By THEO BJORNSTAD and ELISA TURNER

At the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester, many students, despite all the developments and renovations this season, noticed a strange absence on campus. Walking past the front doors of Pearson’s Hall, a new bed of straw, netting and grass seed has been laid. Posts have been dug up, and the earth filled in.  It was as if the wildflower garden, in full bloom only the spring prior, had never existed to begin with. Over the summer, the native wildflower garden, a shining example of Beloit College’s continued commitment to sustainability, disappeared without a trace, no reason or explanation given for its sudden removal.  

Prior to the wildflower garden, there was still significant plant life around Pearson’s. “Originally there was a huge oak tree in that area… it might have been the oldest oak tree on campus,” says Chris Fink, OEC faculty advisor and environmentalist. “It fell down a few years ago… I believe it was Yaffa Grossman who… led the effort to turn that area into native planting, similar to what’s around the Science Center already.”

The aesthetics of the wildflower garden and its palatability to those unfamiliar with native plants was also called into question; it’s been widely speculated that this was the primary reason for its removal. “I wasn’t consulted on [the removal]… I can speculate that people have differences of opinions about what makes attractive landscaping. I love the native plants, but it’s a more wild look, and I think the college is trying to have curb appeal for a range of students, …prospective students, …and their families… A lot of suburban people might see [wildflowers] as weeds,” says Fink. “Most of us who grew up in the midwest don’t know what a native plant looks like. It’s only in the past… couple of decades that’s become what we want to do— prairie restorations, especially in suburban/urban areas.”

While the construction of the ramp by Pearson’s happened in close proximity to the wildflower gardens, many of us were under the impression that these two items could coexist near each other. The ADA guidelines are somewhat ambiguous as to whether or not a garden can safely be in the general area of the base of a ramp, and Chris Fink suggests this may have been an issue. “I think it was probably… because they moved the School of Business to Pearsons and added the ramp to make it ADA compliant, remodeled the building— I’m assuming that the removal of the native plant garden was part of that process. Somebody decided it had to go. It wasn’t me. I wouldn’t have done it that way, but no one asked me.”

Though neither Fink nor any part of OEC was consulted (or given so much as a heads-up, it would seem) prior to the garden’s removal, he is by no means despondent about the future of native plants at Beloit. “Since I’ve been here, the College has made a more concerted effort to include native plants in the landscaping plan, and the planting by the Science Center is an example of that… The landscaping around the Science Center was a big win,” Fink says. “For me personally, I was sad to see [Pearson’s wildflower garden] go, but you kind of pick your battles… This was a little island, so the bigger impact on the wildlife community… was pretty small.” Chris Fink focuses on sustainability wins at Beloit College, and encourages student advocacy for further environmental efforts. “Students could suggest another [native plant] area, on the residential side, for instance.” Fink remains optimistic about the environmental sphere at Beloit College, even in the face of a few steps back.

In an effort to better understand what exactly prompted the garden’s removal, Martha Stolze, Director of Admission at Beloit College, graciously agreed to an interview.  When asked about the garden’s status as a landmark on campus, Stolze said “It’s not part of our official student tour guide manual… I’ve occasionally had families ask about it, but it is not something we’ve necessarily highlighted.” With a focus on attracting and maintaining interest for prospective students, Stolze tends to focus on the largest sections of the student body. “The vast majority of students are not gonna have… whether or not there’s a native plant garden in their top [priorities],” says Stolze. A minor feature such as the garden is more akin to a cherry on top, rather than any kind of determining factor for prospective students.

While it seems that a majority of students paid little mind to the gardens, remaining broadly neutral on the matter while they were around, the garden’s removal represents a fairly significant symbolic step back in the department of sustainability. Beloit College has little in the way of publicly broadcast environmental measures, with the Science Center’s rain garden now being the sole notable example. While other colleges of similar size and funding have taken up massive efforts to address sustainability and ecological concerns, such as Loyola’s commitment to producing its own biodiesel or St. Olaf’s use of an on-site wind turbine to offset its power demands, Beloit has only continued to backslide on what little efforts it has publicly made.

Although Stolze at the Department of Admissions couldn’t grant any insight into the specific reason why the garden was removed, or even the date it was, she echoed a sentiment that a majority of faculty seems to share. The wildflower garden was small. A minor feature of campus, if even that. It didn’t bring anyone to the college, never swayed someone’s decision to attend, and therefore, as a project, it didn’t significantly contribute to any tangible benefit to the college. For the trouble it took to maintain, it did not generate enough interest for it to justify the work it continuously required.

While opinions regarding the garden were mixed, some students and faculty remain vocal in their desire for the garden’s return. We even reached out to Chyler Smith’28, a tour guide for Beloit College in her 2nd year, to see what role nature, and the College’s commitment to sustainability, played in getting people to attend. “I think a lot of people are interested in what is connected with wildlife and stuff like that on campus, like with the trees all around,” says Smith. “…People love to have that… I think a lot of people are interested in keeping wildlife, keeping flowers and stuff like that around, something that people are looking for… and that’s what sets Beloit apart from UW schools.” 

Aside from the aesthetics, Smith also mentions that people observe the scientific value of wildlife on campus. “I know a lot of people are very interested in the greenhouse we have connected to the Science Center, I always like to point that out, so to not have more of that natural sort of focus, especially something that was protected before… It’s very unfortunate and it’s definitely something that I think… should have been kept, and I would have loved to see it grow, see it expand even to other areas of campus.” Smith, as well as others, lament the loss of the garden and express an interest in seeing the return of native species to campus.

The native wildflower garden, in the end, seems to have suffered the same fate as most native plants. Pulled up, and paved over with lawn. There doesn’t seem to be one definitive reason it was removed, no strong central claim that resulted in its destruction. “It was in the way. It wasn’t bringing in new students. It looked like a patch of weeds.” All these reasons and more seem to have just outweighed what little tangible benefit it provided. In all likelihood, it was just not worth keeping around any more. And now, it’s gone, taken over by the Kentucky bluegrass that has forced the native flowers and grasses that once covered Wisconsin’s forests into the few wild places still left untouched. 

As small as it was, taking up barely a few dozen square feet, it was a reminder that the college  was willing to nurture something that didn’t have a yearly return on investment. But as the campus continues to shrink, and buildings like the old writing center are slowly sold off, it isn’t surprising that something like the native wildflower garden couldn’t manage to justify its existence on the budget sheet. There’s always a chance it comes back in the future, in some form or another, but until that day comes, a fair few students and faculty will miss it dearly.

_{Featured image: Wisconsin Native Plants Guide}