Berea College
OP-10: Landscape Management

Chemical use is last resort for pest control. In general, the action threshold for pest populations is set very high and usually based on physical harm to the plant or a disruption to a person’s experience on campus. An example would be an abundance of lace-bugs on azaleas not allowing photosynthesis and causing defoliation, or an unplayable percentage (over 20%) of crabgrass on a collegiate sports field. Plants are constantly monitored for any problems, and upon finding a problem the pest is identified if present. If a pest is determined to be the cause of a problem, and the action threshold level has been exceeded, then chemical use will be considered. In most cases a safer non chemical control option will be tried first and the cycle of monitoring will begin again. If other options have tried and the problem still persists, then chemical use will be considered. If the pest problem persists for multiple years after control another plant will be considered for the site. During plant selection for landscapes, low maintenance and balance are always top priority for designs, along with proper siting of the selected plants. This generally leads to healthier plant material that is more likely to prevent a pest problem. During maintenance of planted landscapes, proper cultural care is scheduled also to decrease the chance of a pest problem.

It is practice when determining plant material for projects first to determine the site requirements of the area, including but not limited to sun exposure, drainage, soil type, height requirements, maintenance requirements, safety needs, etc. After determining these needs, plant material is chosen with 3 different categories of material: native, human edible qualities, non-invasive exotic. The goal of every project is minimum 30% native material used for shrub beds, and 75% for trees. The ultimate goal of every project is a low maintenance, properly sited, and well balanced landscape.

All grounds related waste is reused. Grass clippings are mulched on site back into the turf. All wood and brush is dumped at a selected location, where burnable wood is given to the community, and all remaining woody material is chipped into mulch for tree rings. Leaves and herbaceous material is stored at another location and reused as leaf mold and compost.

Berea College has approximately 8 miles of sidewalks, 2 miles of roads, and 8 acres of parking lot that are maintained for snow and ice. During inclement winter weather, sidewalks are cleared by 2 to 3 mechanical sweepers, focusing on priority routes first. Building entryways and stairs are hand cleared and salted as needed with MgCl salt. Roads and parking lots are plowed and salted with NaCl rock salt. Throughout the weather event crews are checking all routes and repeating as necessary. If the weather forecast dictates a need for pre-treating, high traffic and high risk safety areas are salted with the above mentioned products, respectively.