The natural greenery of Swann Mall at the University of Calgary is emerging from its winter slumber.
The open space outside MacKimmie Tower and Hunter Student Commons has become a favourite spot for springtime studying, a quick game of catch and even a quiet nap.
With its unique blend of trees, grasses and plants reflecting what was present when UCalgary first started to sprout in 1966, Swann Mall's redevelopment started to take shape with the 2020 Main Campus Landscape Plan.
"It's thinking about the landscape as a holistic ecosystem and not just about planting a red bush here or some green grass there," says Stacy Christensen, UCalgary's associate vice-president, Facilities Development and Campus Sustainability. "It's about creating a living thing that will sustain plants, animals, insects and natural life."
The space has quickly become the model for naturalized landscapes and gathering places across campus while bringing together the university's Indigenous Stategy, ii' taa'poh'to'p; Institutional Sustainability Strategy; and the Campus Mental Health Strategy.
Footsteps in former pastures
When the first University of Alberta in Calgary (UAC) buildings started to rise in the early 1950s, it signalled the end of farmers' fields and grasslands on the horizon west of what is now Crowchild Trail.
The City of Calgary transferred the prairie parcel to the university for its new campus in 1955, with the Administration and Science A buildings being the first to open.
Scale model of proposed redevelopment of Swann Mall. Photo Credit: UCalgary Architecture
Christensen says the green space named after orthodontist and former UCalgary Board of Governors member Dr. Gord Swann, DDS, Hon. LLD'76 became an "informal quad area," like what you see at most universities.
Students, faculty, staff and community members regularly gathered in the area, as witnessed in a photo Christensen has from her father showing sports being played on the plot.
As the campus and student body continued to grow over the next few decades, Swann Mall quickly became surrounded by buildings and people, with less connection to nature.
Bringing different strategies together
In an effort to preserve some of the natural beauty remaining in what had become an increasingly urban campus setting, the UCalgary Main Campus Long Range Development Plan was introduced in 2016.
Building off that, the Main Campus Landscape Plan was delivered in 2020 with the goal of providing a road map for future development and managing existing landscapes.
Christensen says the reimagining of Swann Mall went hand in hand with the nearby McKimmie Block redevelopment, which saw two former library buildings converted into McKimmie Tower and Hunter Student Commons.
"We were really trying to do cutting-edge sustainability on a building like making it net-zero, while also factoring in its surrounding landscape," she says.
From trees and shrubs like trembling aspens, to wild rose flowers and grasses like trufted hairgrass and prairie sagewort, the plan was to bring native plants back to the area.
Swann Mall's redevelopment included less traditional maintenance like mowing and manicuring. It also decreased the need for watering because those plants were naturally drought tolerant, being native to our climate.
It was also an opportunity to work with Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Keepers, who were integral in the creation of the landscape plan, to incorporate their perspectives on the land and the future of the space.
Christensen says integrating sustainability and mental health into the conversation made everything come into alignment.
"The coming together of all the strategies, it's not siloed anymore," she says. "We know that, if we're walking in a good way with the Elders and we're being good stewards of the land and carefully selecting our species to re-establish, we're actually creating a more succinct landscape and overall campus."
A wildlife refuge of sorts
The strategies and ideas that have helped successfully transform Swann Mall are now being instituted in other UCalgary green spaces.
Christensen says similar areas around Mathison Hall and the Veterinary Learning Commons at Spy Hill Campus are two shining examples of what can be done.
"I think the biggest hurdle we face is the expectations that people have around how landscapes should look a certain way," she says. "They expect them to be mowed and watered, and that they can sit on the grass, as an example."
It's about being innovative in how the landscape is handled, including ongoing conversations around things like bringing in goats to maintain some green spaces.
Christensen says creating an eco-friendlier campus will also naturally lend well to more animals like rabbits and deer to wander through, providing opportunities for students and researchers to learn about certain species from a closer vantage point.
"We have a campus that can actually become a microcosm of what the world used to be and provides a kind of refuge for animals and plants," she says. "It's a living lab to learn and research in."
Learn more about the Main Campus Landscape Plan.
In just six decades, the University of Calgary has grown into one of Canada's top research universities a community defined by bold ambition, entrepreneurial spirit and global impact. As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we're honouring the people and stories that have shaped our past while looking ahead to an even more innovative future. UCalgary60 is about celebrating momentum, strengthening connections with our community and building excitement for what's next.
