Campus community, public invited to adopt part of UW-Madison

This year, they’ve found plastic bags and sheets, liquor bottles, and even a few undergarments — seven bagfuls in about an hour.

Staff members from the Department of Engineering Professional Development have been cleaning up the campus’s Muir Knoll area, the woods between the Helen C. White Library and the Social Sciences building, each fall for six years. The department is one of dozens of campus units, along with student and community groups, that work to beautify the campus.

“Well-run departments operate with a sense of community and teamwork,” says Phil O’Leary, department chair and professor. “This activity allows our staff to interact beyond the confines of our offices and helps develop that teamwork. The result is an enhanced ability of the department to provide education while serving the larger campus community.”

However, the department is one of only a few that sought the advice of Cathie Bruner, campus natural areas manager, before selecting a site.

“Cathie suggested a number of areas that were in need,” says Darrell Petska, an editor in the department. “We chose this one because many of us enjoy walking through or running along the woods. Finding volunteers to clean such a beautiful area has never been difficult.”

To get more groups focused on the areas of campus that really need it, Physical Plant has created a program called “Adopt-a-block, a-walk, a-place.” The name is meant to reflect the similarities between this program and similar programs that address city blocks or stretches of highway, while acknowledging that a wide variety of campus areas need to be adopted.

Right now, Bruner says, some efforts to clean up, seed or remove invasive species from certain areas are done on a random basis, which can leave many areas underserved. Physical Plant wants to tap into the campus community’s affinity for service in a more organized manner so that the greatest possible effect is achieved.

“We have such a great history of environmental activity on campus,” Bruner says. “Some people just go out on Earth Day, or they just focus on one part of campus. We want to spread it out throughout the year and across the campus.”

Kris Ackerbauer, assistant director of the Physical Plant, says, “With declining resources and intense desire to keep this a campus that we can all continue to be proud of, we feel the time is right to formalize this program and take advantage of the many people and organizations who we know feel similarly and are willing to help make a difference.”

By setting up a coordinated program, Bruner says, those looking for service opportunities will get the most results for their efforts. Also, areas and times of the year that are often ignored can be suggested as possible clean-up settings. Bruner points out that the campus can really use volunteers after major events, such as the football season, Halloween or graduation. Examples of clean-up opportunities are blocks, walking routes, trails — or even lampposts, to keep them free of unwanted postings.

“We want to keep this as formal or informal as people want. We all share in the responsibility and people can do as little or as much as possible,” she says. “We just want to identify and address the areas we’re missing.

To do that, Bruner hopes participants will call Physical Plant Campus Natural Areas to express interest in a project. She will help participants choose the best location and timing. Physical Plant will provide trash bags and gloves, and will pick up any bags of refuse that are collected.

To adopt an area or to learn more, contact Bruner at 265-9275 or cbruner@fpm.wisc.edu.