UCF Aboretum
New Director Envisions UCF Arboretum as Environmental, Recreational Resource
by Chad Binette (cbinette@mail.ucf.edu)
ORLANDO, Sept. 22, 2004 -- The new director of the UCF Arboretum wants
to make the 80-acre preserve a model of sustainable Florida landscape
and a more visible environmental and recreational resource for students,
faculty and residents.
Martin Quigley, a licensed landscape architect with a doctoral degree
in plant ecology, envisions the Arboretum as a "centerpiece of the
campus landscape" that can help educate UCF students in environmental
sciences, physics, geology and other fields.
He wants to add more plants suitable to a Central Florida landscape to
help show residents how they can create beautiful yards that use less
water than yards made up mostly of grass. Eventually, he'd like to
offer residents self-guided, interactive tours through GPS systems that
would provide walkers information about the plants and trees in specific
areas.
"One of the university's and the community's goals is to preserve
this tract of land for study and for enjoyment," said Quigley.
"I'm hoping for a rebirth of this wonderful Arboretum and for
the creation of new partnerships with the community."
The Arboretum, located in the northeast corner of the campus, includes
eight natural ecosystems, including an oak hammock, a cypress dome and
sand pine scrub habitat. Residents can visit for free during daylight
hours to walk or bike along the trails and admire or study the plants.
Founding director Henry Whittier and his wife, Barbara, oversaw the
Arboretum from its beginnings in 1983 until he retired in 2003.
One of Quigley's first challenges will be to repair damage from the
two hurricanes that hit Central Florida during the last two months.
Hurricane Charley caused severe damage to the pine forest area of the
Arboretum, especially along Gemini Boulevard. Hurricane Frances caused
many more trees to fall. The cypress dome and live oak hammock areas
survived both storms with little damage.
Quigley eventually wants to create a natural connection between the
Arboretum and the more visible wetlands in the center of campus, near
the Student Union.
In the Arboretum itself, he wants to install a more "ecologically
appropriate Florida landscape," one that would show residents how they
can create attractive, sustainable yards that use as little grass as
possible. That would help to conserve water and even help residents save
money on long-term yard maintenance, Quigley said.
Quigley also hopes a more interpretive setup, possibly with the GPS
devices as guides, would make the Arboretum more of an educational tool
for ecology, hydrology and other subjects.
Quigley, who received his doctoral degree in plant ecology from
Louisiana State University in 1994, was an assistant professor of urban
landscape ecology at Ohio State University from 1998 until he began
working at UCF two months ago. At Ohio State, he taught courses related
to landscape design, plant selection and landscape restoration ecology.
Since 1979, Quigley has worked as a consultant and landscape architect.
He has helped to design public parks and to improve landscapes at
schools and government buildings. He also has conducted environmental
impact analyses for such projects.
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