Campus Construction Impact

Dear Gophers,

This spring and summer, the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company will begin removing trees as part of the larger campus master plan that envisions an expansion of Edenwald Senior Living onto three acres of our campus land and the relocation of Whiting-Turner's corporate headquarters onto the parcel currently occupied by the Peabody Preparatory program at the corner of Dulaney Valley Road and Southerly Road near the front of our campus.

Whiting-Turner selected the trees for removal based upon the trees’ health and the pathways needed to construct new sidewalks and infrastructure on the property. We have worked with Whiting-Turner and their landscape architects to design these routes to minimize impact on the landscape. Many of the trees slated for removal are dying, dead, or overrun by invasive species, making them hazardous due to their potential to fall.

The Whiting-Turner team and an arborist recommended which trees to remove and replace. The arborist will also be responsible for the ongoing health of both the remaining trees as well as the new trees planted, including pruning, managing invasive species and vines, and providing appropriate nutrition to the trees.

After completion of both construction projects, Whiting-Turner will plant many new trees on our campus. These new plantings will outnumber the old and feature diverse native species to improve campus safety and sustainability. This will also offer us an opportunity to reestablish the forest buffer around the campus, as originally envisioned by Hideo Sasaki in his 1957 campus master plan.

Sustainability is embedded in much of the work that we do, and the College is working to achieve sustainability goals and priorities throughout its planning for buildings, landscape, mobility, and infrastructure. This project is just one such example.

Forest sustainability efforts are also central to our recently announced partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop a 15-year Forest Management Plan that will further support the sustainability goals of Goucher’s campus master plan. This work will help us address the invasive species issues across our campus and promote greater biodiversity on our 130+ acres of forested land.

These ongoing projects will also offer students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to become involved in our forest management planning and the College’s sustainability efforts. We invite you to take part in future projects.

Meanwhile, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Brian Hutzley
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Finance & Operations