| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.81 |
| Liaison | Stephan Classen |
| Submission Date | Oct. 14, 2021 |
Cascadia College
OP-9: Landscape Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Stephan
Classen Assistant Director of Sustainable Practices Student Learning |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Total campus area:
54.63
Hectares
Figures required to calculate the total area of managed grounds:
| Area (double-counting is not allowed) | |
| Area managed organically, without the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides | 54.63 Hectares |
| Area managed in accordance with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses selected chemicals only when needed | 0 Hectares |
| Area managed using conventional, chemical-based landscape management practices | 0 Hectares |
| Total area of managed grounds | 54.63 Hectares |
If the total area of managed grounds is less than the total campus area, provide:
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Organic program
100
If reporting an organic program, provide:
A signature element of our campus Organic Land Care is the nearly complete elimination of pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers since 2006. This practice extends to every square foot of the campus landscape, including our 58-acre floodplain wetland restoration site. During the past 15+ years we have had 2 noxious weed infestations that, with guidance from the King County Noxious Weed Program, we determined warranted targeted application of Rodeo, a glyphosate-based herbicide. The 1/2-acre Japanese knotweed infestation has since been eradicated and our extensive purple loosestrife infestation has been severely reduced and is now being managed through hand removal and biocontrol insects. Our commitment to eliminating pesticides and herbicides is motivated in large part by the desire to keep poisons out of our public spaces and create a healthy outdoor environment for our campus community to interact with and enjoy. However, we recognize the benefits go well beyond that by fostering a healthy soil food web, beneficial insect and wildlife populations, as well as improved water quality and enhanced function of our green infrastructure.
Our Organic Land Care ethic extends to plant stewardship, water use, and landscape waste as well. The foundation of much of our landscape plantings are native species, along with a large diversity of regionally appropriate pollinator plantings and the integration of edible plants throughout the campus landscape with food being the primary focus of the Campus Farm, Food Forest, and Orchards. Planting regionally adapted plant material and fostering healthy soil, along with robust mulching practices, coupled with a weather-based centrally controlled irrigation system and extensive drip irrigation, allows us to use water extremely efficiently. These landscape practices and the green storm water infrastructure provided by our 58-acre restored campus wetland contributed to our Salmon Safe certification in 2008. In addition, well over 90% of our landscape waste stays on site to be composted or chipped and returned to our gardens or remains in the landscape as leaf litter and large woody debris.
Our Organic Land Care ethic extends to plant stewardship, water use, and landscape waste as well. The foundation of much of our landscape plantings are native species, along with a large diversity of regionally appropriate pollinator plantings and the integration of edible plants throughout the campus landscape with food being the primary focus of the Campus Farm, Food Forest, and Orchards. Planting regionally adapted plant material and fostering healthy soil, along with robust mulching practices, coupled with a weather-based centrally controlled irrigation system and extensive drip irrigation, allows us to use water extremely efficiently. These landscape practices and the green storm water infrastructure provided by our 58-acre restored campus wetland contributed to our Salmon Safe certification in 2008. In addition, well over 90% of our landscape waste stays on site to be composted or chipped and returned to our gardens or remains in the landscape as leaf litter and large woody debris.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program
0
If reporting an IPM program, provide:
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A brief description of the IPM program:
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Optional Fields
We plant almost exclusively native, pollinator friendly and food producing plants on campus that are well adapted to our climate and need minimal pest protection and watering.
A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:
We aim to minimize water use on campus by minimizing the presence of water intensive lawns and planting most of the campus with native, drought tolerant plants. Our campus is certified Salmon Safe and protecting our wetlands is of paramount importance. https://www.salmonsafe.org/getcertified
http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/uwb2
http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/uwb2
A brief description of the institution's approach to landscape materials management and waste minimization:
We compost all landscaping waste on site and use completely composted materials in our campus garden beds, Food Forest, and other landscaped areas.
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:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable landscape management program is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.