Chandler Veterans Oasis Park is a $22 million multiuse reclaimed water recharge facility developed for the City of Chandler. The site is approximately 113 acres and includes 30 acres of water recharge basins, a police substation, and a community environmental education park that includes a 10,000 square foot Environmental Education Center. Logan Simpson’s landscape architecture team was responsible for all phases of landscape, hardscape, and irrigation design, including construction administration. Park improvements included an amphitheater, park area with ramadas and natural play features, outdoor classroom spaces, and a lakefront plaza. The landscape architecture design includes development of several habitats to support wildlife, including upper Sonoran Desert, riparian forest, wetlands, chaparral, and specialty gardens to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Logan Simpson also designed interpretive signage panels for the Howard Israel Solar System Memorial Walk within the park. The walk moves visitors clockwise around the lake, following a series of markers that mirror the solar system. Each marker includes informational imagery and statistical facts. By utilizing each marker’s reference point, the observer gains a better understanding of the size and spacing of the planets in relation to the sun. Howard Israel was an astronomy buff who taught classes about the night sky at the park’s Environmental Education Center.
Visit the City of Chandler website for more information about the park. Maps of the Howard Israel Solar System Walk and the park are available. The City of Chandler’s Environmental Education Center even has a Facebook page.