Planning Charette
Trinity University physical plant staff, faculty, and students, will host a planning charette on the weekend of 5 November 1999.  A charette is a planning process whereby a diverse group of participants work closely and intensely to complete a plan for a specific project. We anticipate establishing three or four teams, each consisting of interested faculty, physical plant personnel, staff, students, community neighbors, and professional resource consultants. The entire Trinity community will be represented. Each team will spend a day developing objectives and a preliminary plan. An executive team will help guide the process and serve as rovers during the planning day.

The planning charette will begin on a Friday afternoon, 5 November, with an opening workshop on the northeast corner property. The primary objectives of this reception are for participants 1) to walk through and inspect the property, 2) to study resource materials on local soils and native plants, and 3) to become acquainted with their team members. After the reception, the ACS participants will make presentations on similar projects on their respective campuses.  The next day, Saturday 6 November, would be devoted to the planning process. The Trinity Charette Executive Committee will set benchmarks and guidelines for the day. In the afternoon, each team will make a presentation of their plan.  We will invite three or four architects from firms familiar with Trinity University to participate on each team as graphic artists. These professionals will be responsible for helping each team to graphically represent their ideas.

Setting
Trinity University has an undeveloped 12-acre parcel of land on the northeast corner of campus. Within the last 20 years, a jogging/walking trail has been laid down, tree cover has increased, and wildflowers have been planted to increase the beauty and student use of the area. Recently, campus interest in environmental issues has raised awareness of the educational potential of this attractive open space. A group of faculty, students, and staff at Trinity University have discussed a plan to manage this parcel, so that it would satisfy the university community's need for an outdoor area for environmental teaching and
learning.  To that end, an informal campus committee has been formed and has written a vision statement related to the future use of this open space. The committee believes that its next step should be the development of a plan for the development and management of this campus resource and is requesting ACS support for this planning process.

The goal of this project is to define potential uses, development plans, and management plans for the northeast corner of Trinity University. Trinity University physical plant staff, faculty, and students will host the charette.  We will collaborate with faculty from ACS institutions that have either expressed interest in this type of project or have conducted similar planning operations on their respective campuses.

Outcome
One outcome of this planning process will be a set of realistic options for the development and management of the northeast corner of the Trinity University campus. These plans will form the basis for the future development and use of this site. In order to assist other ACS institutions that are planning to develop environmental learning facilities, documents describing the charette planning process and the results of this activity will be made available through a website.

Contact Information
John Greene, Director of Physical Plant.  210-999-8452. Jgreene@trinity.edu
Fred Loxsom, Professor of Physics. 210-999-7425.  Floxsom@trinity.edu
David Ribble, Associate Professor of Biology.  210-999-8363. Dribble@trinity.edu