NMU's Sustainability Hub for Innovation and Environment (SHINE) will host two events on Tuesday, Sept. 9, to seek campus and community input on the project to develop an experiential learning forest and garden at the corner of Norwood and Neidhart Avenues, adjacent to the Woodland Park Apartments.
The first will be an “open house” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., when people can drop by the actual space to see the changes that have been made, speak to those involved in the planning and share their thoughts and ideas through conversation and an interactive survey.
From 6-8 p.m., SHINE will hold a Design Jam hosted by Bill Digneit in the Northern Center Peninsula II room. Participants will convene in small groups to design their ideal park, share their results, and then revise their designs based on feedback from the other groups. Pizza will be served at this collaborative event for all ages.
Temporarily named Woodland Park, the site features about 20 acres of natural succession forest. The Hoop House formerly outside the Jacobetti Complex has been relocated there. Other features might include a compost demonstration site, Indigenous medicine garden, seed library, pollinator gardens, outdoor classroom, sensory and healing forest path, and interpretive signs.
For more information, visit nmu.edu/shine/woodland-park. Questions and input can also be submitted via email at shine@nmu.edu.