The Azalea Place bridge features natural beauty at the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center.
The Kreher Preserve and Nature Center (KPNC) is reinforcing a beloved landmark. The Azalea Place bridge, built more than a quarter century ago by the founding Kreher family, faced safety and structural concerns. Today, it is receiving long-overdue attention and love thanks to a generous donation from the Frank Allen and Louise K. Turner Foundation.
The KPNC sits just north of downtown Auburn, Alabama, and the Auburn University campus. It hosts thousands of people each year for recreation, environmental education and outreach opportunities. It is also home to the state’s first and only First Class Pre-K nature preschool. Its origins date back to 1993 when Louise Kreher Turner and her husband, Frank Allen Turner, donated approximately 119 acres of forested land to the Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) to create a nature preserve and a beacon of environmental education. Miles of hiking trails connect the many features of the KPNC including creeks, a pond, homestead and pavilion.
“The area surrounding this bridge is called Azalea Place,” said Michael Buckman, KPNC manager. “In the early years of the KPNC, Louise Kreher Turner identified this spot as a particularly beautiful and serene place—a place of peace. She and the volunteers of the time, among them Margaret Holler, Karni Wilson and Jane Bell, who all still volunteer today, planted many of the native understory plants in this area, including native azaleas. This is how it got its name. It is a special place where you can see a lot of rare native plants at different times of the year. The bridge and the bench just added to the beauty of the space.”
The bridge on the Azalea Place trail serves as a crucial thoroughfare for connecting trails on the east side of the property. However, during the last 25 years, the bridge has lost structural integrity because of erosion and the subsequent widening of the stream. It is no longer of sufficient length to span the creek, making it unusable for visitors. Perhaps the final straw for the bridge occurred when a large neighboring tulip poplar fell next to it, further worsening the issue.
Several attempts have been made to repair the bridge by KPNC volunteers, some of which are retired CFWE faculty members. Despite those efforts, the elements became too much for the bridge to weather, and it was deemed impassable. Today, a generous gift from the foundation gives new hope that it can soon be replaced.
Alesia Davenport, current president of the Frank Allen and Louise K. Turner Foundation, is excited to be able to provide the needed resources to a place that she holds dear. This new, safe crossing is now within reach thanks to the philanthropic endeavors of Davenport and the foundation. The new bridge will be durable, long-lasting and able to withstand future weather events. The foundation’s gift will provide the materials needed for KPNC volunteers to redesign and construct this new crossing.
The original Azalea Place bridge shows sign of structural damage after a tulip poplar falls nearby.
“This renovation is critical to ensuring the safety of visitors and preserving the structure and surrounding trail which has served our community for decades,” said Buckman.
The new bridge is being constructed with the oversight of civil engineers who will approve the design. A new, arch-style construction will place the weight bearing farther away from the stream banks, enabling the bridge to more than double in length and be lighter than before. To mitigate the environmental impacts of the new bridge over time, the stream banks will be outfitted with erosion control measures that will, in turn, create suitable habitat for native plants and wildlife.
According to Buckman, the fallen tulip poplar still resides, though cut back, and has been a popular place for children, and children-at-heart, to climb and play.
“During the next five years, we plan to raise funds for forest management across the KPNC, and Azalea Place will be among the top priorities,” he said. “The Turner Foundation’s generous support for this new bridge will lay the foundation for restoring one of Louise’s, and in fact all of our visitors, most treasured spaces here at the KPNC.”
Janaki Alavalapati, the Emmett F. Thompson Dean of the CFWE, also shares his gratitude toward Davenport and the foundation for their gift.
“This generous gift from the Frank Allen and Louise K. Turner Foundation to reinforce the bridge at the KPNC is more than an investment in infrastructure—it’s a powerful affirmation of our shared commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Alavalapati. “This preserve holds the hearts of so many people in our community, and thanks to this support, it will continue to inspire and connect people with nature for generations to come.”
