Goucher’s Grounds Are Getting Greener

Release date: April 20, 2009 |

In keeping with Goucher’s overall commitment to help protect the environment here on campus, as well as on a larger scale, the college’s grounds maintenance department diligently researches new landscape practices and works to modify older procedures to be more biologically sustainable. The department’s new strategic landscaping plan has the campus looking greener, literally, by employing environmentally “greener” practices, such as by using tested organic products, planting more indigenous species, and reducing litter. 

The ground maintenance department began its concentrated environmental efforts in fall 2007, when its staff began to research different forms of organic products to use on the campus’s 70 acres of turf.  They tested and selected a new organic product that contains 50 percent organic fertilizer and 50 percent natural fertilizer product; they also have begun to use a soil conditioner that is 100 percent certified organic and that has 13 enhanced microbes that are beneficial to plants. The conditioner has cut down on some of the diseases that occur on the athletic fields and has increased the overall germination and recovery of sod campus-wide. These changes could ultimately cut down on the amount of products used from year to year, as well as dramatically reduce the time spent caring for the turf.

The department has stopped using a spray fertilizer on trees and shrubs on campus and has replaced it with a fungicide and fertilizer system that is directly injected treatments into the tree root, which prevents the product from drifting and leaving odor in the community. Additionally, the product, Arbotect, is used every two-and-a-half years instead of annually.

The groundskeepers try to incorporate plants that are resistant to disease and drought and that are not palatable to deer. They also try to select plant varieties that do not require annual pruning, which frees up time for the department to concentrate on its newly enhanced and expanded system of pruning damaged and diseased trees and shrubs to help them grow healthier and increase their bloom and fruit potential from year to year.

The college adopted a policy in fall 2008 to introduce native perennials into the pots and flowerbeds on campus, so the ground maintenance department researches tree and plant material and strives to select plants that are grown locally and that are native to the region. This move is helping save the college money, and it improves the maintenance staff’s efficiency and workloads.

Two groundskeepers came up with the idea behind the “Pardon Us, But Please Get Your BUTTS Out of Here” campaign that was launched last spring. Cigarettes—the most abundant form of liter worldwide—release toxic chemicals into the environment around them when rained on, and cleaning up cigarette butts is also a tremendously time-consuming task for maintenance staff. So far, there has seen a slight decrease in the number of butts placed in inappropriate places, but the staff will continue to educate the community about the effects cigarettes have on the environment in hopes of further decreasing the butts left on the ground.