| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.97 |
| Liaison | Teddy Lhoutellier |
| Submission Date | March 13, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Miami
OP-9: Landscape Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.04 / 2.00 |
Teddy
Lhoutellier Sustainability Manager Environmental Health and Safety |
Total campus area (i.e. the total amount of land within the institutional boundary):
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 | 82.98 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 | 3.78 Acres |
| Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) | 0 Acres |
| Total area of managed grounds | 86.76 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):
The vegetated area excluded Athletic fields, as well as land managed for biodiversity.
Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program:
A copy of the IPM plan or program:
A brief description of the IPM program:
Pests are populations of living organism (rodents, insects, animals or microorganism) that interfere with use of retail food service establishments and other facilities for human purposes.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) establishes an approach to managing pests by combining physical, chemical, biological, or other procedures and tools in a way that minimizes health, environmental and economic risks.
UM Campus has adopted this Integrated Pest Management Plan for the buildings and grounds UM Campus operates/manages.
Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an organic program:
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 Gifford Arboretum is a collection of important trees and plants that have been assembled for the purposes of education and research.
No chemical pesticide is used on the shrubs and trees. The mulch used in the Arboretum is locally produced from our yard clipping waste.
Less than 3% of the fruit trees receive additional synthetic fertilizer, and only during specific harsh seasons.
Any landscape located 10 ft from a body of water is under an organic management program.
A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:
Our Tree Care Plan is part of our designation as Tree Campus USA from the Arbor Day Foundation:
The goal of the University of Miami Tree Care Plan is to establish and highlight good and sustainable landscaping practices on our main campus: 1535 Levante Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33146.
The general purpose of the plan is to guarantee that the standards of beauty, sustainability and environmental stewardship are respected and applied on our campus landscape.
Specific objectives of this plan are:
- Use of Native plants or low-maintenance plant species
- Administer environmentally sound arborist practices to enhance and maintain the campus landscape.
- Increase species diversity and tree canopy.
- Develop environmentally friendly landscape designs to conserve energy and water, reduce the urban heat island effect on campus, and promote improvements in air quality.
- Protect existing campus canopy during construction and renovation projects.
A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:
All our body of water are monitor for quality with the help of our College of Engineering classes. All body of water of the campuses are protected by a 10ft buffer of organic management of the landscape to prevent point pollution caused by synthetic fertilizer and pesticides.
All our buildings are built with sustainable rain water management design.
A brief description of the institution's approach to materials management and waste minimization (e.g. composting and/or mulching on-site waste):
Our landscaping grass, leaves, clippings, pruning, branches and other plant debris are all sent to our Mulching/Composting area.
Our Mulching on site practice offset 470 Tons per year of green waste from landfills. Most of our final mulch is used to maintain the Coral Gables campus landscape.
http://www.miami.edu/finance/index.php/green_u/recycling/green_waste_-_food_waste/
A brief description of the institution's approach to energy-efficient landscape design:
UM maintains a lavish vegetative canopy that allow for a massive amount of shading occurring all across campuses. All new planting obeys to the rules laid out in our Tree care plan, with native and drought resistant species. If the main goal of this best practice is to reduce the water consumption, it also has a strong impact on energy consumption linked to water management.
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):
Our Tree Care Plan is part of our designation as Tree Campus USA from the Arbor Day Foundation:
4 - TREE CARE POLICIES
All trees, shrubs, and turf areas are maintained according to landscape management best practices. Those practices include proper and sustainable fertilization, irrigation, and pest management on campus grounds. These guidelines allow us to guarantee the esthetics as well as the health of our landscape while reducing our environmental impact on local ecosystems.
Plant Selection
As stipulated in the South Florida Water Management District's Xeriscape Plant Guide II and the Miami-Dade County Landscape Ordinance, chapter 18 A, our choice of plant species is guided by the Florida Friendly Landscaping (FFL) principles. Native and Low maintenance, drought tolerant species are always preferred. Our irrigation systems also follow FFL’s recommendations, conserving water and promoting soil integrity everywhere possible.
The “Right tree in the Right place” concept is applied in our guidelines to avoid any damage to existing and future infrastructure.
All plant material needs to be Florida No. 1 or better as specified within "Florida Grades and Standards for Nursery Plants" from the State of Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (See Annex III)
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.