University of Connecticut
OP-9: Landscape Management

Spring Valley Student Farm (1.45 acres)
Established in 2010, Spring Valley Student Farm (SVSF) is the result of a collaborative venture between Dining Services, Residential Life, EcoHouse Learning Community and First Year Programs, the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, the Office of Sustainability, and the UConn Service Learning Initiatives. SVSF houses 11 student farmers year who learn about sustainable community living, organic food growing methods, and the business aspects of how food is harvested and processed. Any harvested food is then given to UConn Dining Services to be prepared in the dining halls or it is sold at Farm Fresh Markets on Fairfield way. As stewards and ambassadors of the farm, student farmers support SVSF as an educational destination where everyone may come together to learn and grow through outreach events like ‘Farm Fridays.’

Spring Valley Student Farm provides an opportunity for UConn students and the greater community to join together to learn about environmentally, socially and economically ethical regenerative food production through hands-on experience. The Farm allows students to gain practical knowledge and skills through experiential learning while simultaneously modeling a closed loop food model in which organic produce is grown on campus for UConn Dining Services.

Historically, Farm Services used SVSF’s land for grazing or growing feedstock, i.e., corn, hay and/or alfalfa, for UConn's farm animals. When used for growing these crops, Farm Services periodically applied chemical pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and occasionally supplemented manure with inorganic fertilizers. These practices have been eliminated on this land, now that it is maintained by SVSF.

EcoGarden Club (0.30 acres)
The EcoGarden club uses sustainable farming methods to grow nutritious food. Using crop rotation, compost, organic soil amendments, and reduced tillage, EcoGarden creates a haven for biodiversity within our gardening space. The EcoGarden club creates awareness local foods, produced with the mindset of a low environmental impact. Club members cultivate mindfulness through traditional garden practices and create lasting relationships with the land. Through water conservation and the use of organic soil amendments and pest controls, we hope to heal and protect the environment. Lastly, we provide safe, healthy produce to our local dining halls, emphasizing a short distance from farm to table.

The EcoGarden Club’s 0.3 acre garden, located in the Mansfield Community Gardens, was founded by a group of UConn students in 2005 who wanted to engage with the land organically, highlighting the use of sustainable gardening methods. Historically, this land was used by Farm services for growing feed for livestock. Periodically, chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and occasionally supplemented manure with inorganic fertilizers were applied in the past. These practices have been eliminated since the EcoGarden club began maintaining the land.

The University of Connecticut uses an IPM on the Storrs campus. Preferred control measures in the plan include timed mowing, mulching, and other mechanical methods. Insecticide, herbicide, and fungicide use are applied when pest infestation exceeds acceptable levels. Prior to any chemical applications, Facilities staff and/or the landscape/pest control technician will inspect any infestation to determine the severity. Preventive herbicide applications are only performed when the previous year’s monitoring indicated a likelihood of weed infestation that cannot be deterred by properly cultivating turfgrass. Preventive applications are only made specific to the problem areas.
Past and current UConn IPM programs have educated growers, local k-12 schools, and the general public in the areas related to maintaining the economic viability of agricultural and green industry businesses, enhancing and conserving environmental quality and natural resources, educating participants on pests (life cycles, damage, management options, etc.) and on the effective use of cultural practices to mitigate pest problems, of biological control agents, and educating pesticide users about bee and other pollinator safe materials, least toxic options, and the safe use and handling of organic and synthetic pesticide products. IPM educational programs provide information on pest management alternatives through field training, conferences, workshops, and publications.
The state four-tiered IPM program, run by the Cooperative Extension through UConn, can be found here:
https://ipm.cahnr.uconn.edu/

UConn's grounds IPM can be found here: https://ecohusky.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2041/2020/02/UConn-IPM-turf-and-ornamental-Final_112019.pdf

Other grounds are maintained as turf grass, as farm production/ pasture grounds, or as wildlife habitat with minimal oversight.

The UConn Arboretum Committee helps to protect, promote, catalogue, and manage the trees and shrubs of the Storrs campus. The Arboretum Committee, Office of Sustainability, Landscape Services, and Facilities Operations drafted the Storrs Campus Tree Care Plan to identify the policies, procedures, and practices that are used in establishing, protecting, maintaining trees. The overall goal is to ensure a safe, attractive, and sustainable campus plant community that is consistent with the historic image and character of the northeast Connecticut landscape. The Storrs campus grounds act as a living arboretum that combines native and ornamental species of trees, shrubs, and flowers.

By our Landscape Master Plan, newer construction techniques are favoring the use of native species in swales adapted to the climate, including edible landscape initiatives that utilize fruit plants and herbs. Large portions of the University owned grounds (including ground where visitors frequent) are maintained as wildlife habitat and are only minimally maintained. woodland corridors, courtyards and quads, garden corridors, and campus walks are significant opportunities to expand the diversity of planting types on campus and enhance the experiential qualities and educational value of the campus Arboretum. These landscape elements will allow the University to foster robust, diverse, and resilient plant communities on campus.

More information on the UConn Arboretum Committee: https://arboretum.uconn.edu/index.php
Landscape Master Plan: https://media.masterplan.uconn.edu/Final/B_LANDSCAPE_WEB.pdf

The University of Connecticut actively works to maintain natural hydrology on campus through the implementation of Low Impact Design (LID) initiatives. As part of UConn’s Sustainable Design and Construction Policy, the University seeks to plan, design, construct, renovate, and maintain sustainable energy and water efficient buildings through implementation of LID practices. Current university goals include the identification of opportunities to further LID components in current construction projects, the recording and photo-documentation of stormwater management practices to demonstrate compliance and best practices, the exploration of potential new green roofs, and the serving as an advisory figure in the North Campus planning process while remaining sensitive to UConn’s environmental footprint.
All these projects help to infiltrate and treat storm water runoff from the urban campus in order to sustain and preserve natural hydrology. Interactive maps and information on these LID projects can be found here: https://sustainability.uconn.edu/low-impact-development-2/.

The University also provides significant outreach and support for other LID projects. The CT Nemo Program through the Center for Land Use Education and Research provides instructional materials and outreach on the development and maintenance of rain gardens and bio-retention swales. More information on this outreach can be found here: http://nemo.uconn.edu/raingardens/.

Finally, one of the ways in which the Landscape Master Plan aims to improve ecosystem health is by incorporating sustainable stormwater management in order to maintain the integrity of the natural hydrology of the campus. The Landscape Master Plan can be found here: http://media.masterplan.uconn.edu/Final/B_LANDSCAPE_WEB.pdf

Much of the University’s landscape management waste is composted, some at UConn's Depot Campus but most at a separate compost area for lawn and branch clippings and leaves.

Information on UConn’s Agricultural Compost Facility can be found here:
https://sustainability.uconn.edu/composting-at-uconn/

Organic waste produced at the Spring Valley Student Farm (SVSF) is also collected and composted on site as well as at the EcoGarden club.

Established in 2016, the University adopted a new Sustainable Design and Construction Policy that has the university plan, design, construct, renovate, and maintain sustainable energy and water-efficient buildings. In the policy, all new constructions at UConn estimated at greater than $5 million must pursue at least a LEED Gold rating (at least 75 points on the LEED scorecard). Since its inception, UConn has implemented a number of LEED Gold buildings that have reduced the heat island effect by incorporating turfgrass, bioretention areas, rain gardens, and tree boxes.

UConn also preserves old growth trees for shade at building renovation and construction sites by either leaving trees undisturbed or the temporary removal and then re-establishment once site construction terminates. Currently, UConn is developing two significant woodland corridors planned on its Storrs north and south campus with the intention to replace paved areas with green space and LID practices in the two watersheds that bisect campus.

UConn has also installed green roofs on several of its newer LEED certified buildings, such as McHugh Hall, the Storrs Hall addition, the Innovation Partnership Building, and the Next Gen Dormitory (Werth Tower). These vegetated roofs provide a water quality benefit but also serve as insulation to reduce the energy required to heat and cool the underlying space. These and other landscaping goals are described in the Sustainability Framework (Appendix A) to UConn's 2015-2035 Campus Master Plan.

https://sustainability.uconn.edu/sustainability-framework-plan/

UConn follows LEED Sustainable Site standards for the landscaping aspects of its projects and has several SITES certified projects. The redevelopment of the West Campus Quad employed many of these standards and has also been designed and constructed according to EPA's "Green Streets" program:
A green street is a stormwater management approach that incorporates vegetation (perennials, shrubs, trees), soil, and engineered systems (e.g., permeable pavements) to slow, filter, and cleanse stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces (e.g., streets, sidewalks). Green streets are designed to capture rainwater at its source, where rain falls. A traditional street is designed to direct stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces into storm sewer systems (gutters, drains, pipes) that discharge directly into surface waters, rivers, and streams.

For ice and snow, we also use a brine pre-treatment and have eliminated the use of sand, which has a deleterious effect on benthic organisms in streambeds on or near our campus and can also adversely affect air quality during the early spring months. Instead we use a treated salt aka "magic salt." It consists of calcium chloride and molasses that help it adhere to paved and concrete surfaces, thus minimizing the need for repeated applications and reducing salt usage. Calcium is less corrosive than magnesium and the molasses also helps neutralize the corrosiveness.
We switched to drop spreaders on the walks so as to avoid the salt burn on turf adjacent to the walkways. We also pre-treat some of the lawn areas with gypsum to help counteract the effects of the salt.

UCONN Landscape Action Plan Snow Removal Guide:
Patrol area at the start of the snowfall.
Spot de-icing of walks and roadways, along with plowing.
Full scale de-icing of all major walks, along with plowing.
Plowing of all major walks, roads, and parking lots.
Continuous sanding of walkways and driving lanes.

https://www.epa.gov/G3/learn-about-green-streets