Grounds Supervisor Kathy Giffin Bartkus protects Wesleyan's trails, part of the 2008 President's Environmental Challenge Grant.
By Katie Morris '09
Kathy Giffin Bartkus cleans the trails in October.
A lover of nature, Virginia Wesleyan College's Grounds Supervisor Kathy Giffin Bartkus has had to deal with damages to campus trails caused by off-road vehicles.
So Bartkus sought a solution – applying for and receiving the 2008 President's Environmental Challenge Grant. Bartkus received $2,500 to install a series of bollards, or vertical posts made out of 100 percent recycled plastic, to restrict vehicle access to the campus trails network and Arboretum.
"By eliminating unauthorized vehicular access to the forested areas of the campus, valuable ecosystems and trail integrity will be preserved," said Bartkus. "Damage to these areas is primarily caused by off-road vehicle activity and on more than one occasion, vehicles have knocked down trees and torn up turf."
For the project, Bartkus called on the campus community to help, including students. Community members quickly established a trail club, the Wesleyan Pathfinders, to assist in clearing the trails, installing the bollards and educating the campus community about the damages caused by off-road vehicles.
John Burkard '10, President of Wesleyan Pathfinders from Virginia Beach, Va., said the project is about Virginia Wesleyan students giving back to the community.
"I enjoy getting out into nature and working to make it useable to others," he said. "I hope the club grows so we can do even more."
A bollard, limiting access to an area.
During Homecoming Weekend in October, student volunteers began removing debris from the trails in preparation for the bollards. Throughout November, students in Dr. Nancy Montgomery's and Mr. Wayne Pollock's Recreation and Leisure Studies courses dug holes for the vertical bollards. Concrete has been poured, and due to inclement weather the bollards will be installed in January.
This semester, Bartkus has worked with students to restore the trails by enhancing and maintaining existing trails. In November, Virginia Wesleyan hosted the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) cross country championship for the first time, and the improved trails provided additional off-road training for the teams.
"Preserving the Arboretum and the trails will continue to provide scenic venues to the entire campus community for fitness activities, meditation or relaxation," she said.
Bartkus is the second recipient of the President's Environmental Challenge Grant. In 2007, Associate Professor of Art Phil Guilfoyle received the grant for his proposal on a solar thermal heat exchanger to heat the ceramics lab in the Fine Arts Building.
For more information on the Wesleyan Pathfinders or how to help with the continuing trail enhancements, contact Kathy Giffin Bartkus at 757.233.8714 or kbartkus@vwc.edu, or John Burkard at jcburkard@vwc.edu.
The President's Environmental Challenge Grant competition accepts proposals from all students, faculty and staff at Virginia Wesleyan College. Proposals can be submitted by any individual or group of the campus community.
The grant is awarded at Virginia Wesleyan's Honors Convocation held on the last Friday in April. » Learn more about the President's Environmental Challenge Grant.
12.03.08