A Legacy of Conservation

A Legacy of Conservation. Park History Interpretive Series. , The Winkler Botanical Preserve owes its existence to the foresight and generosity of the Winkler family and the Mark and Catherine Winkler Foundation. The family's real estate business, the Mark Winkler Company, enjoyed tremendous success beginning in the post-World War II boom years. Catherine was also an environmentalist, philanthropist, and tireless advocate for social causes., Alexandria's West End , Mark Winkler died in 1970, and Catherine succeeded to full ownership of the company. She, and later her daughter Tori Winkler Thomas, oversaw the building of a commercial, residential and office development in the west end of Alexandria, which they named Mark Center. In the middle of that land was a stream valley that Catherine envisioned as the ideal nature preserve. Creating a green oasis for public use in what would become a highly developed area was a natural extension of her world view., Catherine set up the Winkler Botanical Preserve as a non-profit charitable entity and gifted the land, and the substantial endowment that paid for its development, as a publicly accessible park and native plant sanctuary. She and Tori, a Harvard-trained landscape architect, led the preserve for over 40 years. They created the design, planned its trail system, planted native flora, built a lodge for educational and office space, and developed the educational mission and direction of the preserve., Suburban Oasis , Opened in 1979, the Winkler Botanical Preserve has been a haven, not just for wildlife, but also for people to visit and enjoy the natural environment. Preserve staff have maintained the property and led interpretive programs. For years, nearly every child in Alexandria enjoyed the preserve as part of their academic curriculum, and the preserve's summer camps were some of the city's most popular., In 2022, the Winklers donated the Winkler Botanical Preserve to NOVA Parks along with an endowment to help maintain and further develop the preserve. The gift is very much in keeping with the family's mission to give back to the communities they were instrumental in developing., [Captions:] , Above: Signing of a Ceremonial Deed of Park Creation by (left to right) Randal Kell, Mark Winkler Corporation CEO; Cate Magennis Wyatt, NOVA Parks Board Chair; Justin M. Wilson, City of Alexandria Mayor; and Melanie Kay-Wyatt, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent., Above left: Portrait of Catherine Winkler Herman, founder of both the Mark Catherine Winkler Foundation and the Winkler Botanical Preserve, and namesake for Catherine's Lodge., The 44.63-acre Winkler Botanical Preserve is a lush oasis of streams, wooded trails, a lake, and a waterfall amidst the towering development of Alexandria's Mark Center.