Transcript Greening Stockton Suggestions from Jamie LANDSCAPING Do not mulch native species that are drought tolerant.

Greening Stockton
Suggestions from Jamie
LANDSCAPING
Do not mulch native species that are drought tolerant. Mulch
should never be piled up around the bases of plants; do not
bury any plantings in mulch hills.
“Do not place
mulch within 3
inches of trunks or
stems”
-Housing V
Reforestation Plan
2 July 2007
Do not injure trees by hitting them with
lawn mowers and string trimmers
Locust near
A&S damaged
by lawn
maintenance
Don’t prune shrubs before they fruit
and birds have a chance to feed
9/24/08
“Today the maintenance
department flat top pruned
the cranberrybush
viburnums. This is a large
shrub that grows 8-12 feet
tall, it has a vase shaped
habit. Where it is planted,
there is no reason to prune
it. Removing dead branches
is the most maintenance
should do.
This viburnum has red to
purple fall colored foliage and
berries that are eaten by
birds. Both are all gone. “
Reduce extent of managed turf grass, apart from
athletic fields by 50%
Reduce roadside turf grass to less
than 15 feet width
Leave an unmowed buffer along all
woodland edges
Identify all eroding slopes, shaded areas, etc.
where turf grass is not preventing erosion
Replace erosion areas and selected other lawn
areas with xeriscaping (as seen at Burlington
Co. College, Pemberton)
Replace lawn along all foundations with
xeriscaping or other native plantings
Discontinue mowing under trees, except
for footpaths; where necessary, replace
with xeriscaping or native shrubs, etc.
No mow zone signs should be created
and put in place to explain the areas
to those unfamiliar with this
approach
Reduce maintenance
• Cut lawns at 4 inch height or higher; mow as
needed only, not on a schedule
• Do not mow any non-turf areas (old fields, etc.)
except in winter, preferably every 2-3 years
• End use of string trimmers and leaf blowers,
except for clearing paved surfaces; use mulching
mowers
• End use of herbicides, except to control invasive
species
• Reduce fertilizer by 75% (reduce lawn area 50%;
cut application on remaining lawns by 50%)
Develop and implement a forest
management plan
Restore open, savanna type habitats
Identify and protect specimen trees
Enhance wildlife habitat
– Snags, fallen logs,
brush piles, etc.
– Nest boxes, etc.
– Shelter boards for
reptiles and
amphibians
End further expansion of roads, etc.
into woodlands
Restore native species in woodlands
and along powerline
Maintain a diversity of stand types,
successional stages (especially brushy open
fields) and plant species, upland and lowland
Keep fire breaks, trails and access roads out of
special habitats, like vernal ponds; remove
those that exist
Preserve all existing natural vegetation within
the current campus footprint; build only on
already cleared areas
For all future development , maximize
preservation of natural vegetation in building
sites outside the existing footprint
Reconnect campus landscape to
native vegetation and biodiversity
• Create a gradient of native vegetation
between forest edges and turf areas
• Restore margins of lakes and ponds to native
vegetation; restrict fishing and other uses to
dikes and managed access points
In planting garden areas around buildings,
attempt to provide examples of native
plant communities
• Try to arrange plantings to
resemble natural communities;
use NatureServe and other
references for guidance
• Encourage efforts to cultivate
native species not available
commercially
• Have soil conditions that
resemble natural conditions
Favor showy and useful native species,
preferably those considered native to the Pine
Barrens by Witmer Stone, the Plants of
Southern New Jersey
Remove invasive species from streams,
old fields and other succession areas
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autumn (Russian) olive
multiflora rose
wisteria
Eurasian bittersweet
water starwort
Phragmites
etc.
Enhance plant and animal diversity
• Replace “golf course” with native vegetation; golfers
can go to commercial establishments and pay the cost
of maintaining the lawns
• Discontinue plantings to encourage deer (they don’t
need it) replace fields of non-native grasses, etc. with
restored native field vegetation
• In choosing native landscape plantings, favor those
that provide resources for insects and birds
• Do not use insecticides, except single application BT
for gypsy moth control
Construct safe crossing for footpath
over Morse’s Mill Stream
Close off ORV trails, especially stream
crossings
Close and post all access points;
vigorously enforce
Consider impacts on wildlife when
planning construction projects
Eliminate light pollution
Replace fixtures to direct light only
where needed
Eliminate mercury vapor bulbs
STORMWATER AND EROSION
CONTROL
Maintain all
sediment
control fences
until no danger
remains
Fix broken or absent floatable
controls on inlets
Eliminate the fire hose discharge from the cooling
tower, or find a way to diffuse the discharge to stop
the gully erosion. Eliminate or fix all similar discharges
Immediately ban parking on unpaved
roadsides and in woods
Limit extent of vehicle traffic on
unpaved areas
Minimize soil compaction during all
construction and maintenance activities
Fix the overland flows around Housing I
by restoring native vegetation or planting
absorptive landscaping
Install paved turnarounds and emergency pull
offs to eliminate stopping on vegetated
roadsides
Restore native vegetation or install absorptive
landscaping in stormwater basins that currently
hold water for over two days, or that have
outflows directly into wetlands
Eliminate soil compaction before
planting
Restore soil permeability before installing
landscaping after construction
Plant species appropriate to the
hydrologic and soil conditions
Eliminate soil compaction and restore
native vegetation on all eroding surfaces
Eliminate parking on unpaved
surfaces
Eliminate concrete trench along College Walk
and similar outdated drainage ways; replace
with absorptive landscaping (rain gardens, etc.)
Remove the curbing on the main lots and find a
way to send stormwater as sheet flow into the
adjacent wooded strips, after restoring
permeability
Develop a comprehensive plan to
eliminate discharges of stormwater into
wetlands
Innovative goals
• Use natural vegetation of the uplands as
much as possible to absorb stormwater
• Where needed, restore such vegetation or
some combination of effective native species
(absorptive landscaping)
• Use plants to keep soil permeable
• Let plant roots, soil bacteria, etc.
remove/immobilize pollutants as much as
possible
Minimize amount of natural vegetation
removed or disturbed by construction
Avoid costly engineered solutions, especially
those involving importation of materials and
excavations – let our plants and soils do what
they do naturally and for free
Focus engineering on getting the stormwater to
the vegetation with as little concentration and
as little pollution as possible
Make sure engineered solutions are
BMPs (best management practices)
and are sustainable and support
maximum possible native biodiversity
Once direct stormwater discharge is
eliminated, remove sediment deltas from
Lake Fred, vernal ponds, wetlands, etc.
Replace lots with parking garages
Eliminate the big ditch
EDUCATION
• For all construction and landscaping projects,
etc. explicitly include environmental
educational values
• Design for education activities
• Encourage experimental approaches to
landscaping (and stormwater, to the extent
permitted). Monitor all installations for
effectiveness in meeting environmental goals
Commit to keeping the campus a
viable place for environmental
research, including research on
natural ecosystems
EDUCATION
• Encourage public access for study and
contemplation of the natural environment
• Develop campus guides and a website on
campus ecology and biodiversity
PROCESS
• Make as much use as possible of Stockton
classes to research, design, install and monitor
projects, in close cooperation with Campus
Planning and Campus Operations
• Maintain a completely open process on all
projects, giving all students and faculty
interested the chance to be involved from the
beginning.
• Make all plans, preliminary and final, available
for use in the GIS lab
PROCESS, CONT.
• Make all consulting studies available for class
and research use as soon as they are
submitted, including preliminary reports
• Keep files on applications to public agencies
open at all stages for review by faculty and
students
• Keep faculty and students informed of the
results of all environmental inspections, etc.
Is Stockton currently in
violation of any requirements?
For instance, air pollution
standards?
• Site ID 70188 Air Violations pending $3800
assessed
NO IDLING!
• Educate all staff, faculty, students on “no
idling” law
• Post “No idling” signs
Install bicycle shelters at least as nice
as those provided for trash dumpsters
Never, ever
“greenwash” any
aspect of our College
environment in
publications,
promotions, etc.