The denuded coulee landscape of the University of Lethbridge is highly distinctive and future landscape development should protect and reinforce its unique character.
The following guidelines were presented in the report:
- Planting of landscaped areas be restricted to hardy deciduous canopy trees and ground covers which do not require irrigation.
- Irrigation of plants and grasses should be reviewed in all existing campus areas. The University should aim towards using grasses and trees which require no artificial watering after the plants have been established in a year or two. This approach will lessen site maintenance as well as reducing slumping problems.
- Future planting should be restricted to mostly deciduous trees for shade and wind control with minimum use of coniferous trees. Shrubs should be completely eliminated.
- New planting should proceed in a series of bosks which will develop their own micro environments as the plants grow and mature.
- Coulees should remain utouched with indiginous plants and animals inhabiting them.
- The wetland which has developed in the north west corner of campus and which provides a buffer from adjacent urban development in West Lethbridge will be retained and protected as a study area.
The extensive use of trees and ground covers without shrubs will relate well to the low scale of the proposed new academic and residential buidlings.
The above guidelines govern the conceptual plan below: