By Tricia Cherry —
Recently, a presentation was held in the meeting room of the Conservatory on the Miami Hamilton campus titled “Bringing People to Art in Nature: Pyramid Hill.” The speaker, Stephen Smith, is a graduate of Miami’s class of 2003 who now works as an employee of the park.
Pyramid Hill is a sculpture park located “just a few minutes from us,” said Deidra Jacobsen, a professor of environmental biology and plant diversity at Hamilton. Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum was founded on forty acres of land in 1987 by Harry T. Wilks, for whom Wilks Conference Center in named, to build his home, The Pyramid House.
Over time, Wilks began acquiring adjacent pieces of land, which he cleared to build hiking trails, man-made lakes, and roads. Today, the land stretches over 470 acres. It was his wish to preserve the land for the future, and this inspired him to create a non-profit sculpture park that combines the beauty of nature with artwork, fully accessible to the public.
In 1997, Wilks’ non-profit organization wanted to preserve this land, to protect it from developers, and he had the land officially designated as a public park. Now, the park is also home to wildlife such as white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, turtles, a wide variety of birds and fish, and a roving fox who can be spotting occasionally. There are also rumors of bobcats, but attendees were told to take that with a grain of salt.
The park hosts a variety of programs and activities for visitors, such as a wellness program featuring meditation, the Japanese art of “forest bathing,” dance, and more. As detailed on their website, the park hosts annual season events such as their famous winter light shows, and there will be an Art and Nature Day this coming Earth Day, April 25th , which those working at the conservatory will be attending. Summer programs for children, as well as a two-week-long summer camp, are also available.
Prices for admission, upcoming events, and further information are available here.
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