Every day, countless Winthrop students and faculty leisurely stroll past and through the Campus Green, taking in the natural beauty of the university’s neatly sheared green grass fields and seasonal prim gardens. What many do not know is that the Campus Green beauty and design is the work and toil of a single, dedicated architect, orchestrated by Sustainability Coordinator, Christopher Johnson.
Johnson began working at Winthrop University as Sustainability Coordinator in Sept. 2011, after spending 11 years working in the interior design and architecture field. Since then, Johnson has served as the chief coordinator of campus sustainability, overseeing and performing maintenance on gardens and greenery across the campus.
“The themed gardens require specialized attention, [so] it was important to me that the gardens receive this care and provides sustainability students an opportunity to learn more about native plants, pollinators and the care that is required to maintain these very special gardens,” Johnson said. “These gardens were installed as a collaboration between Winthrop, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. As the benefactor of these young people’s hard work, we have been entrusted to care for these gardens as well as enhance the contribution these scouts have provided to our campus.”
Johnson utilizes different gardening and sustainability tactics based on the current season to create gardens that can create beauty while also being practical and to ensure that the gardens can receive the most optimal care possible.
“The needs in the garden vary by season. In the winter, tasks include mulching, trimming back dead stalks and plants, as well as weeding. There are some plants we can set in the ground including some bulbs. In the spring, we replace the plants we have lost. Most of our plants are perennials, which are plants that come back every year. These are cost effective and allow a diversity of color and texture throughout the year. We do have some annuals that we use to fill open space in the gardens. However, we would prefer perennials to avoid the costs of replacing the annuals each year,” said Johnson.
“In the summer, we generally focus on weeding and watering the gardens when we have extended dry periods. And in the fall, we work again on weeding and trimming any damaged plants and planting pansies in the late fall for the winter color.”
Johnson organizes and performs maintenance on all of the Campus Green gardens, as well as some of themed gardens around campus such as the “pollinator” garden behind Tillman Hall and the newly established “diversity and inclusion” garden next to the Rutledge Building.
Although Johnson is the sole Winthrop employee spearheading campus sustainability, many students and other community members often participate in service events organized by Johnson to aid in sustainability upkeep.
“I require service learning in my sustainability courses which include several opportunities to help in the gardens. SEAC has also volunteered to plant some perennials in the fall of 2019 and last February, I had a group of students help in the gardens even while it snowed. Because of the limitations caused by the pandemic, many students have found comfort in growing plants and gardening. As a result, during the fall semester, RA’s planned a planting day where we planted pansies, which do well during the winter,” Johnson said.
Winthrop junior and biology major, Jamar Lewis, said that his participation in MLK Service Week events geared towards sustainability has become a consistent aspect of his campus experience.
“I’ve been participating in MLK service since I was a freshman,” Lewis said.. “This is something I love to do; I love giving back to the community and participating in all these service projects, whether they be cleaning up on campus or even opportunities to serve off campus. It’s great to give back to the people who need more.”
Johnson intends to hold more sustainability events throughout the semester, for which he encourages students, faculty and staff to participate in.
“Related to the gardens, I am working to plan campus outreach opportunities for members of the campus community. I have scheduled two work days February 19th and 20th to complete some winter maintenance. Anyone interested may sign up using Eagle Impact. Over the next two months we are participating in the national waste reduction campaign, ‘Race to Zero Waste.’ We will be sending out information during this time about recycling on campus as well as how to reduce waste consumption. Information about the gardens is being added to the interactive map located on the Office of Sustainability website for anyone to access and learn about our themed gardens,” said Johnson.
Johnson’s appreciation and work towards organizing and improving campus sustainability efforts has been echoed by university Interim President George Hynd, who announced the cultivation of a Campus Beautification Initiative on Jan. 19 in an address to faculty and staff.
“…Ours is an extraordinarily beautiful university campus, and its appearance reflects how we present Winthrop to our prospective and current students, alumni, employees and community. The Campus Beautification Initiative will offer the opportunity for all of us to participate in respecting our institution’s history by contributing energy, vision and engagement. The committee that will spearhead this initiative is currently being formed, and it will be led by Jeff Bellantoni. Please watch for more information that will be shared soon on how you can be involved,” Hynd said.
Photo courtesy to Winthrop University
