WVU team help plan Flowing Springs Park

A team of faculty and students from West Virginia University traveled

to Jefferson County from Morgantown on Jan. 28 to help the City of

Ranson finalize plans for its new Flowing Springs Park.

The WVU team consisted of Angela Campbell, assistant professor of

landscape architecture; Steven Selin, professor of forestry and

natural resources; Jenny Selin, community design team coordinator; and

graduate students.

Campbell is using the park planning process as a case study

for her landscape architecture students. Selin is using the

process as a case study for graduate students enrolled in his course,

“Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management.”

The landscape architecture students will develop an overall plan for

the park, and the Natural Resource Management students will propose

land management and community involvement strategies.

During their visit, the WVU team met with members of the park’s

planning committee, including Ranson Mayor Mark Hammil; Ranson Parks

and Recreation Director Jimmy Pierson; Ranson City Planner Sarah

Kleckner; Jefferson County Commissioner Lyn Widmyer; Michael Schwartz,

of the Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute; Herb Peddicord, the

West Virginia Division of Forestry’s Chesapeake Bay Forester; Lee

Snyder and John Billmyer of Snyder Environmental Services;

representatives of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society; and several

Ranson residents.

Planning committee members briefed the WVU faculty and students about

the park and the city’s vision for its future, including trails,

interpretive signage, wildlife habitat, and other passive recreation

elements. The group then walked the park property to see its features

first-hand.

The WVU team will be coming back on April 2 to participate in open

house at the park and continue gathering input from community members.

WVU’s involvement in the park planning process was facilitated by a

“TogetherGreen” grant received last fall by the Potomac Valley Audubon

Society.

The TogetherGreen grant program is a collaborative effort of the

National Audubon Society and Toyota, Inc. It is designed to fund

innovative conservation projects, support conservation leadership, and

offer volunteer opportunities that significantly benefit the

environment and reach new audiences.

It awards grants to Audubon organizations and partners that

demonstrate exceptional creativity in working with other groups on

projects that will produce tangible benefits for environmental

quality. The Potomac Valley Audubon grant was one of 43 such grants

awarded nationwide last fall.