Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE- Nature enthusiasts can now find their way through the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Greenway a little better thanks to a map created by UW-Platteville students. The students are part of reclamation classes taught by Tom Hunt, associate professor of agriculture and director of the reclamation, environment and conservation program at UWP. They worked closely with UWP administration, grounds crew and Office of Publications.

"Without the help of the administration, grounds crew and others, this project wouldn't have happened," expressed Hunt.

The UWP Greenway encompasses a corridor that runs from Chestnut Street to the water treatment plant. It contains a multitude of habitats including prairie, woodland, wetlands, a trout stream and the rare oak savanna. The purpose of the Greenway is education, recreation and conservation.

The map was created in the same style as the campus map, to make it easy to follow. "The map helps make it easy to navigate the trails whether people are familiar or unfamiliar with campus. We relied on imagery and global positioning systems to make the map accurate. It's compatible with other campus resources in look and style," said Hunt.

Copies of the map will be placed in kiosks in various places along the trails. There are plans to make the map available online. All trails are clearly marked and each map contains a blue dot indicating where each kiosk is located, 'you are here.' The goal in creating the map was as part of a trail revitalization plan, to help people get a better sense of campus and its many resources. The trial plan also recognized a need to replace old trail signs, which are in varying degrees of deteriation.

In addition to the map, students are also creating a tree identification guide. Trees throughout the trail will be numbered with a small conspicuous brass tag. Trail hikers can look up the number in the tree guide to find what type of tree it is. The guide will have the scientific name and special notes for more than 90 tree species. It will also include pictures of each tree's fruit, bark and leaves. The guide will be published during spring semester and is funded by a UWP Opportunity Grant.

"We don't want to interrupt the nature experience with excessive signage, but at the same time we want to communicate interesting information to the willing learner. The map and guide clearly meet our mission and purpose. An informed contingency is a supportive contingency. We want strong community support of the Greenway," explained Hunt.

The map and tree guide are part of the ongoing management of the Greenway. Students work to improve and conserve it each year, gaining career experience in the process. Katya Leonard, a student who worked on the map and tree guide, said she learned how to budget her time, how to use a best estimate for pricing materials and labor, and how to work with others.

"These skills are definitely applicable to a future career because time management is a major skill for any type of job as well as being able to work with others to get the job done and done correctly and to meet a wide variety of expectations," explained Leonard.

Corey Kronser, another student who worked on the map, learned about the approval process of a project such as this. The map had to be edited and approved by several people before it was finalized. He also became aware of the challenges that go with matching an artist rendition of something to the real thing.

"I think that the wisdom and lessons learned through this process will definitely play a large role in the way that I approach these types of problems which are sure to occur frequently in many different forms in my professional career," said Kronser.

"I have willing and competent students. They make it a pleasure to do these kinds of things," stated Hunt.

Anyone wanting more information about the Greenway may contact Hunt at (608) 342-1898 or huntt@uwplatt.edu. Information is also available at www.uwplatt.edu/university/documents/greenway/index.html.

Contact: Tom Hunt, associate professor, agriculture; director, reclamation, environment and conservation program, (608) 342-1898, huntt@uwplatt.edu Written by: Krystle Kurdi, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, kurdik@uwplatt.edu