Northland College
Tier2-1: Native Plants

Policy and Procedures for Landscape Design at Northland College
(Amendment to the Green Building Policy) – April 2002

This policy provides a guide for sustainable and purposeful landscape design recognizing Northland College’s mission to foster the appreciation of the interdependence of complex human and ecological systems and to show commitment to their health and wholeness.
The purpose of landscape design is to provide sustainable (community-wise and ecologically), innovative, and artistic, and adaptable changes that decrease our impact on the land and enhance and foster our educational mission. This development should utilize best management practices (BMPs) related to storm water treatment and construction as an element of demonstrating ecological management on campus. At the same time, we recognize the needs and resources of the community: accessibility, safety, aesthetics, educational opportunities through community-wide discussions and feedback over time.
The Northland College Strategic Plan and Northland College Sustainability Charter support this policy. Student and faculty participation in this process provides hands-on educational opportunities that engage the campus community in the improvement of their college campus.
Barr Engineering’s Urban Small Sites Best Management Practices Manual (www.metrocouncil.org) will be used as a guide to selection, implementation and maintenance of BMPs for storm water treatment.
Process:
The College’s commitment to sustainable and functioning landscape design will be integrated into all construction and landscape design projects.
1. The landscape design firm and the Landscape Sub-committee will meet with the campus community in order to inform the design process.
2. Design teams and the maintenance department are expected to inform themselves of the Urban Small Sites Best Management Practices Manual. This manual will aid the implementation and selection process of BMPs for storm water treatment suggested by the main landscape firm involved in planning – Barr Engineering.
3. Consultants when reviewing an area for development will collect vouchers potentially rare or endangered species to allow for review and identification by college faculty and other experts.
4. Northland College will provide a list of native plants for installation to be reviewed by all relevant design professionals. Non-native plantings will be considered if they:
a) can grow with little or no supplemental water, fertilizer or pesticide;
b) will not reproduce and escape into the wild, or
c) are appropriate for such intensively used areas as athletic fields or malls for social gatherings.
5. Designers will provide a summary of the functions of the landscape plans. This information will be communicated to the campus community with an allotted time for comments.
6. The process, maintenance, final functioning, and educational value and use of each design will be evaluated so the learning can inform the next project.
7. A monitoring plan and community feedback process will be implemented to check the function and effectiveness of each landscape design to allow for adaptive management.