UT students placed native plants in the Glass Bowl

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Thousands of football fans flocking to the Glass Bowl this weekend for the Battle of I-75 may notice some changes in the scenery.

University of Toledo students and staff spent Friday planting native plants in gardens around the stadium. The project required a lot of preparation, some gardening tools and “COURAGE”.

“GUTS stands for Greening the University of Toledo through Services,” said Todd Crail, Distinguished University Lecturer in the UT Department of Environmental Sciences. “It’s an organization founded by students. They wanted to plant native plants in the landscape around campus. They have generated their own funds for this purpose through the Student Green Fund, and this is the ultimate end result of their efforts: to be placed here in the Glass Bowl.”

All these crops were grown on campus and approximately 200 students participated. Some of them are enjoying a break from their studies; working with your hands and spending time outdoors.

“I love doing this because I learn more about the plants we plant,” said Caleb Lawrence, a student volunteer. “So I’m in the process of figuring out what this is all about, and I love it because then I gain knowledge and I can do it myself.”

Once established, these native plants require little or no maintenance because they are able to cope with our local climate. They also have much more benefits than just beautifying the landscape.

“Through nutrients, carbon sequestration and benefits to pollinators, they actually interact with the ecosystem,” Crail said. “And they are lower maintenance than other plantings.”

Since the plants are native, they don’t mind planting at this time of year. Whether you come to support the Rockets or Falcons on Saturday, take a look around and take in the new “native” look.

“We’re planting right now near the Alumni Pavilion at the Glass Bowl,” Crail said. “Somewhat representative, although the rated garden is on the other side of the tennis courts if you drive backwards on plot 10.”

“I think that will be cool too. By coming to football games, you’ll be able to see him develop over time,” Lawrence said. “So you can look at it accumulating and say, ‘I saw that once.'”

Students have now devoted 1,000 hours of work to planting. 60% of this time was devoted to completing classes, but the remaining 400 hours were completely voluntary. They also plan to expand on this project next summer.

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