Rocky Branch Refuge is a collaborative effort to transform an aging, single-function stormwater area into a multi-purpose “living laboratory” that is also a nature destination for the campus community. This project serves as a natural experiment to enhance the site’s ecological function, biodiversity, and human accessibility.

Project Overview

Team: Nature and Health Collaborative, Climate and Sustainability Academy, Global One Health Academy, Landscape Maintenance and Operations, University Sustainability Office

Duration: Fall 2025 – Present

Status: In Progress

Focus: Life on Land

Primary Contacts: Aaron Hipp (Nature and Health Collaborative), Dawn Rodriguez-Ward (Climate and Sustainability Academy), Meredith Spence Beaulieu (Global One Health Academy), Sarah Ketchem (Landscape Maintenance and Operations)

Summary

Between Sullivan Shops, the Isenhour Tennis Center and Rocky Branch Greenway is a restored habitat and stormwater control measure known as Rocky Branch Refuge. The site had been identified in the Landscape Framework Plan as an opportunity for enhancing natural areas, connectivity and wayfinding. The green space amenities were not well-known, lacked formal access and contained no defined routes. The stormwater control pond was eroded, overgrown with unsuitable vegetation compromising the pond, and required renewal. The vision was to install mulch paths, signage, furniture for informal gathering, and to renovate the pond to be a productive stormwater control measure. A unique element of the site was localized beaver activity, and a central tenet of the project was to work alongside the active beavers in the area. Wildlife cameras were installed and a Sustainability Fund grant later allowed for the addition of more site monitoring, informal and formal gathering spaces, two trail-based entrances plus an accessible entrance, signage and additional plantings. The stormwater pond was repaired, and the site was named Rocky Branch Refuge. Within the first semester, the site was implemented into a biodiversity module within the Environmental First Year program’s ENV101 course and in PRT 261: Nature, Health, and Wellness.

Findings

Student and faculty researchers established baseline environmental and biodiversity data points before the site was renewed. Data from before, during or after the project includes information about plants, insects, soil microbiome, wildlife, and reptiles and amphibians. Additional cameras and acoustic monitoring have been added. Post-renewal data will also be gathered in 2026 and future years and compared to pre-renewal data from 2025 to quantify the One Health benefits of the intervention.

Looking Ahead

The site interventions were completed in Fall 2026, but the research is ongoing. A continued goal for the site is to use it for wellness and education, which includes embedding it into relevant university courses as an on-campus field site.