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WKU Grounds Improvements 2020


The Facilities Management Grounds Crew has completed several projects in 2020 to improve the ascetic appearance of campus. Check out the descriptions below to understand the improvements made to campus. 

 

Potter Hall Landscaping 

Potter Hall Improvements

  • Potter Hall is home to WKU's Registry Office. The landscape beds lining the main doors of the building were bare and lacked character.
  • ‘Fireside’ Red Azaleas were planeted to provide some color to the main entrance. The open pockets in front of the trees, on either side, were left open to plant tulips for spring color.
  • This upgrade will improve the appearance of this critical building for incoming students.

 

Subway Entrance Landscaping  

Subway sidewalk expansion

  • The area in front of subway was highly shaded turf; this made it challenging to maintain a strong durable turf and led to turf depletion due to student traffic.
  • To help with aesthetics of the area, and provide outdoor seating, the Campus Services worked with Housing and Residence Life to overhaul the area into an outdoor patio. A retaining wall was designed and installed, along with adding pavers throughout the area. Decorative rock was installed between the retaining wall and existing wall, along with around the existing trees.
  • This area will be easier to maintain year round while also providing an outdoor eating area for staff and students. 

 

"Triangle" Bed Landscaping 

Triangle Bed Improvements

  • The “Triangle” bed is located at the intersection of Avenue of Champions and University Blvd. This is a heavily travelled area by students as it is located on the outskirts of campus leading to the Creason Street Parking Lot. Residents of the Bowling Green area also drive past the intersection daily.
  • The bed consisted of mulch, native grasses, and a power line pole. During heavy rain events, mulch would wash out onto the sidewalks.
  • A Rock border was added around the bed to divert storm water runoff around the bed and into the storm drain. ‘Harbor Belle’ Nandinas were installed (dwarf species with max. height of 24”, evergreen with a reddish tent to the leaves in fall). Oversized Alabama Sunset decorative rock was also installed.

 

South Lawn Retention Wall Repairs

South Lawn Wall Improvement

  • South Lawn is a multiple purpose green space in the heart of campus. There is a retaining wall that separates the upper and lower sections of the lawn. Activities ranging from students, campus events, athletics, and tailgating all occur on the lawn area.
  • The cap stones on the retaining wall had become damaged and were breaking. With the high usage of the field, these damaged stones posed a potential safety issue. It was determined to remove and replace the capstones.
  • As the broken caps were being removed, it was documented that there was an overhang on the backside of the caps. This was evident of a weak point, which in turn was causing a lot of the damage to the caps.
  • All caps on the wall were removed and installed with new caps. The new caps have a smooth edge on the backside, eliminating the overhang.

 

"Directional" Landscaping

Directionals Improvement

  • “Directional” entrances are located across from Honor’s College and flank Northeast and Southwest residence halls. The entrances can be seen from Normal Street will driving through campus
  • Over time, the Crape Myrtles had become large and overgrown, Bermuda grass had filtered into the bed, and Dianthus were being overrun with weeds.
  • Some Crape Myrtles were removed to allow space to accent the buildings behind them. Dianthus was removed along with excavation of soil down 4”. New top soil was installed along with 1” of compost from WKU Farm
  • Boulders were relocated from grassy areas around campus and installed to provide a backdrop. Landscape light was installed to up-light crape myrtles at night.
  • ‘Fireside’ Red Azaleas and Yewtopia Taxus were installed as new plant growth.
  • Epson salt was added to each hole dug for the azaleas to make soil pH more acidic.

 

Pressure Washing the Colonnades

Pressure washing Colonnades

 

Avenue of Champions Retention Wall

Pressure washing exterior wall

The Grounds Crew pressure washed the retaining wall to remove annual grime.

 

Covering the 'Backflow' Pipe

Bolder Placed in front of Backflow

  • The backflow preventer for the irrigation system for the Centennial Mall area was very unsightly. The backflow was highly visible in a heavily traffic area.
  • A boulder cover was purchased and installed to hide the backflow from sight to improve the aesthetics of the area.

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 Last Modified 11/6/20