Honoring history and the future through the Martha Springer Garden’s revitalization

Martha Springer Botanical Garden in 2021 prior to renovations. Photo by Anushka Srivastav.

If you take the trail alongside Sparks Recreation Center and turn by the bridge over the Mill Stream, you will find a quiet, relaxing space with various plants blooming under the springtime sun. This is the Martha Springer Gardens, and it is currently undergoing a process of revitalization to open the space back up for the Willamette community. 

The Martha Springer Botanical Garden was first created and dedicated to beloved biology professor Martha Springer in 1987. The gardens were a popular and well-used space until the COVID-19 pandemic and a huge ice storm in 2021 hit the university. The ice storm did significant damage to the trees and plants, and since people were not on campus during the pandemic, the garden became overgrown and difficult to maintain. This called for a revitalization project to make the gardens a place for community and learning once again. 

Alum Paul Boaden (’77) reflected on how Springer was always referred to by her students as “Ma Springer” because of her first name and how mother-like she was to her students. She was well known even to students who did not have her as a professor, like Boaden. “She was a great lady. If you had her for class, you were invited to her home for dinner. If you needed something, Ma Springer was the person to go to. She was well-loved,” Boaden reminisced.

According to biology professor David Craig, the gardens “used to have raised beds with different kinds of educational plants and herbs which were related to classes, such as plants from Shakespeare plays for English classes.” Visiting the Springer Gardens after it was made, Boaden’s favorite part about the garden was the Oregon native plant area. He was also particularly fond of the educational features of the garden, such as the nameplates for various plants, so passersby could learn what they were. “All in all, I enjoyed that it wasn’t just a garden, it was a place where you [could] learn things,” Boaden said.

Having previously created a scholarship that he named after his late mother, Boaden was looking for a way to honor his late father as well. Boaden’s father was someone closely associated with education and had a passion for gardening, and Boaden realized that doing something in his father’s memory “that involved gardening was more appropriate than just the scholarship.” This led him to donate over $100,000 for the renovation of the Martha Springer Garden after learning the garden needed help. According to Craig, this donation was “significant in helping pay for new things in terms of the redesign, such as materials, rocks and fences.” A small plaque bench in the gardens will honor his father. 

Donating towards the revitalization of the gardens was important for Boaden because he wanted to ensure that the space would continue to be educational. He hopes that the changes, such as adding more seating in the gardens and creating a space where events can be held, will give more incentive for the place to be used by the Willamette community. Specifically, his vision is that on nice, sunny days when students may want to be outside, “professors can give lectures in this nice, relaxing location. In addition, if alumni want to hold events such as alumni weekend, they have an event space.” 

The renovation plan includes adding new elements as well as fixing what was damaged. Craig explained that the water features are being repaired and will be brought back, a ramp for baby ducks will be built by the stream, there will be a bee hotel for native bees, and banana plants will be added. Craig added that with the revitalization, there will be new sustainability goals which include having the highest level of organic certification, increased biodiversity, and treatment changes such as having more hand weeding than pesticides. 

Boaden’s favorite feature of nameplates will also be brought back and enhanced through QR codes and updates on the nature-centered app iNaturalist. There will also be a new entry sign and a sculpture for the entrance created by a sculpture professor from PNCA. Boaden said that he “likes the idea of doing something of that nature to help tie the two universities together.” In June 2025, there will be a rededication of the Martha Springer Gardens, along with a “thank you” to Boaden for his donation.