Grounds
Introduction
Beautiful and welcoming campus grounds can be planned, planted, and maintained in any region while minimizing the use of toxic chemicals, protecting wildlife habitat, and conserving resources.
Featured Resources
New Resources
Minor in Sustainable Agricultural Systems
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Agricultural systems are complex and dynamic. In recent years, questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of energy and resource intensive agriculture systems. While all agriculturally oriented majors of the ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Minor in Sustainable Agriculture
- University of Missouri (MO)
Increasingly, farmers are looking for creative ways to increase and diversify farm income, while consumers are seeking sustainably raised food produced close to home. Sustainable agriculture meets the needs of ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Minor in Sustainable Agriculture
- University of Kentucky (KY)
Students in the Sustainable Agriculture (SAG) Program experience a range of learning opportunities designed to immerse them in the world of sustainable agriculture, through a flexible and interdisciplinary curriculum tailored ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Minor in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture
- University of Vermont (VT)
This minor is designed to provide students with a knowledge-based concentration in horticulture based on the application of ecological principles in landscape design and plant sciences.
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Certificate Program in Landscape Architecture
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
Successful work in landscape architecture requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary education in aspects of botany, horticulture, architecture, ecology and more. Without requiring prior background, the Certificate Program in Landscape Architecture prepares ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Agroecology Track
- Goshen College (IN)
Students who enroll in the nine-week residential Agroecology Summer Intensive (ASI) at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center all share something in common: they are passionate about sustainable agriculture. ASI is ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Graduate Specialization in Ecological Food & Farming Systems
- Michigan State University (MI)
The purpose of the Ecological Food & Farming Systems graduate specialization is to foster active learning about agriculture and food systems among graduate students from different disciplinary backgrounds. Students will ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Agroecology Certificate
- Florida International University (FL)
This interdisciplinary program under the Department of Earth and Environment is aimed at providing students with an opportunity to learn problems and issues that emerge from the interface between agriculture ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Certificate in Local Food Systems
- University of Georgia (GA)
The UGA Certificate in Local Foods is an interdisciplinary certificate designed to give students an overview of the concepts and issues of the local food movement. Students from any major ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Certificate in Permaculture Design
- Merritt College (CA)
Merritt College is proud to be one of the first community colleges in the nation to offer a certificate in Permaculture Design. Our two-year program provides students with a firm ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture
- Santa Rosa Junior College (CA)
The Sustainable Agriculture Production Certificate program is designed to provide farmers and gardeners with a foundation in the techniques of sustainable food production and the "how-to" aspects of organic gardening ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Certificate in Urban Agriculture & Sustainability
- Owens Community College (OH)
Owens' Urban Agriculture and Sustainability Certificate Program requires 26 credit hours of coursework, which includes plant science, soil science, greenhouse management, urban livestock and animal husbandry, organic gardening and food ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Certificate Program in Organic Agriculture
- University of Georgia (GA)
The Certificate Program in Organic Agriculture at the University of Georgia is a new interdisciplinary program of study that was created in Fall 2007. The certificate is similar to a ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Sustainable Agriculture Certificate
- Central Carolina Community College (NC)
The Sustainable Agriculture curriculum is designed to provide the entrepreneurial and technical skills necessary to manage a profitable,environmentally sound, community based small farm or agricultural business. Course work includes ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurship Certificate
- Johnson County Community College (KS)
JCCC's sustainable agriculture (market farming) entrepreneurship program helps students realize their dreams of opening their own sustainable agriculture businesses. Farmers who grow produce on the side, depending on crops ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Sustainable Agroecology certificate
- Triton College (IL)
Designed for learners who wish to gain an appreciation and practical skills to use sustainable practices that will positively influence the quality of natural ecosystems and human environment.
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Sustainable Food & Farming Certificate
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
The 15-credit Certificate in Sustainable Food and Farming was developed in response to growing student demand and emerging job opportunities. This online program has been particularly attractive to the fastest ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Sustainable Local Foods Farming Certificate
- John Wood Community College (IL)
JWCC's new Sustainable Local Foods Farming program provides courses and hands-on training in sustainable fruit and vegetable production, entrepreneurship, and marketing. Students gain the practical skills and knowledge needed ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Sustainable Trails Certificate
- Fleming College (ON)
Gain insight into best practices related to the design, construction and maintenance of trails. Learn about and apply techniques that can enhance, rehabilitate and protect trails and greenways. Interpretive studies ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
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Natural Area Stewardship as Part of Campus Sustainability
Despite a growing body of evidence that spending time in nature through leisure, stewardship, and related activities is critical to the healthy development of humans and can lead to pro-environmental ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Making Inroads for Learning to be Green: Audubon International Partners with AASHE
- Audubon International (NY)
For over 25 years, Audubon International (AI) has worked with partners to make development more sustainable and to educate their patrons, staff and community members how to improve environmental quality ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Campus Sustainability and Natural Area Stewardship: Student Involvement in Adaptive Comanagement
University campus sustainability initiatives have proliferated over the last decade. We contend that such initiatives benefit from applying conceptual frameworks to help understand and guide their activities and from a ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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How-to Guide: Promoting Sustainable Campus Landscapes
- AASHE (MA)
- Arbor Day Foundation (NE)
The campus landscape, like its buildings, can be seen as the physical embodiment of a college’s values. It is a vital part of the life of a campus, providing ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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AASHE Student Diary Series: Permaculture Pioneers
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
As I look out onto the dormant January garden in front of Franklin Dining Commons at UMass, I can’t help but feel a sense of utter amazement at how ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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University Avenue Redevelopment: Prioritizing Pedestrians and the Environment
- Dalhousie University (NS)
This report presents a redevelopment plan for the main road on the Dalhousie University campus in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The plan is designed to achieve three goals: promote active transportation ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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The Potter Lake Project
- University of Kansas (KS)
The following report details problems of neglect and eutrophication of a prominent campus lake at the University of Kansas (KU), and proposes sustainable and cost-effective solutions. The reported was generated ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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A rainwater system for the University of Washington construction materials laboratory
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
University of Washington Construction Materials Laboratory (CML) is an instruction laboratory where undergraduate students of the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the College of Built Environments (CBE ...
- Posted June 12, 2015
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Bee Campus USA as a Model for Pollinator-Friendly Campuses
- Southern Oregon University (OR)
Southern Oregon University collaborated with Bee City USA, a private nonprofit organization based in Asheville, North Carolina, to establish a Bee Campus USA designation. This designation recognizes campuses that commit ...
- Posted June 11, 2015
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Planting a Colossal Monarch Waystation
- Raritan Valley Community College (NJ)
To support dwindling Monarch Butterfly populations, 83 volunteer faculty, staff, administrators, students, and preschoolers (from the Campus Childcare Center) planted 345 Milkweed and nectaring plants at 8 locations around campus ...
- Posted June 10, 2015
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4th Avenue Parklet
- Portland State University (OR)
The 4th Avenue Parklet was researched, designed and built by students from Portland State University's School of Architecture to creatively addresses sustainability based place-making issues in Portland's South ...
- Posted June 8, 2015
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Watershed UGA
- University of Georgia (GA)
With funding from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, the University of Georgia (UGA) is leveraging a current town/gown campus stream restoration initiative to create a transformative experience in sustainability ...
- Posted May 18, 2015
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Warren Wilson College Tree Inventory and Carbon Sequestration/Storage Analysis
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
In a partnership with the North Carolina Forest Service Warren Wilson College Landscaping Crew students and staff conducted an assessment of the vegetation composition, function, and value of the urban ...
- Posted May 17, 2013
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Baylor University's Centralized Irrigation System
- Baylor University (TX)
ARAMARK-Baylor Facility Services maintains all of the facilities and grounds on the Baylor University campus, including all irrigation systems. The former irrigation system for the campus of Baylor University was ...
- Posted May 17, 2013
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Sustainable Urban Eco-Garden at St. Louis Community College
- St. Louis Community College (MO)
St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley campus, has created an educational, sustainable eco-garden that provides opportunities for participants to engage in raising food as well as providing native habitat for ...
- Posted May 10, 2013
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Combining technology and water to conserve irrigation
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
The University of Texas at Austin's facilities management initiated a comprehensive program in fall 2007 to develop and implement demand-side water conservation measures. During this project it was determined ...
- Posted June 29, 2012
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Lakeshore Technical College Old Growth Forest
- Lakeshore Technical College (WI)
The Lakeshore Technical College's Old Growth Forest is a unique biological feature that has evolved over more than 10,000 years without any significant intervention. The 25 acre forest ...
- Posted June 27, 2012
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Sustainable Sites Certification for The Green at College Park on the Campus of The University of Texas at Arlington
- University of Texas at Arlington (TX)
The Green at College Park at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) received one of the first three certifications issued worldwide by the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) in February ...
- Posted June 6, 2012
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Connecting the Next Generation to Urban Landscapes
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
The International Society for Land care Emissions (ISLE) has proposed a Next Generation Land Care project for the University of Colorado at Boulder to assess and measure the ecological, human ...
- Posted June 27, 2011
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Warren Wilson College Native Grass Landscaping: Changing the Way We Plant the Campus to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Improve Wildlife Habitat and Minimize Maintenance
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
Since 1999, students on the College's Landscaping Crew have collected native grass and wildflower seeds, established a six-acre campus nursery and acres of prairie meadow habitat, and helped restore ...
- Posted June 24, 2011
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A New Educational Landscape- Transforming Campus Grounds through Non-Traditional Collaboration
- James Madison University (VA)
During the 2010-11 academic year, faculty, students, campus facilities staff, a dean, the campus environmental stewardship director, and community representatives collaborated with a Scholar-In-Residence to develop a naturalized landscape on ...
- Posted June 24, 2011
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The Bagley Classroom: Supporting environmental and outdoor learning at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
- University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)
- Salmela Architect (MN)
The Bagley Classroom supports learning in a 55-acre natural preserve within the University of Minnesota Duluth campus. The Bagley Nature Area has taught and inspired students about the natural environment ...
- Posted June 23, 2011
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Transforming the Higher Education Landscape: Researching, Planting and Seed-saving Native Grasses and Wildflowers at Warren Wilson College
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
Since 1999, students on the College's Landscaping Crew have collected native grass and wildflower seeds, established a six-acre campus nursery and acres of prairie meadow habitat, and helped restore ...
- Posted July 1, 2010
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Harvard Facility Maintenance Operations Organic Landscaping
- Harvard University (MA)
Harvard University's Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO) group has developed a highly successful Organic Landscaping Program. It is currently implemented across more than 25 acres of University landscape. The program ...
- Posted July 1, 2010
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Grounds Services Green Waste Re-Use Program at Arizona State University
- Arizona State University (AZ)
The Grounds Services department initiated a pair of programs that convert ASU's Tempe campus landscape green waste into valuable assets. One program collects green "waste" and sends it to ...
- Posted July 1, 2010
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Sustainability Par None: The Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University
- North Carolina State University (NC)
- Southern IPM Center (NC)
The Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University is an Audubon Signature golf course, designed by famous golfer Arnold Palmer. Sport and environmental responsibility are not normally seen ...
- Posted June 29, 2010
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Water Savings Through Non-Traditional Irrigation Control at Western Michigan University
- Western Michigan University (MI)
Upgrade the campus irrigation controls, moving from stand-alone time clocks to a fully networked and automated control system with a web user interface.
- Posted June 25, 2010
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Forest Restoration in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park- Collaboration with Temple University, Philadelphia Zoo, Fairmount Park, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Germantown Friends School
- Temple University (PA)
Restore eight acres of Philadelphia's degraded urban forest and provide education on carbon sequestration through reforestation. A collaborative effort between institutional faculty and staff from Temple University, Philadelphia Zoo ...
- Posted June 22, 2010
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Harnessing the Storm: Sustainable Stormwater Management at Delta College
- Delta College (MI)
With Federal government placing stringent mandates on the discharge and filtering of storm water, Delta College took the forward-thinking initiative to transform our exterior space into a place of learning ...
- Posted June 15, 2010
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
OP 9: Landscape Management
- Percent of grounds managed organically
- Description of the organic landscape management program
- Percent of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program
- Description of the IPM program
- Website URL - Sustainable landscaping
OP 10: Biodiversity
- Description of legally protected areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and regions of conservation importance
- List of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution
- Description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution
- Website URL - Biodiversity initiatives
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.