Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 39.55
Liaison Gabrielle Lommel
Submission Date June 28, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Concordia College - Moorhead
OP-9: Landscape Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.01 / 2.00 Jerry Raguse
Grounds Services Supervisor
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total campus area (i.e. the total amount of land within the institutional boundary):
112.51 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 80 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 1 Acres
Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) 0 Acres
Total area of managed grounds 81 Acres

If the total area of managed grounds is less than the total campus area, provide:

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):
The excluded land includes footprint of buildings, impervious surfaces and athletic fields.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program 

Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program:
98.77

If reporting an IPM program, provide:

A copy of the IPM plan or program:
A brief description of the IPM program:
It is the goal of the IPM program to reduce the use of chemicals in the landscape while maintaining a healthy and aesthetically pleasing landscape. We use an action threshold for herbicide, insecticide and fungicide use. Part of the program also involves soil testing for needed fertilization, planting appropriate turf varieties to minimize susceptibility to disease and we are also looking into drought tolerant varieties of turf to reduce water use.

Organic Program

Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an organic program:
1.23

If reporting an organic program, provide:

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:
The campus organic garden and high tunnel located on approximately 1 acre of land in the corner of campus does not use any inorganic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:
The Campus Master Plan establishes a plan to "celebrate [nature] by relying on native plant materials characteristic of the upper Midwest." The list of plants from which grounds plantings are selected creates a guideline "toward the creation of a more purposeful, unified, and sustainable campus landscape." The selective use of native species is the first consideration for the selection of tree and shrub species.

A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:
The campus utilizes a natural filatration pond for snowmelt and a rain garden to filter parking lot runoff.

A brief description of the institution's approach to materials management and waste minimization (e.g. composting and/or mulching on-site waste):
All of our green waste is taken to the city composting site. This includes grass clippings, leaves, dead plant material and branches. The branches are run through a chipper by the city and used as wood mulch.

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):
We monitor winter conditions and use appropriate ice melt products. Our main concern is safety of the individuals walking on campus. We do use a liquid potassium acetate solution which is less toxic to the environment, however because of the severity of our winter there are times when the temperature is below zero and only sand and calcium chloride will work. We do try to only spot treat icy areas rather than blanket spread the sand/salt whenever possible. As we haul snow from campus it is piled in a parking lot designed to recapture the sand and filter the water as it melts to minimize effects on the Red River drainage.

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:
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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.