The University of Texas at Dallas
OP-9: Landscape Management

The only maintenance done at underutilized areas is occasional mowing and bush hogging with no fertilizer and herbicide use. An additional 212 acres outside of the main campus area have no herbicides and pesticides.

UT Dallas sits in Texas’ Blackland Prairie. The Blackland Prairie region is a strip of dark, rich soil encompassing much of Dallas and following the I-35 corridor. Facilities Management has established a No-Mow Zone to encourage native prairie grasses and give plants an opportunity to reestablish. Mowing less and planting native species are a key part of our prairie restoration program. An eight-acre area on the southwest corner of campus is the home of the restoration and our largest Monarch Waystation. Native pollinators, like Monarch butterflies, Bumblebees, Mason Bees, and Honey Bees, are crucial to the proliferation of many flowering and fruit producing plants.

212 acres outside of the main campus area, including our monarch waystations and restored Blackland Prairie areas, are managed only with occasional mowing. They do not use any herbicides or pesticides.

This Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan/program is an approach to identifying, controlling, managing and preventing the occurrence of pests at The University of Texas at Dallas. The attached document outlines the practice and procedures utilized to maintain the campus environment while remaining in compliance with new and existing environmental regulations established through local and state governments.

Facilities Management and the Office of Sustainability work across campus to improve the livability of our landscapes. A healthy environment contributes to our students’ success and provides a welcoming environment in our community.

As part of the Campus Landscape Enhancement Project, an Urban Forest (PDF) was established along University Drive. The forest is a densely planted area, reminiscent of a Texas creek bed. More than 5,000 trees and shrubs were planted, many of them native to Texas. The varieties include Bur Oaks, Caddo Maples, Cedar Elms, Chinquapin Oaks, Magnolias, Pond Cypress and Shumard Oaks. The Urban Forest is set in a natural riparian corridor running through campus.

Cottonwood Creek also runs through campus. The West Fork of Cottonwood Creek runs along the west side of campus, through University Village. It ultimately joins other waterways at White Rock Lake, part of the Trinity River watershed.

With more than 9,000 trees on campus, and as the recipient of $50 million dollars for landscape enhancement, The University of Texas at Dallas is committed to maintaining our fabulous landscapes. To demonstrate that commitment, the University has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA®, a program that helps campuses establish and maintain healthy community forests.

To maintain that certification, UT Dallas has established a Tree Advisory Committee, a standing sub-committee of the Campus Sustainability Committee. A Tree Care Plan has been developed and implemented by Facilities Management. Tree Planting events take place annually on campus, usually on Texas Arbor Day in November. Service learning events are hosted by the Office of Student Volunteerism, both on campus and with community partners.

The UT Dallas Tree Campus USA® program began in 2016. As part of existing tree management practices, a publicly accessible campus map and tree inventory has been made available online for students, staff, and faculty to view.

UT Dallas sits in Texas’ Blackland Prairie. The Blackland Prairie region is a strip of dark, rich soil encompassing much of Dallas and following the I-35 corridor. Facilities Management has established a No-Mow Zone to encourage native prairie grasses and give plants an opportunity to reestablish. Mowing less and planting native species are a key part of our prairie restoration program. An eight-acre area on the southwest corner of campus is the home of the restoration and our largest Monarch Waystation. Native pollinators, like Monarch butterflies, Bumblebees, Mason Bees, and Honey Bees, are crucial to the proliferation of many flowering and fruit producing plants.

The Monarch Watch is a nonprofit managed by The University of Kansas. UT Dallas is located in the migratory path of the Monarch Butterfly. To encourage species recovery, we have planted native milkweed to serve as a breeding ground, and wildflowers to support all pollinators in their search for food. Through Office of Sustainability and Office of Student Volunteerism events, students can participate in planting and maintaining the Monarch Waystation and Blackland Prairie Restoration.

At UT Dallas, landscape waste including tree limbs are shredded into mulch by a third party rather than thrown away. The Monarch Butterfly, a species of concern, is protected at UT Dallas as well. The development of a Monarch Waystation features diverse plant and insect life including milkweed, the flower at which Monarch Butterflies reproduce, feed and thrive during migration.

UT Dallas is a campus that consists of buildings, greenspace, and natural landscaping features that includes many diverse species of flora and fauna. Through efficient and strategically planned watering, our Facilities Management team ensures that our campus landscape is healthy and visually appealing.

Efficiency in campus irrigation minimizes water loss and waste.

The use of native and well-adapted plants in landscaping installations, such as yucca, sages, and salvia, ensures that water use can be reduced. Native hardwood mulch is used on areas of campus to reduce water loss due to evaporation.

UT Dallas utilizes bioswales, rainwater harvesting, stormwater ponds, solar sync sensors, and native landscaping to minimize water loss and runoff. Bioswales have been added as part of new construction at various buildings around campus. Stormwater mitigation techniques improve the management of Cottonwood Creek that runs through campus.

With the new drive to building efficient, green, and/or LEED certified buildings at UT Dallas, bathrooms are of interest for water conservation efforts. Our Facilities Management team has taken the initiative to maximize water savings and conservation whenever possible when renovating bathrooms and/or replacing bathroom fixtures such as toilets, urinals, and faucets. This may include, but is not limited to, low-flush toilets and urinals, dual-flush toilets, and low-flow faucets.

Cottonwood Creek, which runs through UT Dallas campus, is partially maintained by the campus grounds crew who cleans up the creek when necessary and implements erosion control measures where needed. The Texas Stream Team conducts water quality assessments on a regular basis in the streams on campus.

At UT Dallas, the collected landscape waste materials are integrated into the campus composting operations. Small and medium sized tree limbs are placed in a brush pile where they are eventually shredded down by a third party to be turned into mulch.

The University of Texas at Dallas has evolved its composting program from previously targeting only landscape waste, to including pre and post-consumer food waste, and now to providing students, staff, and faculty the opportunity to compost on-campus. Since 2012, UT Dallas has composted over 716,300 lbs. of food waste, therefore diverting approximately 180 metric tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere campus-wide. Since expanding the compost program into Housing in September 2018, the amount of compost collected on campus has increased by an average of 64%.

Composting is an important part of the campus waste management program that is continuously evolving. Pre-Consumer food waste contributions began in 2011 in partnership with Dining Services and Facilities Management. In August 2017, a partnership with Organix Recycling formed and enhanced the overall composting program at UT Dallas. With the transition, specialized compost containers were installed near kitchen locations, therefore simplifying the pre-consumer food waste collection process. With this new partnership, additional food items became acceptable in the waste stream that were not previously accepted (for example, meat and dairy products), increasing the amount of food waste that is recycled. As of current, Dining Services has taken the lead and moved to all food waste collections in Dining Hall West.

Composting has been on the mind of students for many years. In fall 2018, the UT Dallas Student Government Green Initiative Committee took the lead and collaborated with The Office of Sustainability within Facilities Management, Housing, and Organix Recycling to make the composting program accessible to residents of University Village and Canyon Creek Apartments. In order to participate in the program, residents must attend an in-person compost training or complete the short training online. During the training, residents will learn what goes in the compost containers, how to manage individualized food collection caddies, and acquire a combination for the lock securing the containers.

Recycling is a key aspect for reducing our environmental impact at UT Dallas. Recycle bins are located on the interior and exterior of buildings across campus. UT Dallas operates a single-stream recycling program. This means you can place cardboard, paper, aluminum cans, metal cans, plastics (1-5 and 7), and unbroken glass bottles in a recycling bin.

Special Recycling Streams include:
-Batteries
-Cardboard
-Clothing and Shoes
-Confidential Paper Shredding
-Electronics
-Metal
-Nitrile Gloves
-Film plastic
-Printer Cartridges and Toner
-Disposable masks
-Candy wrappers
-Laboratory glass

There have been tremendous changes regarding our campus landscaping. This includes numerous shade trees that were included in a $50 million campus landscape enhancement project.

Dark colored roofs absorb the sun’s rays and heat the building from the top down. It also creates a “heat island effect”, the result of buildings raising the local temperature by several degrees. During the summer, this difference can reduce total energy use by up to 40%. UT Dallas has made an effort to use light-colored roofs when reroofing is done. This lowers the heat island effect on campus and lowers the amount of energy needed to cool these buildings.

Hedgerows are occasionally used on campus as windbreaks.

Integrated hardscapes on campus reduce the heat island effect and increase surface water permeability by allowing for drainage.

The utilized snow and ice plan calls for sanding in explicit locations; the sanding plan precludes the use of salt in the mix. After an event, the university sweeps up the sand for reuse to prevent the material from flowing into the creeks.

Facilities Management and the Office of Sustainability work across campus to improve the livability of our landscapes. A healthy and diverse environment contributes to our students’ success and provides a welcoming environment in our community.

Sustainability in habitats on campus: https://www.utdallas.edu/sustainability/operations/habitat/
Pollinator sustainability: https://www.utdallas.edu/sustainability/engagement/bees/
UT Dallas Landscaping and Grounds Department: https://facilities.utdallas.edu/plant/#grounds
UT Dallas Tree inventory: https://hosted.arborprousa.com/UTDA/