WSU students work to develop interpretive garden at Pullman Park

A group of Washington State University landscape architecture students is working with the City of Pullman parks department to develop a wetland mitigation, a five-acre park at 1570 SE Johnson Road. Now under development, it was created in 2010 with a donation from the Herb Neil estate.

The students will work on the project through May 1.

As part of their third-year class, nine students developed an interpretive theme and designs for a wetland mitigation garden and interpretive trail. They worked in pairs to develop conceptual designs, and then city officials chose their preferred theme of “Mary’s Wetland Neighborhood.” The theme was inspired by Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, a popular children’s show that is an offshoot of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. The new park also is going to include a fully accessible playground.

The students are rehabilitating a designated wetland area along Sunshine Creek, which runs through the northwest corner of the park. They are replacing invasive reed canary grass with native wetland shrubs, grasses and flowering plants. They also designed and are building an interpretive trail complete with signs.

While the project helps the city, the design-build class also provides experiential, hands-on learning for the student

“The students develop their design from conceptual level through construction documents, and they build the project based on their own plans,” said Jena Jauchius, adjunct instructor for the WSU School of Design and Construction. “They benefit by working with a real-life client on an actual site that has tangible community benefit.”