Pause for a moment to admire the vibrant flowers of the ruby glow tea tree. Keep an eye out for pollinators as you pass the hummingbird yucca. Bend to get a closer look at the emerald green leaves of the carpet manzanita.

These verdant opportunities extend throughout Chapman University. And now the experiences are more immersive thanks to signage with QR codes that link to images and information about the drought-tolerant landscaping flourishing all across campus.

Chapman’s new virtual Water-Wise Landscape Tour has an elemental goal – to enrich the Chapman Experience by inviting community members to stop and smell the sage. But there’s another objective as well.

“No matter which side of campus you enter, and no matter where you’re walking on campus, you’re going to see beauty in the fulfillment of the university’s efforts to reduce our use of irrigation water,” said Jenny Kaufman, manager of energy conservation and sustainability at Chapman.

“I like that we’re making it a celebration of California-native and drought-tolerant plants as we share information that we hope will get people to consider adding them to their own landscapes at home,” she said.

It’s easy to begin the campus landscape tour experience. Just look for signs that read “WaterWise Landscape Tour” at six locations:

  • Stop 1 – Memorial, Bertea and Moulton Halls
  • Stop 2 – Reeves, Smith and DeMille Halls
  • Stop 3 – Musco Center for the Arts
  • Stop 4 – Walnut Avenue and Grand Street
  • Stop 5 – Walnut Avenue and Center Street
  • Stop 6 – Davis Apartments and Sandhu Residence Center

Then use your smartphone and the QR code on the signs to access information about the landscaping near each stop on the tour.