishing the preserve and its continued support, as well as The Golden LEAF Foundation. Lubbock also singled out Robert Partin, former Scotland Neck mayor and member of the preserve's board of directors, for his efforts to establish the preserve.

Lubbock has been breeding waterfowl from his Scotland Neck breeding center since 1989, providing preserves and zoos around the world with birds. The park opened its doors to the public in October 2006.

The park, one mile north of Scotland Neck on U.S. 258, is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for children and seniors, and a one-year membership with unlimited trips to the park is $30.

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