Eastern just got a little greener with the new green space between Klehm Hall and the Life Sciences Building.

The plan for the green space came into effect when the school decided to eventually build a new science building on the field south of the Tarble Arts Center.

Gary Reed, the director of Facilities Planning and Management, said Eastern removed the pavement this past spring and had planned to make it a green space before the school year started, but complications led to the delay.

Rocks in the original soil caused the delay, which was fixed by a special machine needed to break the rocks from the soil.

Not all the rocks have been removed, but the vast majority is gone, Reed said.

Reed said a lack of water supply to the area also postponed the process.

“We discovered that the fire hydrant-which we thought would be used for irrigation water-was broken,” Reed said. “(Charleston) has since repaired the hydrant, but thankfully we received some much needed rain, which allowed the grass seed to sprout.”

Becca Jakaitis, a senior mathematics major, said she does not know why the ropes are there.

The space was left unutilized for so long and it should have something to make it friendlier, not something to keep people away, she said.

When the new building is built, traffic across the grass will increase, but Eastern wants to be sure the grass can withstand the stress, Reed said.

Andrew Sandersfeld, a junior biological sciences major, said the grass is better than the field dirt that used to be there, but something like a cool courtyard would be nice.

The green space is a lot better than the dirt that was there before, Sandersfeld.

Reed said the parking lot was moved to the perimeter of the campus to make the campus greener and more pedestrian friendly.

Danny Naatz, a senior communication studies major, said he would like to see Eastern incorporate a couple gazebos in the green space to create a more relaxed campus.

Reed said they would keep the ropes around the green space as they are trying to keep the foot traffic across the grass to a minimum.

Eastern is not done with the space and is still coming up with ideas for what should be added to the area, Reed said.

“The pavement was removed this past spring,” Reed said. “The campus landscaping vision includes a more refined green plaza in that area which eventually would tie-in with the Alumni Clocktower Plaza.”

Bob Shaughnessy can be reached at 581-2812 or rrshaughnessy@eiu.edu.