NATCHEZ — Retired Natchez City Engineer David Gardner was met with gratitude and appreciation on the steps of Natchez City Hall Friday.

Ser Sheshsh Ab Heter-C.M. Boxley, member of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society, presented Gardner with a plaque for his efforts in securing funds for the St. Catherine Street Trails Project.

The plaque, shaped in a West African symbol, Gye Nyame, represents Gardner’s humble efforts to honor the African American community in Natchez, Boxley said.

“Several years ago, when phase one of the walking trails began, I asked David if there could be a phase two walking trail — something going through the African American community,” Boxley said.

Not long after making his request, Gardner secured funds for a walking trail along St. Catherine Street, which will eventually feature 32 panels depicting the cultural melting pot the street boasted during the post Civil War era.

While seeking funds for the project, Gardner said the African American community poured in their support.

“The black community did step up in this project,” Gardner said. “They brought in all these old photographs, and we used all that information to develop our panels.”

The project is a part of the Natchez Trails Project, which began in 2005.

The first phase of the Natchez Trails Project included 5.6 miles of walking trails along Broadway, Rankin, High, Washington and Martin Luther King Jr. streets.

Adding St. Catherine Street to the second phase of the project, Gardner said, made the project more inclusive.

“That street is amazing,” Gardner said. “How diverse is was, and how people coexisted in harmony — it’s a great example for Natchez.”

As Gardner begins his retirement, Boxley said he hopes Gardner will display his plaque prominently in his home, and remember what it represents.

“It’s really a trinity,” Boxley said of the three-pronged, wooden plaque. “It represents omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. The name, Gye Nyame, means ‘accept God or only God.’ With David’s retirement and going on in life, that will be a good rule to live by.”

Aldermen are set to award a bid for the St. Catherine Street Trails Project at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the council chambers, 115 S. Pearl St.