A few years ago Castleton State College built new dormitory houses tucked away in the corner of the constantly growing campus. These houses seemed like a great place to live, but with a bit of an eyesore in the backyard.

That is all about to change in the coming year.

Phil Lamy and his ‘Sociology and Anthropology’ class will soon be renovating the pond behind dorms to offer a picturesque area that will also be used as a gathering place.

“This class is all about building community. This is what we try to do,” said Lamy, whose students have already done some cleaning up of the pond – including hauling a deer carcass out of it.

The pond, formally named Brough Pond, will be further cleaned up and renamed by students of the Castleton community.

The students involved hope that it can become a place for everyone to go and hang out, regardless of the weather.

‘The Secret Garden’ is what the students in the class are calling the pond area.

“We want it to be used for skating, cookouts, or even weddings,” said Jeff Giegler, a senior involved in the project.

The area in and around the pond, which has been a mess with buckthorn weeds and trash since the Lions Club stopped caring for it, will be cleaned up and renovated to fit the needs of students and community member alike.

“This is a beautiful space. We would like to open that up for everyone to enjoy,” stated student Alex Aroldi.

The idea is to have the paths around the pond connect to the cross-country trails as well as others around the area to give it that connectivity to the rest of campus.

President Dave Wolk is a huge fan of this project saying that he “highly supports it” and wants to get it done as soon as possible, which likely will be fall of 2010.

The consensus around the campus seems to be that the newly renovated Campus Center has one downfall, the lack of the amphitheater, which was removed during construction.

A new amphitheater is a proposed for the hill next to the pond, possible for concerts and shows to help make the space more appealing.

Lamy said he would like to have a place for students or classes to gather and be able to sit down and enjoy a good show with the comfort of a calming place like a clean pond area around them.

“We want to turn it into a nice park, and the preparations have begun,” Lamy said.

This proposal is not a new idea however.

The school had purchased the land four or five years ago with the intentions of turning it into a place to enjoy, but other priorities came up and the project has been delayed.

“It really warms my heart to know that the students care enough to step forward on this,” said Wolk with a look of gratification in his eyes.

Wolk added that the class had generated new ideas and he said he is very pleased with their dedication to putting the plan into effect.

Lamy’s class has had a number of successes already including the outdoor classrooms by Leavenworth hall, Pub Night, and the Bike program on campus.

“This class will be four for four in renovation ideas after this is complete,” said Wolk laughing.