Installed as part of the 2022 Cornell Biennial, this project creates a moment of wildness on Cornell’s Ithaca, New York, campus. Bisected by a busy pedestrian path, students walking to class find themselves standing within the planting, presenting the opportunity to observe typically unseen species of plants or to watch pollinators.

Although the surroundings of the iconic Slope appear pastoral, the site has a history of disturbance and compaction. Part of the site was clay; part was a layer of gravel from earlier construction. A community of introduced turf grasses and broadleaf invasive species covered the site. Planted species were selected that could thrive in these conditions.

The result is a dense, diverse, competitive planting that requires little maintenance other than a cutback each spring. This cutback has become a ritual, allowing Cornell students interested in plants and design to gather each April.

*Funding provided by the Cornell Council for the Arts.