“Learning Continues at the Big M”
Platteville, WI – Standing over 200 feet wide and almost 250 feet tall, the Big M
was created by UW-Platteville engineering students in 1936. It was a mining school
at the time…thus the letter “M”. The stones were whitewashed every year by UWPlatteville students. In the many years since, students and community members
alike have taken great pride in Platteville being the home of the world’s largest “M”.
When one ventures onto the land atop and behind the “M”, you’ll find various trails
and rocks to climb. Owned by the University of WI-Platteville, this land was the site
of a summer-long PACCE project by Nicole Hays, a Reclamation, Environment &
Conservation major at UW-Platteville.
Nicole’s project was a continuation of a PACCE project that was initiated in the
spring of 2013. The Reclamation Project Management course developed a broadscale reclamation plan and initiated establishment of restoration test plots for the
Platte Mound. Nicole completed the establishment of the restoration test plots and
determined the costs for various methods. Her work resulted in estimating costs
for the establishment of various plants including a mesic prairie, oak savanna and a
short grass “goat” prairie. This data will be used to guide long-term restoration
planning for the Platte Mound. According to Hays, “ Instead of thinking of the Platte
Mound as a landmark visitor site, or a large-scale 20-year costly restoration project
or simply a degraded woodlot, it actually provides the perfect setting for teaching
students about the issues we will face in real life settings following graduation”.
Dr. Chris Baxter, UW-Platteville Professor, supervised Nicole’s Independent Study
project. “Reclamation or restoration plans should provide a client varying options in
terms of cost and scope. Intended land-use and one’s economic situation will help
to guide a client’s decision on restoring or reclaiming land. Nicole’s project provided
her with the unique opportunity to apply reclamation/restoration techniques to a
real-world setting.”
Both the UW-Platteville Facilities management and UW-Platteville’s Greenhouse
were involved in planning and implementing the project. UW-Platteville Greenhouse
manager and PACCE Engagement Specialist, Dawn Lee, assisted in raising the
plants needed for the project. The results will help to guide the development of
long-term restoration plans for the Platte Mound.
“Each PACCE project connects a committed faculty partner and UW-Platteville
student(s) with a community partner who has a specific need. In this case, there
was a specific need for research at Platte Mound that required a unique set of skills
and knowledge,” according to PACCE Director, Dr. Kevin Bernhardt.
PACCE is a transformative initiative for the campus-wide coordination, integration,
and leadership of community-based scholarship of engagement on the UWPlatteville campus. PACCE is a funding source for scholarship of engagement
projects and funds hundreds of projects every year. For more information about
PACCE, visit uwplatt.edu/pacce. To learn more about this project, visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn0mnV2fPsc#t=264
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