Aggie Freshmen Create 'Green' Oasis on USU Campus
A group of Utah State University freshmen put their schoolbooks aside, donned work gloves and took up shovels to transform a scruffy corner of the campus into an inviting native landscape. The students, participants in a Connections section led by Department of Environment and Society instructor Ben Baldwin, completed the service-learning project Sept. 10 at the southwest corner of the Biology-Natural Resources building.
“Gardens in America have traditionally followed the English model, which works well where water is plentiful,” said Graham Hunter, research associate in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, who guided students in the project. “But this is Utah, and our landscapes range from desert to alpine tundra.”
The Connections group added rock and bark mulch to the newly planted garden, which was designed by USU upperclassmen in a low-water landscape design class. The design features a variety of native plants with rises and rocky recesses to simulate a streambed.
A university-wide collaborative, interdisciplinary effort is under way to create waterwise, sustainable landscapes throughout campus. Recent design efforts can be seen outside the Science Engineering Research Building, on the west side of Old Main and near the Fine Arts Building. Participants in the campus-wide project include students, faculty and staff from diverse departments and units, including USU Facilities, the USU Sustainability Council, Plants, Soils and Climate; Wildland Resources, Environment and Society, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and others.
The landscaping changes are part of the university’s broader sustainability efforts. USU was among the first 100 charter signatories of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and the first higher education campus in Utah to take up the challenge.
Related links:
“USU Grows Green,” The Utah Statesman
Contact: Bonnie Banner (435) 797-7117, bonnieb.banner@usu.edu
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto (435) 797-3517, maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto (435) 797-3517, maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu
Aggie freshmen rolled up their sleeves Sept. 10 and joined in the university's sustainability efforts.
Connections participants add rock to a native landscape garden at the southwest corner of the Biology-Natural Resources building.
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Student Life 243stories Engagement 95stories Service Learning 74stories Landscapes 51storiesComments and questions regarding this article may be directed to the contact person listed on this page.
