After a five year proposal in the making, RWC’s Building and Grounds Committee hopes to finally break ground on a new walking trail designed for the campus.According to Professor Mark Otten, Chair of the Committee, the trail was designed for students, faculty and staff to have a safe place to walk or exercise away from traffic, and for educational purposes as well. The committee also hopes that the trail will also give students, faculty and staff an appreciation for the beautiful campus that we have.
The Walking Trail will be located in the woods behind Muntz Hall, extending from the soccer fields to the back lot. The trail will take on the form of a horse shoe with two different routes, a longer route at a little less than a mile, and the other quite a bit shorter, extending only half a mile. The committee wanted a design that was fairly easy to walk and readily accessible from different parts of the campus. Later on, Otten said, there may be possibilities for extensions to the trail.
Groundbreaking was supposed to have taken place in March but was delayed due to the Committee making final touches on the plan. As of now, the Committee is working with UC’s architects on finalizing the plan.
All work for the trail is done on a volunteer basis, Otten said. Volunteer efforts have come from the Building and Grounds Committee, which is made up of elected and appointed faculty and staff. Kelly Tanis, from the RWC Student Government, has recently joined the Committee and will be providing student input on the project.
Funding from the project comes from donations. No college funds or grants are used to fund this project. Although the Committee is not asking for donations at this time, donations can be made to the RWC’s Building and Grounds Committee.
If all goes as planned, expect a new addition to the campus by the end of the year.