William H. Tatham Centre ecological restoration

At the University of Waterloo landscaping is usually limited to turf grass. In order to create a safer and lower maintenance landscape design, this study included a plan for the ecological reconciliation of the 997m² site located next to the William H. Tatham Centre. With particular consideration of social, legal, political, historical, and ecological aspects, the aim was to establish a meadow ecosystem that could withstand changing natural and human activities. Our design considerations led us to select species with few maintenance requirements, varying blooming periods, colourful, attractive to butterflies, capability to survive within edge environments, fairly rapid growth rate, and specific to the site’s soil type, pH range, drainage patterns, sun coverage and the surrounding disturbance regime. Methodology for implementation requires the initial removal of the existing turf grass through tillage and the application of herbicides. It is recommended that a meadow seed ix is purchased form a local nursery. To aid in glare reduction, larger shrubs such as the Cornus racemose (Gray Dogwood) and Rhus typhina (Staghorn Sumac) would be acquired from North Campus, or rescued from local sites undergoing development… For full text, please e-mail sustainability@uwaterloo.ca