Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.33
Liaison Scott Doyle
Submission Date Nov. 25, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Ithaca College
OP-9: Landscape Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.13 / 2.00 Greg Lischke
Director EM&S
OEMS
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total campus area (i.e. the total amount of land within the institutional boundary):
668.76 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 20 Acres
Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) 280 Acres
Total area of managed grounds 300 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):

368.76 acres of the natural lands are used exclusively for research and recreation.


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:

There is not a formal policy, but Facilities Grounds employs Integrated Pest Management techniques and turf management practices to greatly minimize use of pesticides and fertilizers.


Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an organic program:
6.67

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:

This area consists of low mow turf that is not treated for weeds or pests using any chemicals, nor is it fertilized.


A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:

For the co-designed landscape plan for the LEED Platinum-certified Peggy R. Williams Center, the contracted landscape architect, Trowbridge and Wolf, specified the use of only native plants. We use native plants as often as possible, and have recently transitioned from annuals and non-native species to colorful perennials.


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

The college has only one installed irrigation system, and only sets up portable irrigation in the summer to irrigate our other athletic fields to help minimize injuries to our student-athletes. Campus lawns do not receive any sort of irrigation, and our plant and flower beds are watered using mostly reclaimed water.


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

Groundskeeping waste is composted, although exact numbers for tonnage are not available. We also maintain 25 bio-retention structures to help filter storm-water runoff. The college composts all of its yard waste and owns it own screen plant for which it uses to create planting mixes out of the compost. The college has not outsourced any soils for the past three years since acquiring the screen plant. The college also chips all of the branches and downed trees to create mulch to be used for trails within the Ithaca College Natural Lands.


A brief description of the institution's approach to energy-efficient landscape design:

We have installed four green-roofs to reduce the heat-island effect and also rely heavily on native plantings. We continually plant shade trees throughout the campus to provide shade, including in all of the islands of our parking lots. We have three areas that we have employed porous pavement. We also build windbreaks out of shrubs and trees. We attempt to use plants that are drought tolerant and also require little maintenance. All of the walk lighting on campus has been converted to LED and we are in the process of addressing our street lighting.


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):

Ithaca College used environmentally-friendly ice-melt in areas immediately surrounding buildings. We also use the more environmentally-friendly bulk salt, "Clear Lane," for all other areas of campus. We use a fleet of rotary brooms to remove smaller accumulations of snow to help further minimize the need for salt.

For those areas where we use fertilizer, we use only polyon, time-released fertilizer which is applied using a small calibrated machine to minimize over spray and the total amount used.


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.