Indiana University Indianapolis
OP-9: Landscape Management

IUPUI has two gardens less than 1 acre; New York Street and Central, that are not maintained by grounds crew practices. They are organically managed by the Office of Sustainability. The footprint of buildings and impervious surfaces (parking lots, sidewalks) are not regularly managed or maintained by the landscape management practices and excluded from total area managed.

IUPUI pest control programs will follow the guidelines of Integrated Pest Management. Prior to the application of any pesticide, the building space or exterior area is to be inspected. During these walk-around inspections, pest management applicators will note conditions (i.e., food or food waste left uncontainerized), exterior building envelope openings, and anything else that could be contributing to a pest infestation or pest control problem. These conditions will be documented and reported to Campus Facility Services personnel for corrective action. When it is determined that a pesticide may need to be used in order to manage pests, the least hazardous material will be chosen. Additionally, prior to treatment, the plan will be shared with Campus Facility Services and Environmental Health and Safety personnel for approval to proceed with the application. The purchase, application, storage, disposal, and documentation of all activities related to pesticide use for interior and exterior structural insect and pest control, and for insect and pest control in the campus landscape, will be managed by Campus Facility Services personnel. Contracted and/or in-house applicators that apply Restricted Use Pesticides shall be licensed by the Indiana State Chemist Office (ISC). These licenses include, but are not limited to, the following categories as regulated by the ISC: Interior Building Applications: 7A-Structural Pesticide Exterior Landscape Application: 3A-Ornamental Pesticide; 3B-Turf Pesticide Campus Facility Services personnel involved in the oversight of pesticide use will actively acquire and maintain their knowledge of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and the importance of using IPM methods as it pertains to human and environmental health. Additionally, they will diligently seek “green” pest control methods and plant materials that resist insect and disease problems to reduce the need for pesticide use. They will also provide oversight of applicators and monitor that contract requirements are being met. Application records will be maintained by Campus Facility Services personnel. The application records will be supplied to Environmental Health and Safety upon request. This information includes: Pesticide used Target of application Formulation Amount of finished spray applied Date of each application Name of person applying pesticide

1. When constructing new buildings, existing landscape materials are moved to other areas of campus instead of simply removing them - we tree spade larger trees and relocate them.


2. Construction fencing is used around trees that are to remain in place to prevent soil compaction within the drip edge of the tree.


3. Preferred plants lists are provided to outside design consultants to guide their plant palette so that their design is in keeping with the overall character of the campus canopy.


4. Native plants are given preference When all other aspects are equal and adhere to the Indiana Terrestrial plant Rule with new plantings.


5. When possible we remove invasive species from current landscape beds.

1. Lawn irrigation water use reductions from implementing smart systems (Smart Irrigation) utilizing weather stations and moisture monitors: conserves water by reducing irrigation and making systems more efficient. 37 out of 54 are on this system. 12 of these (of those not on the SMART system) have a solar rainwater sensor. 


2. Collect rainwater for irrigation: reduces potable water use


3. Native plantings: reduced need for watering


4. The university has switched to flower pots with a water reservoir in the bottom to reduce the frequency of watering

1. -Grounds Operation captures an estimated 95% of all yard waste into roll-off dumpsters or open-bed trucks and leaf vac boxes and ships to Republic Services.


2.  No grass clippings are bagged. 


3. Part of leaf debris is used in the campus's urban gardens.

1. IUPUI has received Tree Campus USA designation every year since 2012


2. IUPUI has a canopy coverage goal of 28% for the campus and is actively working to achieve that goal, with a priority on native plant usage.  Current canopy coverage is 25%.


3. Work with University Architects Office to develop sustainable standards.


4. Reducing turf type landscape in favor of native landscapes that require less irrigation and maintenance 


5. IUPUI has remodeled four parking lots to include tree islands. This helps to shade the blacktop reducing heat absorption.

1. Meter snow melt product during application: reduces waste of product and application to turf 


2. Pretreat streets, sidewalks, and parking lots with salt brine mix: pretreatment allows for less salt to be used to melt ice and snow


3. The IUPUI Campus Facility Services Grounds Operations has experimented with several non-chloride snow and ice melt products in an effort to reduce the volume of chloride based salts used for snow removal operations.


4. NaCl salt brine is processed in a campus warehouse, with beet juice added.


5. Brine pre-treatment on campus streets and parking lot drive lanes reduces the amount of NaCl road salt needed for snow removal operations.


6. Potassium acetate and calcium acetate is used on the top level of our parking structures to prevent structure corrosion and eliminate the use of Cl- based ice melt products on garages.