SELINSGROVE, Pa. — A portion of Susquehanna University's campus is getting a makeover. The land on West Sassafras Street in Selinsgrove is being transformed into an environmentally friendly space.
"We are replanting what was previously an unused field into a wet meadow so students can walk through and enjoy nature and people can learn a little about native species," Rose Wetzel explained.
"There is a lot of opportunity for doing these projects, and forest riparian buffers and meadow plantings are one way to reduce two of the main pollutants to the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River watersheds, which are sediments and nutrients," said Adrienne Gemberling with the Chesapeake Conservancy.
Folks are planting trees and bushes throughout the field. Gemberling hopes the area will motivate more people to start planting at home.
"This will be a beautiful wildflower field. We have different types of seed mixes that we are actually planting to show how you might be able to do this at home like you could do this in your backyard."
Graduate students at Susquehanna University are also getting hands-on experience through this project.
"It is a really good experience for them to learn hands-on field skills, as well as learn what conservation organizations do in this area, so they can hopefully learn about what potential careers exist for them in the future," Gemberling said.
"I helped order some of these trees, I helped look over the plan that dictated what went in these areas and just helped through that," Wetzel added.
Folks Newswatch 16 spoke to told us that the project will be finished within the next couple of years, and it will include a walking path for both students at the university and people who live nearby.