Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 51.59
Liaison Maria Mendes
Submission Date Aug. 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Red River College Polytechnic
OP-9: Landscape Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total campus area:
104 Acres

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 0 Acres
Area managed in accordance with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses selected chemicals only when needed 40 Acres
Area managed using conventional, chemical-based landscape management practices 0 Acres
Total area of managed grounds 40 Acres

A brief description of any land excluded from the area of managed grounds:

The land excluded includes parking lots and buildings as well as land that is not managed by the college.


Percentage of grounds managed organically:
0

A brief description of the organic landscape management program:
---

Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program:
100

A copy of the IPM plan or program:
---

A brief description of the IPM program:

The first step in IPM is keeping plants and landscapes healthy. When further measures are needed to manage pests, biopesticides are used as a first choice rather than traditional pesticides. Biopesticides originate from animals, microorganisms, or plants, are less toxic than pesticides and often quickly decompose.

The emphasis is on controlling pests rather than eradicating them. Trying to eradicate entire populations can harm ecosystems, is expensive, and often impossible. Under IPM, pest populations are left alone until they surpass acceptable thresholds. Pests that are attacked too strongly might develop resistance to control methods, which could create future populations of control-resistant-super-bugs.

Tree pests: There are two basic steps for dealing with pesky tree pests on campus grounds. First, a non-toxic landscape oil is sprayed on the trees before the leaves bud. This coats any eggs left by adult moths the previous season, preventing them from hatching. If the pest population still grows greater than threshold levels, the grounds crew then sprays Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a naturally occurring soil-dwelling bacteria that causes disease in certain insects.

Weed and turf pests: The grounds crew keeps the turf as healthy as possible by aerating, top dressing, watering and fertilizing. Keeping the turf healthy and strong makes it resistant to minor pest attacks and able to outcompete weeds.


A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:
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A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:
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A brief description of the institution's approach to landscape materials management and waste minimization:

Yard waste and pre-consumer waste from the kitchens are composted at the on-site compost pile. The resulting material is used as topsoil on the grounds.


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

A brief description of other sustainable landscape management practices employed by the institution:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable landscape management program is available:
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.