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UNM’s 76-acre golf course could become more eco-friendly by next spring.
After the Bernalillo County Open Space Fund and the University agreed to allot $1.5 million to renovate UNM’s North Golf Course last year, the University is now taking those plans into action.
Renovations will include a new irrigation system, more trees, a community garden and walking trails in the golf course.
North Campus Neighborhood Association President Sara Koplik said the first phase of renovations will focus on the area’s irrigation system and will run from November until February next year. She said at least $1 million would be spent to fix the irrigation systems, which have not received maintenance since the 1940s.
“Most of the renovations have to do with the irrigation system,” Koplik said. “That is really important because we can use so much less water.”
The second phase of renovations will focus on tree cultivation and will start in early spring next year, Koplik said. She said this will help save the golf course’s wildlife, which is in danger.
“There have not been any new trees planted since the early ‘40s, so the trees are dying and things are rundown,” Koplik said. “We wanted to find the preserve the golf course and make it a wonderful green space for the future.”
Koplik said the project will benefit the campus and community, as it will include a 2-mile track built around the golf course’s perimeter.
“It will be a better trail to walk on and we’ll be using far less water than we have been using,” she said. “UNM is in between I-25 and I-40 which are the most freeways in the state and they cross and the golf course is right there, and when we have 80 acres planted with trees, it’s really going to help clean the air.”
Koplik said the golf course was established in 1940 as a 27-hole golf course that extended from Johnson Field to Indian School. But she said there are only nine holes left in the course.
“The golf course was the last (Works Progress Administration) project before World War II,” she said. “Little by little it was eaten up by the University — by the University Health and Sciences Center, by the hospital, by the dormitory.”
The renovations will affect people who do not visit the golf course, she said.
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“Even if you’re not walking on the golf course, your air has a higher quality,” Koplik said.
Anya Kubilus, a senior, said she is glad that the University will upgrade part of its campus.
“New Mexico doesn’t really have a lot of green nature, so if the University is working to change that, it can improve everyone’s college experience,” she said.
Kubilus attended the University of Rhode Island through UNM’s student exchange program and said she chose to attend that school because of its campus.
“The university was so beautiful,” she said. “There were so many trees, and I’ve never seen so much green in my life.”
Shireen Yaghoobi, a junior, said the natural environment of a campus enhances a student’s satisfaction with a university.
“The greener and healthier a campus, the happier the students,” she said. “Nice landscapes will make a difference on people’s moods attending the university on a daily basis.”
Yaghoobi, who said she likes to spend her time snowboarding and rock climbing, said she considered the way UNM looked when she applied for college.
“I like how UNM has kept its traditional New Mexican figure,” she said. “It is important to have a handsome looking campus to attract a friendly environment.”
