2008 Woodie Awards
Motivated students and faculty create beauty
Patricia Blauvelt
Issue date: 10/2/06 Section: News
UIC's campus has undergone many changes in the past years. Additions to the facade of the UH and the new Recreational Center have given the campus appearance a facelift, but perhaps one of the most beautiful additions happened just recently at a site located south of the Art and Architecture building, and just west of the Atrium.
On Friday Sept. 15, Eco Campus met at the UIC green house (located at the southeast corner of Taylor and Halsted), to put into action a prairie plant restoration project they had been working on for over a year. The project would have 60 prairie plants consisting of 13 different species planted at the site.
In Fall 2005, Leah Simoni, the co-president of Eco Campus approached the organization's advisor and biology professor, Dr. Alan Molumby, about creating an environmentally friendly place on campus. The two talked it out and came up with a project that would leave a beauty mark on UIC.
They decided to create a small site with native prairie plants.
"It just so happened that I had been growing native prairie plants, one of my passions, and we decided to work together with each other's resources. I had all of these plants, and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them...Eco Campus helped me create a space for the plants, and I helped by providing them with the plants to make their beautiful space. It just worked out perfectly," said Molumby.
Besides the plants that Molumby had already been growing, he planted more native prairie plants from seed for the group to include at their site.
In order to make their project a reality, the group met with Pablo Acevedo, associate director of Facilities Management, several times before the project was approved.
"Needless to say, there was a lot that had to be approved by UIC in order to let us dig up their grass and plant our own plants in it. But this past summer we had our final meeting to get this project rolling. They gave us the site and grounds offered to till the ground for us to help us out!" said Simoni.
On Sept. 15, members of the club, students and Molumby gathered at the green house and hauled plants to the location of their site. They began to dig, and over time, the tilled triangles of dirt transformed into different colors and greens and natural beauty covered the grounds of UIC.
Some of the plants that the group planted are: prairie sage, rattlesnake master, purple aster, golden rod, false sunflower and snakeroot.
The group plans on making this project ongoing, hoping that Ground Maintenance will allow them to add to existing sites and to create new sites. Over the years, by continuing to create a visually stimulating appearance to UIC, the group hopes to have a green space with a purpose.
On Friday Sept. 15, Eco Campus met at the UIC green house (located at the southeast corner of Taylor and Halsted), to put into action a prairie plant restoration project they had been working on for over a year. The project would have 60 prairie plants consisting of 13 different species planted at the site.
In Fall 2005, Leah Simoni, the co-president of Eco Campus approached the organization's advisor and biology professor, Dr. Alan Molumby, about creating an environmentally friendly place on campus. The two talked it out and came up with a project that would leave a beauty mark on UIC.
They decided to create a small site with native prairie plants.
"It just so happened that I had been growing native prairie plants, one of my passions, and we decided to work together with each other's resources. I had all of these plants, and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them...Eco Campus helped me create a space for the plants, and I helped by providing them with the plants to make their beautiful space. It just worked out perfectly," said Molumby.
Besides the plants that Molumby had already been growing, he planted more native prairie plants from seed for the group to include at their site.
In order to make their project a reality, the group met with Pablo Acevedo, associate director of Facilities Management, several times before the project was approved.
"Needless to say, there was a lot that had to be approved by UIC in order to let us dig up their grass and plant our own plants in it. But this past summer we had our final meeting to get this project rolling. They gave us the site and grounds offered to till the ground for us to help us out!" said Simoni.
On Sept. 15, members of the club, students and Molumby gathered at the green house and hauled plants to the location of their site. They began to dig, and over time, the tilled triangles of dirt transformed into different colors and greens and natural beauty covered the grounds of UIC.
Some of the plants that the group planted are: prairie sage, rattlesnake master, purple aster, golden rod, false sunflower and snakeroot.
The group plans on making this project ongoing, hoping that Ground Maintenance will allow them to add to existing sites and to create new sites. Over the years, by continuing to create a visually stimulating appearance to UIC, the group hopes to have a green space with a purpose.
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