Richard Rucker has been a instrumental part of the Barn Raising Project team.  Richard is a jack of all trades when it comes to nature and property management.  Here is Richard’s Bio:

Richard Rucker is a Wildlife Biologist, Realtor, and Property Management and Design Consultant.  Richard was Vice President of Sparks Farming, Inc. (SFI) from 1986 through 2006.  With SFI, Richard was in charge of wildlife, timber, and general property management issues on 30,000 acres of farm and recreational property in the Mid-South owned by SFI.  His duties there included coordinating all aspects of farming and recreational property management, including designing various erosion control systems, working with various government agencies, coordinating farm-related government programs and permits, and real estate acquisition for the company.

Richard has coordinated site evaluation and landscape feature construction on a variety of personal estates and residential developments throughout the Memphis area with several professional firms, including Looney, Ricks, Kiss Architects of Memphis and Ben Page & Associates, a landscape architectural firm in Nashville, Tennessee.  He has overseen design and construction for numerous lake projects and various earth-moving and earth-sculpting projects.  He specializes in property acquisition, water management, water features, lakes, streams, road design, building site evaluation, aesthetic evaluation of properties, erosion control, forestry and wildlife management and any other property management and ownership issues.

 

Richard is helping Andy and I as we move forward with getting the property in the best possible shape.  He is teaching us a lot about managing a large piece of property.  For example: how to open up views into the forest, get rid of privet, locate new roads, make trails, and take care of trees.

The entire HFH staff has enjoyed working with Richard over the past year and we look forward to his future help.

One crazy fact about Richard is that he used to live at a Ranger’s Station in the Arkansas Mountains as he tracked Bobcats as part of his PHD work.  So this dude is the real deal!  Thanks Richard for blessing Habitat for Hope with your knowledge!!

This picture is showing a stumped Richard last April during our Master  Planning Design Workshop. He did not know what kind of tree he was  looking at.

Well 2 weeks ago he was out at the property and he told me he finally figured  out what kind of tree it was.  I forgot what the name is, but man…he couldnt  get that tree out of his head for a year!  This is the kind of passion we look for  in our consultants!!!

The Chapel

The location of the chapel and the reasoning behind its inclusion is no afterthought. In fact, we vision this to be a highlighted area drawing individual, family, and group experiences. Secluded by a natural tree line, the observer will find themselves overlooking a beautiful valley opening surrounded by natural splendor. An ideal place for quiet reflection, worshipping God in solitude, joining in family prayer, or to celebrate new beginnings.

Below is a rendering of the Chapel area.

The next area featured from our Master Plan is Village Lane.

Village Lane will be a peaceful area where families can retreat to the solitude and privacy of their cottage or sit on their porch and watch the kids play as they carry on conversations with other families passing by.  Village Lane is home to 8 cottages with three distinct lot types as seen below.  These cottages will be constructed to minimize clearing and to protect forest cover. Cottages will feature views of the forest, crescent green, fishing pond, and The Commons.  The Commons is a smaller private park for the families staying in the cottages.  This park consists of a playground and is anchored by a pavilion equipped with an outdoor kitchen where residents can gather for cookouts and other family oriented activities.