| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.97 |
| Liaison | Rachael Rost-Allen |
| Submission Date | July 28, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Johnson County Community College
OP-9: Landscape Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.01 / 2.00 |
Kristy
Wittman Howell Sustainability Education and Engagement Coordinator Center for Sustainability |
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 | 2.50 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 | 0 Acres |
| Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) | 242.50 Acres |
| Total area of managed grounds | 245 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):
Our campus farm, stormwater management, and prairie preserve areas function under either formal IPM (campus farm) or a plan that greatly reduces, and in some seasons eliminates altogether use of chemical pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.
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:
While not a "plan", these are the current relevant campus practices outside of the campus farm:
The campus farm (2+ acres) has an 8 year crop rotation plan that deters pests from finding plants as quickly the following year.
We have worked to encourage beneficial species in several parts of campus. In the center, highly trafficked section of campus is an area raised decorative beds where large flying wasps or Cicada Killers are tolerated and signage explains their beneficial role and encourages passersby to not be afraid of them. Student-made bat boxes help with campus biodiversity and mosquito control in two particularly marshy areas of campus. Sustainability interns have maintained rain gardens in three areas of campus, all planted with native pollinator attractors.
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:
A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:
The stormwater management project contains more than 50,000 individual native plants from 21 different species for low/no maintenance (an ecological landscaper is on contract to perform three annual maintenance visits, which include sustainable management of weeds in the project) stormwater mitigating landscape.
An area of native prairie, approximately one-acre, is used by as a learning lab for Science and Kansas History classes. We have been allowed to begin a burn cycle by our current county fire commissioner.
A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:
Irrigation controllers are tied into building systems, thus they can be controlled and turned off during an unexpected rain event.
A brief description of the institution's approach to materials management and waste minimization (e.g. composting and/or mulching on-site waste):
Our grounds crew maintains a compost pile for grass and brush debris. They also use a chipper for wood and limb waste.
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 (e.g. use of environmentally preferable landscaping materials, initiatives to reduce the impacts of ice and snow removal, wildfire prevention):
The grounds crew observes weather forecasts and if approaching temperatures are warm enough to melt snowfall during non-peak times they will forego plowing and/or salting and leave it up to mother nature.
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.