photo by: Shawn Valverde

Students work to pull weeds and plant native plants at KU's Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

A University of Kansas instructor and her class spent Friday morning planting native wetland vegetation around Potter Lake.

Courtney Masterson, a lecturer in environmental studies and the executive director of Native Lands Restoration Collaborative, worked with students on the banks of the campus pond, which has been undergoing a major restoration over the past year, including dredging and other initiatives to improve the lake’s ecosystem and appearance.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Courtney Masterson, a KU lecturer in environmental studies and the executive director of Native Lands Restoration Collaboration, speaks to a group of students at Potter Lake on the University of Kansas Campus on Friday, May 30, 2025.

The $1.2 million project, which began last summer, aimed to restore the lake — created in 1911 as a water source for firefighting — closer to its original depth of 18 feet and to rebuild a portion of the wall that runs along the edge of the water. In March of this year, a new concrete spillway was poured, as the Journal-World reported.

The native plants installed Friday were provided by Native Lands Restoration Collaborative. Monarch Watch also provided milkweed, a food source for butterflies.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Students plant wetland vegetation by KU’s Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Students work to plant over 105 native woodland and wetland plants representing 16 species at KU’s Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Students plant cottonwood at KU’s Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

A student arranges plants by KU’s Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

A student scrapes mud off their boots at KU’s Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Marlow Kastans with Native Lands Restoration Collaboration helps students pull weeds and plant native plants at Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

A student with arms full of freshly pulled weeds at KU’s Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

A student uproots invasive Japanese Ivy from around Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Landscape architect Jeffrey Preuss looks over sketches for a renovated Potter Lake on Friday, May 30, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

An aerial view of Potter Lake on the KU campus on Friday, May 30, 2025.