Sustainable Campus Initiative

Ball State Paper on SCI

Citation for original publication:

  • Savanick, Suzanne and Jim Perry, "University of Minnesota Sustainable Campus Initiative" in Koester, Robert (ed.), Moving to the Mainstream: Greening of the Campus 4 Conference Proceedings Vol. IV, Ball State, Indiana, 20-22 Sept 2001

Permission to reprint this article granted by Robert J. Koester, editor of the proceedings.


University of Minnesota Sustainable Campus Initiative

Suzanne Savanick, Sustainable Campus Initiative Coordinator
Jim Perry, HT Morse Professor and Head
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
University of Minnesota

Introduction

While a university campus may appear green and pristine, the environmental impact of a large university nonetheless rivals that of a small to mid-sized city. The University of Minnesota is one of the largest universities in the United States, serving over 45,000 students 1 and employing over 15,000 people 2. Together the student and staff population of the University of Minnesota is larger than the populations of all but four cities in Hennepin County 3. Similarly to a city, the University operates its own waste collection system and generates some of its own power. In 2000, 5500 tons of waste were disposed, over 2000 tons of waste were recycled, and 2.8E+12 BTU's of energy were used. In addition, approximately 7,000,000 miles were driven in over 928 university vehicles each year 4.

Although the University of Minnesota has a large environmental impact, at the same time the University also has an opportunity to educate a large number of people about environmental issues. The new Sustainable Campus Initiative aims to use the campus and its physical facilities as a tool for environmental learning. The project was started in 2000 by a small group of faculty, staff and students and is currently working on two pilot projects: the Sarita wetland restoration and an ecological footprint of the University's, Twin Cities campus. By involving students in hands-on projects, we hope to engage students as active citizens of the University. At the same time, we will increase teaching opportunities and achieve a more environmentally sustainable campus. In this paper, we describe the ecological footprint project; the wetland restoration goals, accomplishments and challenges; and offer recommendations for others interested this type of effort.

Ecological Footprint Project

The Sustainable Campus Initiative recently obtained a grant from the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance to develop an ecological footprint assessment of the University's Twin Cities campus. This interdisciplinary project will work with students to collect data on environmental impacts of the university and disseminate the results on the University of Minnesota website.

The project builds upon other environmental activities at the University. In 1985, the Regents instituted a Pollution Prevention and Waste Abatement Policy. A Waste Abatement Committee, formed in 1989, has successfully promoted waste reduction, reuse and recycling on campus. Facilities Management also started a program to drastically reduce toxic cleaning supplies. In the past two years, researchers at the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) developed the Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide to incorporate sustainable design into commercial buildings. Recently researchers also started a "Greening CALA" project that aims to collect data on the environmental impact of the college and to improve ecological design education.

The ecological footprint project will work collaboratively with these other projects as we collect information on the environmental impact of the entire university campus. The results obtained will help the Waste Abatement Committee prioritize environmental management and policy activities. In addition we will also organize a regional Greening the Campus workshop which will be held in November 2001.

Wetland Restoration

What separates the wetland restoration committee from the majority of others on campus, is the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of the project. This is the first time that the academic and the operational elements of the University have collaborated to this degree. Since the original discussions in May 2000, we hosted two campus events and worked with six classes and three students on independent research projects. Because over half of the water that flows into the wetland comes from areas off campus, the group is also working with watershed and neighborhood organizations. We expect the restoration to take approximately two years to complete.

Goal

The Sarita Wetland is the remnant of former Lake Sarita that was drained in the early 1900's. The goal of this effort is to improve water quality and wildlife habitat and use the wetland area for education and research. When we have fully achieved the vision, there will be: 1) an urban stream with a variety of in-stream habitats, 2) a riparian wooded zone consisting of native vegetation and experimental species, 3) a small, upstream holding pond which reduces sediment loading and water level fluctuations, 4) a bottomland forest with demonstration plantings, 5) an access trail surrounding the entire complex with educational signage, 6) a restored wetland and associated upland area that represent urban best management practices. University of Minnesota students will be involved in all stages of the project. This project will also complement the University's storm water management plan that is required by Environmental Protection.

Accomplishments to Date

Our accomplishments include hosting two events and working collaboratively with faculty, students, staff and organizations outside the university. The restoration kickoff began in September 2000 when over 80 students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members picked up garbage and started building a woodchip trail, as part of Beautiful U Day. Beautiful U Day is an all-campus event where the university community undertakes projects to make the university campus more attractive by participating in activities such as cleaning up areas and planting trees. As part of Earth Week in April 2001 we also hosted Sarita Day at the St. Paul Student Center. Student projects were on display all day; volunteers staffed an information table and over 50 people met for a community lunch meeting to discuss the restoration plans.

Student class projects are building the basis for the restoration planning. Six faculty from five different departments have incorporated the wetland into their classes. A wildlife class researched habitat planning for different species. An environmental education class planned a trail and signage. A landscape architecture class created models of alternative wetland restorations. A Freshman English class began development of a website for the project. Students in a water quality class also researched the following issues: potential community involvement in the restoration, water quality monitoring options, using Sarita as a teaching tool, impacts of road salt, landscape design, reducing floatables from the adjacent State Fair, rain gardens, impact of campus feedlots, and urban best management practices.

Individual students and student groups also have been active in the restoration project. Three individual student research projects are currently in progress. One student is surveying amphibians in the wetland and another is developing planting recommendations for the area. One student is using the sustainable campus initiative in a Ph.D. dissertation on urban ecology. Water Resources Students in Action (WRSIA), a graduate student group, is monitoring water quality in the wetland. The Urban Forestry Club recently planted trees in the upland areas. The Fisheries and Wildlife student association also continues its annual clean up of the area, a project that has been in effect for nearly a decade.

The student projects provide hands-on experiences with a complex real-world project. Information the students are collecting will also support the Environmental Protection Agency's Phase II Storm Water Management Plan that the university is required to submit. Facilities Management, Landcare, and the Environmental Health and Safety divisions of the university have worked with students on projects, and provided funding and expertise to the planing process. For instance, Les Potts, the head of Landcare is working with two graduate students to develop rain gardens on campus and Greg Archer from Environmental Health and Safety is working with the WRSIA student group to develop a water monitoring protocol. A project of this type would not have been possible without significant support from the university staff involved in the daily operations of the university.

The project has also developed interest from groups outside the University. The Capitol Region Watershed District, the Ramsey County Soil and Water Conservation District, Wildlife Forever and the National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Program have all supported the project. The Forum of Women in the Environmental Field also asked us to discuss the project and give a tour to their members in the summer of 2001. We are also currently discussing a potential for joint fundraising and planning with the St. Anthony Park Community Council's Environmental Committee.

The project has generated significant media interest. The Beautiful U Day event was filmed for an E connection video broadcast on cable television. The St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minnesota Daily (campus paper) ran stories about the event. The spring 2001 National Wildlife Federation newsletter also published a story about wetlands on campuses that highlighted our project. Recently the Minnesota Daily also ran a story on the Sustainable Campus Initiative.

Future Plans

This fall we anticipate building rain gardens, which will slow down and clean water entering the wetland. We also expect to continue our outreach to our watershed neighbors, including the State Fair and St. Anthony Park Community Council. In the fall and winter we plan to build a forebay in front of the wetland to reduce the storm water bounce. During this year we also expect to finish developing a trail and educational signage in the wetland. In the fall of 2002 we anticipate planting native plants in the wetland and bottomland forest areas. By the end of the project we hope to set up an on-going system that incorporates the use of the wetland into coursework at the university.

Challenges

Fundraising has been very successful but has required a significant time investment. The Sustainable Campus Initiative committee is a new initiative that started by the efforts of a small group of interested faculty and students. As such, we did not have consistent, institutional funding. Once we received early funding from Facilities Management and the Agricultural Experiment Station, however, we were able to obtain additional funding from both inside and outside the university.

Communication can be difficult at an institution of this size. Many of our committee members had never met before the project began. For example, our landscape architecture and water quality professors work with stormwater issues, but had not previously met. Likewise, only after our plans had been discussed for a year did we learn that the area next to the wetland is a potential site for a new building. In addition, many previous student projects have been lost because there was no way to archive them. We now store all student work on reserve in the library and we will post some of the papers on the website.

Beyond the internal bureaucratic issues involved in administering a new project, we also found out that much of the storm water that enters the wetland comes from outside of our campus. If we implement storm water management practices on campus, we will be able to improve water quality to a point, but it is critical that to involve our neighbors. The Capitol Region Watershed District, one of our partners, is working to begin discussions watershed-wide.

Recommendations

Based on our experiences to date, We offer these tips for other large institutions interested in starting a similar campus project.

  • Form a committee with staff, faculty and student representatives. Student projects and enthusiasm are crucial to initiate projects, but the efforts need the consistency of faculty and staff involvement.
  • Start with a pilot project. Our project has an overall vision of improving the environment and increasing teaching opportunities campus-wide, but we began with two pilot projects.
  • Hire a coordinator. This project funds a Ph.D. student. It is necessary to have someone organize the effort that is paid, even if it the organizer is an intern or student.
  • Recruit faculty to include the project in coursework. The strength of our project is the collaboration between the academic and the operational parts of the university.
  • Find seed money. Even small amounts of outside funding can get the attention of the administration. It is also much easier to find the second half of the funding.
  • Look for partners. We have had success by partnering with the local water organizations and community partners.

Conclusion

The University of Minnesota is a large institution with similar environmental issues to a small to mid-sized city. We have a large environmental impact and the opportunity to educate a large number of students about environmental issues. The Sustainable Campus Initiative is a new project at the University with a mission to both increase teaching opportunities and achieve a more environmentally sustainable campus. We hope to educate our students to become more active and involved citizens and at the same time reduce our environmental impact.

References

  1. University of Minnesota, University Relations, 2001, University of Minnesota 2001 Facts.
  2. University of Minnesota Institutional Research, 2001, TC Campus Basic Data Series. http://www.irr.umn.edu/plandata/pdf2000/UMNTC.pdf.
  3. Data calculated from the United States Census Bureau, 2000, 2000 Census Data, published by Metropolitan Council http://www.metrocouncil.org/Census/Census2000.htm
  4. Andrew Phalen, Waste Abatement Committee Chair, 2001, personal communication.
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