Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.63
Liaison Yaffa Grossman
Submission Date May 19, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Beloit College
OP-9: Landscape Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.00 / 2.00 Lindsay Chapman
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total campus area (i.e. the total amount of land within the institutional boundary):
144.20 Acres

Figures required to calculate the total area of managed grounds:
Area (double-counting is not allowed)
Area managed in accordance with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses a four-tiered approach 0 Acres
Area managed in accordance with an organic land care standard or sustainable landscape management program that has eliminated the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in favor of ecologically preferable materials 0 Acres
Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) 144.20 Acres
Total area of managed grounds 144.20 Acres

A brief description of any land excluded from the area of managed grounds (e.g. the footprint of buildings and impervious surfaces, experimental agricultural land, areas that are not regularly managed or maintained):
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Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program:
0

A copy of the IPM plan or program:
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A brief description of the IPM program:
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Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an organic program:
0

A brief description of the organic land standard or landscape management program that has eliminated the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in favor of ecologically preferable materials:
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A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:

College faculty and research students work together to maintain the protected areas of Chamberlain Springs and the Newark Road Prairie. Faculty and staff conduct limited burns, and manually and mechanically pull invasive species where present. This work is done to encourage the original oak savannah and wet-mesic prairie ecosystems that existed in the mid 1800s.


A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:

Beloit College faculty and research students monitor the natural hydrological cycles of these two protected areas. There has been no development on either property as the Newark Road Prairie was designated a State Natural Area in 1974, and Chamberlain Springs was gifted to the College for educational and recreational purposes in 1946.


A brief description of the institution's approach to materials management and waste minimization (e.g. composting and/or mulching on-site waste):

Any weeds that are collected on Beloit's main campus are taken to our vendor's offsite farm location to be shredded and composted. Invasive species at Newark Road Prairie and Chamberlin Springs are pulled and left to decompose at those sites.


A brief description of the institution's approach to energy-efficient landscape design:
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A brief description of other sustainable landscape management practices employed by the institution (e.g. use of environmentally preferable landscaping materials, initiatives to reduce the impacts of ice and snow removal, wildfire prevention):

Beloit's Grounds Department uses a salt/sand mix to cut down on the use of salt. They only salt when necessary. Many snowfalls they will brush the snow off the walks to prevent having to use salt.
Additionally the Grounds department has partnered with a Global Political Ecology class to research and try out alternatives to salt use, including cheese brine from a local creamery. Applying cheese brine before a snow fall helps the salt stick to the cement, and therefore be more effective in melting the snow and ice.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Beloit College has areas on campus that are considered native landscaping, and control of noxious and invasive weeds is conducted through ad-hoc sustainable strategies. However, these have yet to be compiled and/or documented in an IPM.


Beloit College has areas on campus that are considered native landscaping, and control of noxious and invasive weeds is conducted through ad-hoc sustainable strategies. However, these have yet to be compiled and/or documented in an IPM.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.