Goshen College plans to convert about seven acres of its approximate 55-acres of lawn to native landscaping. As the college’s master landscaping plan calls for, the campus will establish several areas of low-profile native grasses and perennial wildflowers.
According to Sustainability Coordinator Glenn Gilbert, in addition to creating a more interesting and diverse landscape, some of the advantages of this project include:
- Reduction in the use of chemical herbicides and fertilizer
- Reduction in mowing, saving both gas, wear and tear on equipment and labor
- Less irrigation
- Less surface water runoff through improved infiltration of the soil
- Improved air quality with more carbon dioxide sequestration and reduced emissions from lawn mowing
- Improved habitat for birds, small mammals, butterflies and other insects
There are five areas on campus that are being planned for native landscaping (click on map below):
- The entire railroad corridor on both the east and west sides of the tracks
- The lawn north of Kratz and Miller Halls
- Most of the lawn west of the Music Center
- The section of lawn between 12th Street and the Music Center parking lot
- Areas along the east edge of the athletic fields
Gilbert said, “The areas being proposed to be converted to native landscaping were chosen because they are lawns that currently are not programmed for specific activities yet are prominent features of the campus. The railroad corridor is a particularly unique situation.”
The conversion from lawn turf to natural native landscaping is a long-term process. Gilbert said, “The first two years will be a season of watching the weeds grow. It will be organized chaos, but it will be important that we understand that this will take awhile to see the results. That is not to say that the first couple years won’t be interesting.”
He added, “It is also important that we understand that we won’t just plant the seeds and forget about it. Native landscaping does require long-term maintenance including occasional high-cut mowings and weed control. I would hope that these areas will become a living laboratory for environmental education.”
During this fall, Gilbert is tentatively identifying the impacted areas with green flags and the college has stopped mowing these areas. Gilbert notes that the necessary approval from the City of Goshen still needs to be obtained for the project. In January, he hopes to finalize the specific areas to be converted and determine the exact seed mix to be used in the spring planting. In May 2011, the sites will be prepared by eliminating the existing turf grass and then seeds of the new grasses and wild flowers will be drilled. All planting and maintenance for the first two years will be performed by JFNew, an area company with a national reputation for providing full service ecological solutions.
Gilbert said, “The proposed native landscaping was general in its guidelines and could take on a variety of forms, depending on the mixture of seeds. In the coming months, we intend to listen to the suggestions of the campus community and learn from the experience of other institutions that have already gone this way. We will have three informational meetings this week. Anyone interested in becoming more involved in the process should contact me soon.”
Gilbert can be contacted by e-mailing glenn@goshen.edu.
To learn more about this project, several informational meetings were held on campus on Sept. 8-9.
Read this article about the project from the 9/9/10 issue of the South Bend Tribune.