Bambooville, the oasis of relaxation, inspiration and nature appreciation located in the Bartram and Carr wilderness area, has been dismantled upon mandate from university administration.
Nick Chrone, several interested students and I have been striving to work with the university to keep Bambooville intact. It was taken down because the founder, Jon Anderson, didn’t go through standard university procedures one year ago to install his bamboo structures, tables, hammocks and ornaments.
Our goal is to work with the Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping as well as the Land Use and Facilities Planning committees by presenting a formal proposal to gain approval to restore Bambooville. It is ultimately up to the vice president for business operations, Curtis Reynolds, to make or break Bambooville.
The comments written by supporters of the petitions exemplify the passion and wide range of students in favor of Bambooville. Although I started working at Bambooville because I found the area to be healing amid the daily grind, seeing the community’s response has made me realize this cause is beyond Jon Anderson and myself — it belongs to the students, and I will continue to work as their representative.
If anyone is interested in bringing Bambooville back, find the Facebook page “Restore Bambooville” to keep up to date as we formulate our proposal and move forward.
You can reach me personally at Larkin@ufl.edu or Nick Chrone at NChrone@ufl.edu.
[A version of this letter to the editor ran on page 7 on 2/21/2014 under the headline “The future of Bambooville"]
