Free post 2

After walking around our campus for the first year of my schooling experience, the hills were definitely one of the key geographic features that jumped out at me.  Even though it was something that I noted and told people about when I was asked about our campus, I don’t think I realized the extent of the hilliness until we went on a bike ride after the release of the new green bikes last Wednesday. It surprised me that after finishing the loop, my legs were actually tired. Biking isn’t anything new to me so in looking back, the constant up and down that we endured seemed to define the bike ride.

The thought of the hills and the near-future construction to change the campus’ entrance and renovate the apartment complexes made me wonder to what extent the construction will increase sediment runoff into our lake and eventually into the James River. That and the imminent increase in impermeable services will not only increase the amount of sediment runoff, but also increase the rate at which parts of campus erode. Maybe an increase in the amount of native plant species that are planted would help dilute the effects, but with a future plan that focuses on growth and construction, it seems unlikely. From the University’s point of view, it’s difficult to balance the desire to be environmentally friendly, and the need to grow and keep improving in order to attract future students. It seems easy to say that they should plant more native species or that they should be more environmentally aware, but in a world full of necessity that stresses growth and prosperity, environmental consciousness is often one of the first things to fall by the wayside for larger business and corporations.