The terrain surrounding Bellarmine University’s Our Lady of the Woods Chapel has more native grasses and fewer invasive plants, thanks to a recent service learning project.
More than a dozen students in an interdisciplinary class led by adjunct professor Carolyn Waters from the
School of Environmental Studies joined a crew from the
Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy to remove invasive bush honeysuckle and seed native rye grasses earlier this month.
Waters said her course challenges students to “consider the ways that humans shape urban landscapes, whether intentionally or unintentionally. During this service project, students practiced the intentional management of plants as an example of how we can shape the land where we live, work and go to school.”
The conservancy — which restores, enhances and protects Louisville's system parks and parkways that were designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted — provided training and tools for the project near Bellarmine's chapel. In turn, Bellarmine students have opportunities to volunteer and complete internships through the conservancy.
Waters noted that she worked closely with the university’s facilities department on the project, and she hopes to raise the profile of the many ecology-related projects that students and professors work on throughout the year, both on campus and in the community.