Something Exciting is Growing on Campus

This fall, students, faculty and staff from multiple departments and offices came together to change the campus landscape for the better. With support from the President’s Innovation Fund and external donors, they have led an initiative to convert approximately one-fourth of an acre of lawn between the Nettie Stevens Science Building and the Wilson Hall Greenhouse into a native plant meadow. The meadow will support native plants and wildlife, offer educational opportunities for students, and reduce the need to mow and maintain the lawn, supporting the University’s commitment to sustainable landscaping.

According to Dr. Tim Parshall, Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, faculty across campus have many ideas for how to implement the project into their teaching. “There are already plan to evaluate how the meadow will influence plant diversity, pollinators, ground invertebrates, birds and soils characteristics.” And he emphasizes that possibilities for research and teaching are limited only by the campus’s creativity as Westfield State University joins the popular movement of “rewilding” disturbed areas.

The President’s Innovation Fund was established to support the implementation of novel strategies and initiatives that will spur innovation, creativity, and excellence at Westfield State University. Funding is available for projects that foster creativity, enhance the value of students’ educational experience, support increased student enrollment, engagement, and retention, champion Westfield State University’s values, and contribute to the financial growth of the institution, showing a return on investment.

The new meadow also received support from Keep Massachusetts Beautiful as part of their 2025 Plant Something Bee-eautiful program. The organization collaborates with groups across Massachusetts to make the Commonwealth “a cleaner, greener place to live, work, and play.” The Plant Something Bee-eautiful program offers grants to “support the planting of pollinator-friendly plants and trees in public spaces…not only to beautify public spaces but also to restore habitat for pollinators.” 

The meadow project was completed in part by volunteers who came out to spread compost, soil, and mulch as well as plant approximately 4000 native seedlings which will serve as the basis for the native plants. Dr. Tarin Weiss and Dr. Tim Parshall collaborated on the project plan with Owen Wormser, owner of Abound Landscape Design in Conway, MA and author of Lawns into Meadows, as well as the WSU Facilities team and faculty members Dr. Carl Grobe and Dr. Kathryn Weglarz of the Biology Department and Dr. Lauren DiCarlo of the Environmental Science Department.