| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.53 |
| Liaison | Dedee DeLongpre Johnston |
| Submission Date | July 27, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Wake Forest University
OP-9: Landscape Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.30 / 2.00 |
Jim
Coffey Sr. Director, Support Services Facilities & Campus Services |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Total campus area (i.e. the total amount of land within the institutional boundary):
746
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 | 494.97 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 | 236.11 Acres |
| Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) | 14.92 Acres |
| Total area of managed grounds | 746 Acres |
If the total area of managed grounds is less than the total campus area, provide:
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Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program
66.35
If reporting an IPM program, provide:
A brief description of the IPM program:
The goal of IPM at Wake Forest University is to minimize and reduce pesticide use, make continual improvements through education and innovation, and be a leader in the use of best management practices and collaborative, innovative design, all while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing and healthy landscape. The program consists of a five-step process: design, implementation, materials selection, maintenance, and renewal. More details can be found in the attached plan.
Organic Program
31.65
If reporting an organic program, provide:
Organic soil amendments such as decomposed leaves, finely ground pine bark, compost, and biochar/bio-activated carbon are added to all new plantings. Existing landscape beds receive supplemental soil amendments as needed to maintain good tilth and support healthy soil biology.
In addition, mulches are applied to reduce water use, suppress weeds, increase organic matter, moderate soil temperatures, and improve aesthetics. Careful monitoring of pests is used to determine when economic thresholds are met.
Optional Fields
The university features both native and non-native species in landscaping. Approximately 85 percent of plantings are native species in all new landscaping. All plantings are within hardiness zone 7.
As time and resources permit, invasive species are removed either by pulling, digging, or chemical means. Several student groups have assisted in removing English Ivy by hand.
Tree assessments are done on new building sites prior to final plans to identity important trees to save. Before any tree is removed on campus, it undergoes a lengthy review process to determine if the removal in absolutely necessary.
A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:
Several lawn areas have been converted to more natural woodland plantings with leaf litter and wood chips as a groundcover. Natural swales are encouraged over piping whenever possible. These are generally planted with attractive native plants. A number of attractive dry or faux streams have been installed and vegetated with diverse native plants. A rain garden at Winston Hall features a recycled concrete drip zone to buffer leachate from the copper roof. In an ongoing process along Silas Creek, invasive plants are being removed and replaced with native plants.
A brief description of the institution's approach to materials management and waste minimization (e.g. composting and/or mulching on-site waste):
Facilities management uses all wood chips from landscaping projects as mulch for projects around campus or as part of a compost mixture. Due to the lack of a large-scale composting site on Wake Forest's Reynolda Campus, the university's abundant leaves are donated to local organic gardens, such as the Second Harvest Food Bank garden at the Crossnore Children's Home, for use as compost. These donated leaves travel only 2.4 miles to their final destination and the university does not pay for any removal of urban yard waste. Leaves have also been used in the Campus Garden to enrich the compost.
A brief description of the institution's approach to energy-efficient landscape design:
Spaces have been allocated within the parking lots for the placement of trees, allowing for heat reductions. Trees that provide shade on buildings are protected to allow for some cooling of building interiors during the warmer months.
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):
Bare-Ground Liquid De-Icer, a non toxic, water soluble, and biodegradable product, is used on highly sensitive areas. Brining streets before storms reduces labor and subesequent salt treatments. New snow RTV and mower mounted plows help to remove the bulk of snow and ice in a timely manner, which reduces refreezing and additional salt use.
Bare Ground is an all natural environmentally safe co-product of corn, grain or agricultural processing sometimes containing distillers condensed solubles that is added to a base of Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2). Bare Ground is non toxic, water soluble, non flammable, biodegradable and less corrosive than water.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.