A walk in the woods...

As an Environmental reporting class, we took a walk through the Baars-Firestone area the other day. It really gave me a great perspective of the area that we have been talking about so much during our class time.

What I saw surprised me a little, there was a lot of brush and broken down trees. Tree after tree seems to have been sent through a wood chipper and left in the same spot as mulch. It appeared to me, that the changes coming to the Baars-Firestone area have already started.

We walked by the Eagles nest, which was a spectacular sight. Nearby, we saw the two mating eagles flying high above the trees. The pair of eagles has the perfect area for a nest right now, near water, plenty of food, peaceful place, but their life within the next few year, will be turned upside down. It made me sad to think about it while we were walking on the trails.

The day was beautiful and it was perfect weather for exploring the woods. We encountered quite a few runners on the way, and it made me curious if they knew about the changes coming to the campus, sooner rather than later.

What the master plan has in store for this area is various from of on campus housing. Almost the entire area will have to be torn down to accomplish all aspects of the master plan, which includes Greek housing, married couple housing, and housing for faculty and other student groups. The demolition costs will be very high and the animals will be driven out of their homes.

We did pass by one thing, that I hope will be a permanent fixture on the University campus, the oldest tree (pictured). It is huge and beautiful! The trunk alone is more than 4 feet in diameter.

Overall, the walk in the woods the other day was a good experience for me. It is not something that I would have done on my own, and I would have missed out on all the beauty, that will be gone a few years from now. 

Changes coming to UWF, Good or Bad

For years, the University of West Florida has been home to miles of nature preserves and wildlife sanctuaries, but plans for the near future may replace that land with new buildings, parking lots, and even a golf course.

The Campus Master Plan, revealed last year, has in place the complete removal of the Baars-Firestone wildlife sanctuary, located on the East side of campus. The sanctuary is home to, among other species, at least two bald eagles and multiple gopher tortoises, both of which have been listed on the threatened species list at least once within the last 10 years.

The number of students at the university is growing by the thousands, and the master plan is an effort to accommodate the number of students the school will have in the future. The plan adds a football stadium, a new student union, and reroutes the road currently running through campus. Also additions to the on campus housing includes, Greek housing, married student housing, and many other multi-purpose residence halls to add to the number of beds that are currently available on campus.

“Our school is growing, and our Greek life needs to grow too! In order to get here, the all-Greek GPA needs to be above the all-student GPA, then, the people will come,” said Kevin Bailey, Ph.D., UWF Vice President of Student Affairs, at a leadership conference for Greek students. The students roared with excitement, and vowed to get their grades as high as possible.

“Greek housing would be an awesome addition to this campus and I’m looking forward to it,” said Michael Solomon, UWF Sophomore and fraternity member. “I think it is exactly what the school needs to be in the same category as all of the other big schools in the state. They all have fraternity and sorority houses.”

Eagle's nest located in the Baars-Firestone sanctuary 

According to the Student Environmental ActionSociety, a UWF student organization, the wildlife sanctuary spans over 146 acres. If the area is to be cleared, it would make room for plenty of buildings and parking lots to satisfy the school, but is it worth it to ruin the land?

“This sanctuary is home to so many species of animals, which will now be homeless. It will drive them away, and who knows if they will find somewhere to go,” said Julie Schulz, an Environmental Specialist. “The university will physically have to go in, remove, and relocate most of these animals, which is another added expense.”

The campus has already started the removal of trees around the campus.

“The area near the back entrance of the campus was cleared a while ago, but there hasn’t been any construction, I’m not sure why they did that,” said Lauren Tannenbaum, a sophomore at UWF.

The school also cleared a large amount of land near the intramural fields, an area which used to be surrounded by trees, is now completely visible from the main road.

The master plan is a multi-part plan which will drastically change the school. The question is, though, will the technological and building growth be worth the devastating changes that will result to the campus environment.