CITY OF LAKE WALES – The pollinator and sculpture garden, located across the street from the library, has a new name: Oakley Park.
This park is named in honor of Lynn and Tommy Oakley, owners of Oakley Transport in Lake Wales. They have served the community in many ways over the last 30 years. Oakley Transport Inc. donated $100,000, expanding public art and further beautifying Lake Wales, which will enhance the quality of life in our historic downtown for generations to come. An additional $49,000 was awarded to the city by the T-Mobile Hometown Grant Program to fund the project. City Manager James Slaton said, “This pollinator garden is a huge component of our ‘City in a Garden’ concept.”
The City’s horticulture team has been working on this park for over a year: the soil was prepared, the irrigation system was updated, and pollinator plants were carefully curated to attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. Agriculture students from Roosevelt Academy, under the direction of their Ag teacher Ray Cruze, donated some of the plants in the garden. Security fencing, enhanced lighting, and a newly paved parking lot were also part of the project. Public artwork has been installed to enhance the beauty of this space including a butterfly topiary on the Park Avenue side of the park and a kinetic sculpture on the Crystal Avenue side. “In the coming year, you will see more outdoor artwork added to the garden as part of the City’s public art program,” said Stephanie Lutton, parks and recreation director.
