By Emily Moore, Outreach Coordinator
In February, the College of Architecture, Design, and Construction’s rain garden went from drab to fab.
Although the Office of Sustainability typically hosts an annual tree-planting event at an off-campus natural area, we have always wanted to implement a similar project on Auburn’s campus. Hence, when Dr. John Kush from the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) suggested organizing the planting of native Alabama flora by the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) stomping grounds, we were energized to make it happen.
The Office of Sustainability brought together the key people needed to make such a project possible:
· John Kush: Researcher in CFWE
· Emily Knox: Faculty in CADC
· Rich Geuther: Director of Campus Planning and Space Management
· Davis Pemberton: Campus Planner
· Justin Sutton: Director of Landscape Services
The primary collaborator was Emily Knox, Associate Professor at the CADC and Chair of Graduate Landscape Architecture. Knox took the initiative to make sure that the eventual Land Use Planning Agreement was approved through the CADC. During our preliminary planning meeting, Campus Planning suggested a suitable project place. We would plant at the CADC’s old rain garden, a feature once heralded for its unique melding of ecological and design principles that had since fallen into disrepair.
Yellow flags were placed prior to the planting. They indicated the species that was to be placed in that spot, based on the results of the planning workshop.
Knox also helped us connect with Gwendolyn Cohen, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture. Cohen collaborated with the Office to design the planting event as a lab for her Workshop II Plants and Materials class. It began with a lunch-and-learn workshop with a few of her more experienced students. They worked together to decide where each plant would be placed based on a list of individual plants provided by Kush.
Two weeks later, the planting event itself was held. Cohen gathered her class of roughly 25 students around the garden and led them in transferring the plants from small pots to the ground. Some plants included the ox eye sunflower, heart leaved aster, little bluestem, and purple lovegrass. I played the crucial role of providing water in reusable cups and freshly popped popcorn for the participants!
A few members of Cohen’s class on the day of the planting.
According to the National Audubon Society, native plants benefit ecosystems in many ways. Since they are adapted to their environment, they require less maintenance and make efficient use of their water supply. I’m personally most excited about the plants’ effect on the native wildlife. I hope to see butterflies and birds flocking to the rain garden, bringing life, color, and song to the secluded corner of campus.
