Before its renovation, the space between the Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories and the McLennan Physical Laboratories was what chair of chemistry Scott Mabury called a “wasteland.”
Last Saturday, professors, students, and children gathered on a windy autumn afternoon to celebrate the opening of a new green space in its place: the Davenport Lash Miller Courtyard Garden.
Comprised entirely of concrete slabs and lonely weeds, the landscape before the garden was built had been “inhumane and inhospitable,” according to Mabury. Its bleakness was further dramatized in the winter, when heavy winds made it unsafe to walk from one department to the other.
The barren real estate has now been transformed into an ecologically inspired thoroughfare on campus. The wheelchair-accessible garden not only provides a convenient route between the chemistry and physics buildings, but also connects the seldom-traveled gap between Huron and St. George.
The courtyard itself is humble and quaint. Like the garden itself, every one of its planted trees is in its infancy, forecasting a future of growth and development. An animated fountain sits at the end of the lawn, greeting passers-by with enthusiastic jets of water as they travel down the chromed and concrete courtyard walkway.
John Ford, a glassblower commissioned by the project committee, designed the outdoo lamps to look like Bunsen burners. Mabury urged the crowd to visit the garden at sundown for the “fabulous visual experience” elicited by the formidable two-story structures.
Speakers emphasized the positive impact the garden would have on the academic performance of students and professors. Joyce Dinglasan-Panlil, a PhD candidate in chemistry, suggested that the garden would stimulate scientific thinking in students, “allowing students to dream up new research products” by replenishing intellectual exhaustion and providing a setting to reflect on experiments in peace.
Steven Morris, professor of physics, reminded listeners that the garden was designed moreover to be a place of leisure.
“It gives students a place to eat lunch and play frisbee,” Morris said.
To conclude the event, Mabury recommended that students and staff take their own initiative to maintain the health of the garden.
“Pick up the litter, and suggest to the skateboarders that perhaps the bench is not the best place to skate.”
While the ceremony was primarily a tribute to the efforts of workers who actualized this long-awaited plan, Morris reminded listeners to continue the push for more green spaces on campus.
“Our job is not done here,” he warned. “There are many ugly plazas on the other side of this building that await our attention.”
