Over the last several months, Green Friends of the Games has worked diligently to improve different areas of the Kentucky Horse Park before the start of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Some of the greening projects include improving water quality in and around the Horse Park, placing recycle bins around the park, and planting native Kentucky vegetation and trees.

“We have a lot of projects, and we’re just glad to have made the Games as green as possible,” said Carol Hanley, Ed.D., Environmental and Natural Resources Initiative College of Agriculture and associate director of the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment.

On May 10, as part of the Cane Run Watershed restoration project, more than 25 volunteers began planting a streamside buffer zone composed of native vegetation, perennials, tall grasses, and trees along the stream between the original indoor arena and Horse Park office buildings. The project was then completed by College of Agriculture extension staff.

The purpose of the streamside buffer zone is to filter water run-off before it reaches the stream, which will improve the water quality, Hanley said. The buffer zone also prevents soil erosion and provides a habitat for wildlife to thrive