A class project has become reality for three landscape architecture majors as they put the finishing touches on their wetland nature reserve overlook.
Shawn Davidson, Walter Young and Matt Weislo are fourth-year landscape architecture majors and developed their idea with the help of classmates in a design build class taught by Les Smith.
Fifteen students worked together to form a plan for the White River area. The class then split off into groups in which the three men developed a plan that included terraces and plants for the John Craddock Wetland.
Located on the corner of Gavin Street and Bench Boulevard on the north side of Jackson, the three terraces provide views of the wetlands and the White River.
"The location is perfect for people in cars to spot as they drive around the corner," Davidson said.
The plan was shown to John Craddock and the board members of the Muncie Sanitary District who liked the idea. The board provided the funds needed to build the overlook.
Craddock is the retired chief of the city sanitary district's bureau of water quality, which he managed since 1972.
The John Craddock Wetlands was named after Craddock's efforts to clean up the pollution of the White River during the late 1970s. Craddock, with the Muncie Sanitary District, provided the funding for the clean up.
Davidson, Young and Weislo are independent contractors on the construction team.
"We were hired on because we were the ones who knew the design," Davidson said.
The design was finished in April after working on it for a little more than one month. Two weeks later construction began, Davidson said.
The class originally began building the project, but ran out of time as school ended. The Muncie Sanitary District then resumed construction.
According to the Muncie Parks and Recreation Department, numerous students have helped improve the White River either by volunteering or designing overlooks along the river.
Davidson said the Muncie Planning Commission has plans to build trails into the wetlands and along the White River. A trail connecting the Cardinal Greenway is also a goal the commission has.
"This is only phase one of many phases," Davidson said.
The overlook will be approximately 70 feet by 70 feet and will be organized around plants. Native grasses will be around the sight, with an American sycamore providing shade.
The wetlands that can be seen from the overlook, which will eventually be created into a marsh in the near future according to Davidson.
A ribbon cutting has been planned for late June to open the overlook to the public.
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