by Eva Sanchez
One of College Park’s hidden gems, Guilford Woods, is facing possible deforestation because of a construction plan to build graduate housing where the woods now stand.
Students, professors, and local residents have come together to fight the possible construction of Guilford woods, which are one of the only natural green spaces close to campus.
“While walks through woods cannot be valued in dollars, the benefit of natural areas to students and other members of the University community is undisputed,” said Stephen Prince, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland, in an email interview.
The Guilford Woods are a slice of wilderness of about 15 acres surrounded by an otherwise totally developed area of residential neighborhoods and University of Maryland student housing just past South Campus. The existence of the woods contribute to biodiversity and mitigation of climate change.
Running through the woods is a small stream that eventually connects to the northeast branch of the Anacostia River. The woods are teeming with wildlife and native species of trees and plants. According to the Prince George’s Group of the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club, these woods are home to 19 different native tree species and about 100 trees per acre.
“I feel like Guilford Woods is really one of the only places you can go to actually be in nature and to kind of get away from all that construction and urban development,” said junior art history and archaeology major Emily Lucie.
The Gilbane Development Company and UMD have chosen Guilford Woods as the site to build new townhomes and graduate student housing. According to the petition, the Guilford Woods are a part of the Prince Georges County Green Infrastructure Network.
Lucie got involved with Save Guilford Woods, a group dedicated to stopping the proposed construction that threatens the woods, a couple months ago when her friend, who she would visit the woods frequently with, sent her the link to the website and petition. Lucie began writing emails to the city and UMD administration representatives listed on the website when Save Guilford reached out to her about doing outreach.
According to Lucie, UMD President Darryll J. Pines has agreed to a meeting with Save Guilford, which will likely take place in two weeks It will come after a lot of emails to save the woods were written to Pines with no response, she said.
“I’m hoping that he’ll step up and follow his word that he’s going to make this campus more environmentally friendly,” said Lucie, who hopes UMD takes accountability since they claim to be such an environmentally conscious university.
The petition aims to appeal to Pines to dissolve the university’s partnership with The Gilbane Development Company and choose a better location for the much-needed affordable housing. It demands that the Guilford Woods be protected and established as a nature preserve and for the housing development plan to be moved elsewhere.
“Approximately 1200 people have signed a petition and 70 letters have been written to the University President calling for the preservation of Guilford Woods,” Prince said.
There is not just an environmental motivation to save the woods, but an educational one as well. According to Prince, approximately 2,100 students currently benefit or will benefit from the learning done within these woods.
According to Prince, multiple undergraduate and graduate programs use the woods for hands-on learning. There are also future courses that plan to utilize the woods in their curriculum.
“I think a very big reason to save [Guilford Woods] is not only because it’s good for the environment to have woods and to have green spaces, but also the University of Maryland has tried to make themselves a university that has the reputation of being an environmental steward,” said Andrea Shirdon, a junior biology major with a specialization in ecology and evolution.
Shirdon brought up Pines’ goal to make the university carbon neutral.
“I think it would be very hypocritical to say we’re going to go carbon neutral, but we’re going to also cut down these woods. It’s really the only major green space in the area,” she said.
Shirdon said another idea could be moving the development to an existing impervious surface, such as Lot 1B or the area of Old Leonardtown.
“We should be encouraging the developers and the university to get more creative with the things that they already have as opposed to creating new spaces,” Shirdon said.
