A lot of people on campus and around the city are aware of the changes happening at the University Center hill. So we decided to talk to the presindent of LEAF who will explain us how the hill will look like in a couple of years.
Andrew
Welcome back to bear in mind. I'm your host, Andrew Galster. And today I have...
Lorayne
Lorayne Aguinaldo!
Andrew
In the studio with me. Lorayne is a member of multiple student organizations that have come together recently to reshape the face of UNC’s campus. Communities across the University Center have undoubtedly noticed the construction spinning across the lawns and walkways.
So what gives? Today, Lorayne is going to give us an inside look at what we can expect after construction wraps up. Lorayne, thank you for joining me.
Lorayne
I am a junior in the Environmental and Sustainability Studies program at UNC. I'm also the president of Student Leadership for Environmental Action Fund, or Student LEAF, and I'm a member of Earth Guardians.
Very nice. Got quite a resume as we talked about once before. We've seen construction around campus, especially near the UC. What's going on?
Lorayne
So in Spring of 2023, or sometime before that, Dr. Chelsea Romulo and the department led, community management, some kind of course, for that. And they came up with a proposal with Dena Egenhoff with the city of Greeley to convert the landscape behind Bear Vision into something that would, you know, conserve more water.
That body of Kentucky bluegrass right now uses the most water on campus.
Andrew
Like the hill with the bear?
Lorayne
Yeah that hill, it uses the most.
Andrew
How do you know how much water it uses?
Lorayne
Per square foot? I believe it is five gallons of water. And so the new landscaping plan will reduce that to one.
Andrew
So, what were some of the goals she had when coming to Greeley?
Lorayne
I'm taking a couple of her classes right now, and I know her background is, in conservation biology and ecology. And she's done a lot of work with like, natural resource management and stuff. So she teaches a lot of those classes in this department. I'm currently in her conservation of natural resource class and her water quality management class.
So I guess those kind of go hand in hand to this conservation project.
Andrew
This hasn’t been coming from nowhere.
Lorayne
Yeah, yeah.
Andrew
So I heard that Student Leaf was involved in making this project come to life. And obviously you were a member of Student LEAF What did you guys do to make this happen?
Lorayne
So, I believe it was also some time last spring. We worked very closely with, Christopher Bowers, which is he's the energy and sustainability manager for UNC, and he came to us with some of the project proposals that had happened. And we kind of looked at those maps like, this is what it could look like. There was, I think, five versions. And we kind of talked to that out.
And then they did some more like logistical talks with like contractors on the facilities ends and like construction and working up those contracts so that they could actually do it. And then when they actually started the construction in the fall and the spring, Chris also came to us again. It was just like, hey, like, this is pretty relevant to our work, what can we do to make sure that students know about this?
And they're just like, not like what happened in Bittersweet Park a couple years ago when the city of Greeley replaced all of that bluegrass with native grass. And then everyone complained because they didn't know and they didn't like the way it looked. So increasing campus awareness and making sure that people know that, hey, this is a good thing, like, we want to keep this and we want to maybe put it on more places on campus is kind of our job right now.
Andrew
I got you, I got you. So kind of like mediating between the, like, student body and then the people producing the project being like, hey, this is actually super dope and cool.
Lorayne
Basically.
Andrew
Okay, okay, I totally get it. Yeah. And then you also mentioned that you're part of Earth Guardians. Did they have any involvement in this/what did they do?
Lorayne
A lot of the Earth Guardians members and Student LEAF members are also like ENS (environmental studies) majors. So I do know a couple of the people in Earth Guardians were part of creating that project proposal. I personally wasn't in that class, but I've talked to them about it and their job is like kind of the same. We work closely together anyways, so if we need more like outreach or if we need to like do some tasking like, hey, let's make this display, let's do this event for it. We kind of just have more manpower.
Andrew
So what has been your, like, main strategy of making people aware? Maybe besides podcasts...
Lorayne
We have kind of like a social media plan in the works during our council meetings right now. And we also maybe want to create some kind of display for it. We don't know what that would look like yet. Our council is a little small. So small but mighty!
We’re kind of playing with some like our ideas and just like informational things that can go near it or around it, like in the, you see, like on the pathways. But it's been really cold. So that hasn't exactly been working in our favor. But that's what our aim is.
Andrew
For those who don't know, me and Lauren did an interview in like –5 degree cold. It was horrible. Freezing. But you guys had already, broken ground when we were out there. Yeah.
Lorayne
Yes.
Andrew
Okay, so you guys don't have this display yet for what it could potentially look like, but ground has been broken. So how far along are we on this process?
Lorayne
I believe the projected date to have it finished is Summer of 2027. I could be wrong. That could have changed since I heard it last. Right now, I believe the phase they're in is taking out everything that's there. So there was like the sprinkler system in there. There was obviously all the bluegrass, and there are a couple of trees that have to be taken out as well, because they're diseased and not really doing anything at all.
Andrew
A little heartbreaking.
Lorayne
Yeah. I don't believe that they’re any of the native trees. I could be wrong about that, but I think they're ones that have been going for a long time, and they just decided to do it during this project as well because it would just like cut costs, be efficient. And you can have more opportunities to like put a different pathways and plant more stuff.
Andrew
And not like I know anything about trees but a disease tree probably for the best.
Lorayne
Yeah.
Andrew
Just take it out and just get it out of here. Sorry trees! Yeah. They’re very loved.
Andrew
Well, unless you're diseased.
Lorayne
No!
Andrew
So you mentioned building pathways and other features. So it's not just going to be removing the old water-heavy [grass]. What else are you guys going to add?
Lorayne
So there's going to be a pathway connecting where the city really like that corner is leading up to University Center. It's going to be more accessible. It's going to be a ramp, not stairs. So that we can have like all kinds of people come like people with strollers, people in wheelchairs, people who have a hard time with stairs, literally anyone. It's going to kind of like wind through, the native landscaping. There is going to be a little bit of like the smoother more Kentucky-ish bluegrass, but that's going to be more for recreation.
Andrew
Okay.
Lorayne
I believe in this photo that I'm looking at. They have some projected, like, hammocking spots.
Andrew
We love to hear it.
Lorayne
And I think they're going to put a tree, but hammocking spots, especially for kids to, like, run around and stuff, there's going to be like benches, I believe, like tables so that you can hang out there, but it's just going to be more open style.
Andrew
Nice.
Lorayne
And yeah.
Andrew
I once had the idea that it was going to be a community garden, which I now know is not correct.
Lorayne
Yeah, because the same the landscaping they're using here is like the zero garden. I believe that's how you see it. There is already your garden on campus. It's by Nottingham Field and there is a community planting space over there as well.
Andrew
Oh cool! I didn’t know
Yeah. That might have been where the mix-up happened because there is already community spaces for that on campus with this like kind of landscaping though.
Andrew
Okay, so instead of like a community garden here, you know, by the bear, it's going to be more like, community, not center, but area for, both students and Greeley members.
Lorayne
Yeah!
Andrew
That's super cool.
Lorayne
Then you're also just going to you're going to bring back like, those native, like shrubs and like, what's the word? I'm looking for plants so that, you know, they can be dispersed more.
Andrew
We have a deadline for. Well, I guess not the deadline, but we have an estimated deadline for when actual construction is going to finish. But what about these plants? I assume that they're not the same timeline as everything else.
Lorayne
They are not. So that 2027 date that I said is when it will probably be accessible from everywhere, where they open up everything and they're not like banging and clanging anymore. But, with those native plants there, what my understanding is, is that they're going to plant them in tiers, like plant A is going to go at the bottom, and then they're going to plant a layer of plant B and C and D, and they're kind of going to be like in stripes, that's the best way I can describe it.
And then because they're low water and they are literally adapted for the ecosystem and the climate here, they're kind of just going to let them do whatever they're going to because plants will do what they want. They want to mix that they don't want to mix. So it'll kind of just be like the splattering of plants. But that'll be eventual. So you're going to start out with just those rows and they're going to be smaller because they're little baby plants.
Andrew
So I know we have another like natural plant section on campus over by...
Lorayne
Ross permaculture!
Andrew
Yeah, yeah. So can we expect to look a little bit like that or is it going to be a bit different?
Lorayne
I actually don't have any idea. We're going to say no. When they grow we're going to see what they choose and where they put it. And also, the display, the gardens behind Bear Vision are going to be a lot bigger. So they're going to have a lot more space to disperse, and it'll probably look a lot different than that tiny little confined space.
Andrew
I'm getting a little jealous of the future students just right. Because, like, I'm I'm out of here soon.
Lorayne
I know I'm out of here next year, too, man.
Andrew
I'm gonna have to come back and check. So what are some of the aspects of this project that you're maybe most personally excited about?
Lorayne
Like super personal. My degree focus is like community resilience and like, engagement when it comes to, like, especially like re-landscaping, environmental awareness and all of that. So, like having this element in the community readily accessible for anyone at any time is something I'm really excited for. And I'm also a firm believer in outside time being good time, even if it's a little to whatever capacity you're capable of. So having those opportunities like for hammocking, for tables, for benches, just to run around and let your kids loose and so you can like, chill out for a second. That is something I'm real big on because I grew up a lot around that too.
Andrew
So fun in the sun or whatever.
Lorayne
Basically.
Andrew
But that's cool. That's cool. How do you think this new project will kind of affect relationships between Greeley native residents and UNC.
Lorayne
Me personally? I'm not a Greeley resident. I'm not even from Colorado. But what I've observed is that there's a very large disconnect between the people who live in Greeley and like university students, because university students just tend to stay on the university and populate all the coffee shops and make the lines of takeout places really long. And there's a lot of just like, I don't want to say, like, barriers, but there's definitely a lot of like, borders around the university where I feel like a lot of community members don't want to come in. So I noticed a lot like in the frisbee, like the frisbee golf course, there's a lot of community members and that's really good. I think I've definitely waved to some families and I think it's really nice. I really hope that with these spaces, we could have definitely more community events, maybe like, ‘hey, let's go gather in and look at the full moon tonight if it's not cold’ or, ‘let's go learn about native plants with the, UNC, ecology undergrads and some kids from the district,’ you know.
Andrew
Yeah.
Lorayne
So it's definitely a lot of opportunities to connect. It's just we're going to have to put in the work on both ends.
Andrew
Yeah, I get you. And I feel like a new space on campus where students can gather as well, is probably always a positive, especially so close to what is, you know, a student hub.
Lorayne
Yeah. Take your burger from the burger bar or eat it outside.
Andrew
Oh, that sounds nice.
Lorayne
Right?
Andrew
Well, is there any last notes that you're wanting to talk about today?
Lorayne
To do projects like this, Student LEAF, Earth Guardians and just kind of the environmental studies departments that really everyone's always looking for fresh ideas, and there are opportunities for that if you have them. So Student LEAF does work with students to get sustainability projects implemented on campus. If you just look up UNCO Student LEAF, we have like all of the information about how to do that. To get in touch with that, if you would like to do that. We also have meetings for Student LEAF on Thursdays from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., usually in Campus Commons 2201 and then Earth Guardians, that is the environmental and social justice club here on campus. So Earth Guardians meetings are going to also be on Thursdays, from 5:30 to 6:30. I believe they're going to be in the university council room.
Andrew
Yeah. So go check them out for sure. So thank you for talking with me today.
Lorayne
Yeah. Cool!
*High Five*
Andrew
I hope they can hear that high five.
Lorayne
I hope they can too.
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