Agnes Scott College
OP-9: Landscape Management

The land that is excluded from managed groups includes: footprint of buildings; and impervious surfaces of walkways, driveways and parking lots. This accounts for 29 acres of campus area.

Agnes Scott College maintains natural areas allowing them to flourish with limited landscaping intervention beyond necessary pruning and hand weeding. This eliminated the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides in favor of ecologically preferable materials and hand labor. When invasive species and ivy became a problem in the larger maintained natural area at the back of campus, goats were brought to campus to eat the vines and help the native species thrive, again eliminating our need to spray chemicals in the area.

Agnes Scott College contracts with a landscape maintenance company that utilizes an Integrated Pest Management Plan throughout campus. This plan follows the same tiered approach for integrated pest management outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and LEED.

The action threshold for implementation of pest management strategies at Agnes Scott is when the pest population poses a health risk to the campus population or if the presence of the pest causes damage to the aesthetics of the landscape. Precautionary measures are employed to prevent pests by following a seasonal maintenance schedule (for instance not over watering in the winter so as not to attract mosquitoes). Other preventative measures include selecting plants that are native and pest resistant, and removing invasive plant species.

All turf grasses, trees, ornamental plants and mulched areas are inspected and monitored on a weekly basis. If pests are identified and are unable to be deterred by the prevention measures then a control option is evaluated. Methods for control are chosen based on the type of pest and level of infestation. If chemicals are necessary to control the pest they are used in a targeted manner and only used where necessary. In some cases, when all less risky options have been explored, wide spraying of pesticides and chemicals may be necessary to eradicate pests.

All new construction and renovation projects must have an ecological site plan that follows the guidance of LEED Silver or higher. These site plans incorporate native and drought-resistant plant materials.

In addition, based on a report prepared by the local Audubon Society chapter, the college has plans to replant with native plants when landscaping is changed in various parts of campus. We have begun this practice in some locations.

Agnes Scott uses a campus retention pond to water 100% of the landscape during peak watering season (June-September) either early in the morning or in the evening avoiding the peak heat of the day to avoid evaporation. Only under extreme circumstances is potable water used as a substitute for collected stormwater, like drought or when diseased turf was replaced across a large portion of campus and needed more watering that usual in its initial phase of growth.

The college's contracted landscape management company incorporates the campus’s organic landscape waste into compost and mulch on campus. All clippings (besides turf which is deposited back onto the grass as it is clipped) are composted on site in a compost pile at the back of campus in a naturally maintained area.

Agnes Scott uses a campus retention pond to water 100% of the landscape. Additionally, the college has a rain garden, is a certified Tree Campus, and has a comprehensive tree canopy management plan providing more areas that are mulched rather than maintenance intensive turf.

Snow and ice removal is not a typical part of the college's annual maintenance practices, but when it is necessary an environmentally appropriate product is used for de-icing walkways.