An abandoned quarry suffering from years of neglect, dumping, and overgrowth transformed into a refuge from the city streets. Geneva Cliffs is an urban wild site that contains a system of wooded trails, an outdoor classroom/gathering space, open space for stargazing and community events, and interpretive exhibits to spark the imagination with a geological theory and local urban myth. Roxbury Puddingstone is a regionally dominant conglomerate rock found on the site and utilized for site features and exhibits. One large puddingstone boulder was sawn and polished to serve as a bench and display the beauty and texture of the rounded aggregates. An inscribed plaque describes a theory that this rock was formed 600 million years ago on what is now the west coast of Africa and explains how continental drift forms a geologic bond between these two distant lands.

Interpretive exhibits have been planned to encourage outdoor activities and community events. Graphics depicting the phases of the moon have been inscribed into stainless steel plaques and embedded into salvaged granite curbs. These curbstones are set vertically like monuments and arranged along a circular path to represent the moons orbit around the earth. At the center of this circle visitors will find the “constellation-scopes.” These sculptural telescopes allow daytime visitors to look through cut-out constellations back-lit by the sky.

This degraded landscape had been overtaken with invasive plant species which were selectively removed and replanted with native species to increase biodiversity. The natural topography was sculpted to create a retention pond to collect and let drain storm-water runoff from the site. Biodegradable erosion-control mat is used to stabilize slopes and establish a restoration seed mix including Fescues, Annual Rye-Grass, White Clover, and Little Bluestem to re-vegetate the disturbed areas.