who is don Morris?
Don Morris was the University of Newcastle's Callaghan campus planner from 1975-1988. Morris was able to capture the bush land surrounding the campus and integrate it into the construction and planning of the faculty buildings and infrastructure which ultimately maximized the retention of the existing native fauna.
Prior to his careful planning of the Callaghan campus, Don Morris began lecturing in the Newcastle university collage from 1961. He was elected as sub dean with the opening of the new faculty of architecture in 1965, he left this position in 1967 as he was granted study leave in which Morris spent in Manchester, England, Finland and visiting numerous schools of architecture for 12 months
He retired in 1988 to pursue his passion of watercolour painting and gardening. Morris was made Doctor of the university, Honoris Causa, in 1992 and in the same year the Don Morris walkway was named in his honor.
Kevin McDonald states that,
" Don Morris was an unassuming and humble man, with a meticulous eye for detail. He drew many maps and diagrams for various publications, …"
THE DON MORRIS WALK
The Don Morris walk located on the University of Newcastle Callaghan campus commemorates Don Morris contribution to the planning of the university grounds, and was intended to offer environmental students an opportunity to observe the ecology and environment of their campus as well as a relaxing stroll through 'truly Australian bush land and wetlands.'
The walk allows visitors to experience a variety of habitats and ecosystems as the walk encompasses dry and wet sclerophyll forest as well as aquatic areas. The walk also includes signage throughout the duration of the walk providing information about the various plants and animal species observable on the walk.
However, the walk itself is quite short at approximately 650 meters of walking track and a total duration of approximately 15 minuets
While the Don Morris walk originally opened in 1992, in 1996 the Don Morris walk was updated to include a creation of a large pond area (pictured below) with a small island which divides the eastern and western sections of the Callaghan campus.
The committee originally allocated $37,000 for the walk, the total cost was $36,667.
Forgotten? How?
The University of Newcastle Callaghan campus boasts a unique bush land environment which has been captivated and enchanted staff, students, and visitors alike. The campus hosts several walks including the Don Morris walk, in a variety of lengths. While other walks are being used frequently by staff, students and visitors namely on the Saturday runs, the Don Morris walk is secluded and no longer maintained.
What constitutes the use of 'forgotten'?
The Don Morris walk and majorly the sites along the walk have fallen into a state of disrepair, the lookouts and observation posts now pose a risk instead of providing an opportunity for learning and scenic views. Weeds and invasive species now dominate the landscape more than ever before.
Some areas on the walk that highlight the safety risk are:
The bridge connecting the walk to the architecture building was highlighted in 2013 as an area in which an invasive weed had taken hold and was encompassing the bridge. As seen below the bridge has passed this point, with it no longer able to be seen through the weeds.
On areas of the walk the path itself poses a safety risk, with fallen branches on the paths as well as overgrown and potentially dangerous trees above the path.
The 'jetty' or the wooden pathway that enables visitors of the walk access to the man made wetland environment, now is missing panels, and in some areas underwater.
The use of 'forgotten' in relation to the Don Morris walk is not entirely about the maintenance of this site, or the memory of the site, it is however, used to highlight the lack of importance the walk possesses now as compared to its conception and building. The Don Morris walk is quite charming and enchanting to walk through, the beauty that the original creators wanted to enhance is not lost nor is the uniqueness of the land, what is lost is the knowledge or desire for people to complete the walk.
Why has it been 'Forgotten'?
There are a multitude of likely reasons as to why the frequency of use of this walk has declined, ranging from the increased ferociousness of mosquitoes, the secluded nature of the walk , as well as the lack of knowledge.
One is due the fact that the university offers a range of accessible nature walks as well as casual 'green space' on campus which means that students and staff have less motivation to seek out the Don Morris walk hidden behind the engineering precinct. The Don Morris walk at its conception was a walk that offered opportunities for observation and learning for environmental students as well as a scenic walk on campus, today the walk is secluded on a area of the campus that is not as frequently used with evidence of the university funds being allocated to everything bar the environment. Today, the intentions around green spaces on the university campus has changed, green spaces rarely are created as a means of education solely.
How have 'Green Spaces' changed?
what are green spaces?
Green spaces are now allocated areas on campus where the staff, students, and visitors can interact with the environment with the intention that the area of grass, trees, or other vegetation is used for recreational or aesthetic purposes in an otherwise urban environment.
How does that change the intention?
Green spaces are consistently being used in modern architecture to promote mental well being and physical health. Elizabeth W. Holt, Quinn K. Lombard, Noelle Best, Sara Smiley-Smith and John E. Quinn's research states that students attending a university campus with significant access to green and natural areas, that have active interactions with green spaces are more likely to associate health, well-being, high quality of life and low stress and happiness with green spaces.
Their research also states that;
'The results from scales measuring students’ utilization of green space showed that 33.3% were high active green spaces users, 33.8% were high passive green space users, and 51.7% had high overall green user scores.'
So, what does that mean? of the students only 51% had high overall green user scores meaning that they frequently interacted with all forms of green spaces, actively and passively. Active meaning physically such as nature walks, runs, and tours whilst passively means sitting, studying, and interacting socially in green spaces.
How does this affect the Don Morris walk?
While the Don Morris walk offers the opportunity to be amongst the nature on the University of Newcastle Callaghan campus for the students that wish to use the greens space for health and well being they have to go out of their way to use the Don Morris walk and will more likely chose another nature walk on campus namely the Birabahn walk or passively use areas of the campus that integrate urban environment and bushland just as Don Morris intended.
Conclusion
Whilst the original intention of the Don Morris walk which was to offer scenic views and learning opportunities continues to be seen in the development and use of the site, our intentions with green spaces have changed. Rather than accessing the walk for its original intentions staff, students and visitors seek out green spaces as a break from the rigid and desolate urban spaces to promote mental well being, physical health, and a reduction in stress.
References
"Don Morris". 2022. Living Histories. https://uon.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/65431.
Holt, Elizabeth, Quinn Lombard, Noelle Best, Sara Smiley-Smith, and John Quinn. 2019. "Active And Passive Use Of Green Space, Health, And Well-Being Amongst University Students". International Journal of Environmental Research And Public Health 16 (424): 1-13. doi:10.3390.
McDonald, Kevin. 2013. “The Don Morris Walk Guide.” Newcastle: Tom Farrell Institute for the Environment.
Newcastle: UON, 1994. “Bushland Campus, A Description of the natural ecology and the human development of the grounds of the University of Newcastle.”
Wright, Don. 1992. “Looking Back, A History of the University of Newcastle” Newcastle: University of Newcastle.