Secrest water garden rebuilt, reopened
Secrest Arboretum staff and visitors met July 12 to celebrate the reopening of the rebuilt pond at the arboretum water garden and the 60th wedding anniversary of Loretta “Letty” Nault, left, and Lowell “Skip” Gault, the sponsors of the garden.
On July 12 there was a gathering of Secrest Arboretum staff and visitors to celebrate the reopening of the rebuilt pond at the Secrest Arboretum water garden and the 60th wedding anniversary of Lowell “Skip” and Loretta “Letty” Nault, the sponsors of the garden. The original pond, built over 20 years ago, was not functioning well. The water was murky, and it leaking hundreds of gallons of water each week.
The ceremony was led by Jason Veil, curator of the Secrest Arboretum. He said unlike most major construction projects that often take many months to plan and complete in the arboretum, this one took less than three weeks, thanks to Oasis Landscaping of Mt. Vernon. The firm specializes in constructing backyard ponds.
Nault said the technology in the original pond was the equivalent of a model-T Ford, whereas the technology of this pond could be compared to a Ferrari. This ecosystem pond has a biological filtering system with sensors to monitor pond chemistry and other conditions.
The newly constructed pond features two waterfalls, sunken logs, submerged boulders, and a rock to stand on to observe the plants and the fauna including goldfish, koi and green frogs. The planting of aquatic plants in the pond and adjacent wetland and of background plants is still underway.
Skip Nault retired from the Ohio State University as professor of entomology and associate director of the OARDC for 36 years. Letty Nault is a retired science teacher who taught for nearly two decades at Edgewood Middle School. The water garden is a gift from them to the community.