Cornell University
OP-10: Landscape Management

IPM is carried out at Cornell by several different groups - primarily the Grounds department, the Cornell Plantations and the Agricultural Experiment Station (CU AES) and the College of Veterinary Medicine on the Ithaca campus. The 1,400 acres of open space comprise 61% of the main campus area and approximately 90% of our total grounds area. They include managed landscapes, natural areas and the arboretum, as well as crop fields, pastures and wooded areas used for teaching and research. The Grounds Dept. follows IPM procedures in maintaining the campus landscape. By doing so, pesticide use on campus is reduced every year. To control insects, weeds and plant diseases that threaten the lawn, flower, shrub, and tree species, IPM uses a holistic approach that includes many cultural pest control techniques: • Naturalized landscape design, emphasizing a diversity of species • Careful site selection and preparation • Use of hearty, disease- and pest-resistant varieties • Proper frequencies of watering, pruning, and mowing • Mulching • Introduction of naturally occurring organisms to control pests Cornell Plantations cares for about 200 acres of botanical gardens and arboretum as well as a 3000+ square foot greenhouse, a lath house and a raised bed nursery utilizing Integrated Pest Management practices. There are many facets to this system from installation to long-term garden management. Preventative care is established through proper site selection and preparation prior to plant installation. In-depth scouting and monitoring of our collections is conducted for specific pests as well as yearly general assessments throughout the collections. Mechanical practices such as pruning, fall sanitation, utilizing water pressure and even hand removal of pests are employed to limit the need for pesticides. When chemical control becomes necessary, the staff strive to choose pesticides with least toxic properties. Plantations works to reduce the need for herbicides through mechanical weed control whenever possible, both in the gardens and the arboretum. Finally, the program is supported with detailed records of treatment for reference and encouraging the education of the staff of gardeners. Cornell Plantations also manages the system of natural areas on campus. These areas are actively protected and managed to support the educational mission of the University. Management activities include but are not limited to monitoring, habitat establishment, natural areas restoration, naturalization, invasive species control, and deer over-population management. The CU AES farm managers follow IPM practices on the greatest majority of their land, production cropland and wherever IPM practices will complement a given research project. The forests are minimally managed, with some selective thinning. CU AES has been removing ash trees in an attempt to minimize the spread of the emerald ash borer, as well as some removal of unwanted or invasive species. The College of Veterinary Medicine manages its pasture lands without the use of any pesticides.

We are currently developing a sustainable landscape management plan for campus that reflects the new criteria under STARS.

Various departments at the University - academic and administrative - manage landscape areas. There has been a long-standing practice of prioritizing and using native plant species in campus landscaping, both in the maintained grounds as well as in the campus landscapes that are used for teaching, research and conservation. This practice is in the process of being formalized into a native plants policy. While the policy is not yet complete, we continue the practice of ensuring that all new projects include native plants in their site landscape. The growing number of green infrastructure projects on campus include native plants as well.

The majority of the agricultural composting at Cornell is carried out by Farm Services, a Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (CUAES) operation and includes far more than waste from grounds keeping (please see details in the attached public notes). What constitutes University Grounds includes an extensive area used for agricultural teaching, research and outreach. Since 1992, the Cornell Grounds department has collected thousands of cubic yards of yard waste from normal lawn maintenance activities. All yard waste is ground and composted in order to reduce and reuse materials. This reduces disposal fees, transportation costs and the need to buy topsoil. These management practices have reduced the amount of material going into landfills as well as the contamination of water sources on and adjacent to the campus.

Cornell's Soil Stewardship Plan states how organic soils must be managed: 1. Soil Protection Zones -Identify boundaries of soil and associated vegetation protection zones and clearly mark the boundaries on any staging, demolition and construction documents -Protection zones around trees shall be sized to provide 1 to 1.5 foot radius protection per inch of tree diameter at breast height -Protection zones around shrubs shall be twice the diameter of the shrub -Wherever possible adjacent vegetation should be protected as a group -Protection zones shall be fenced with a minimum 6 foot high chain link fence and marked with a “Protection Zone” sign. The sign will identify the area as a protection zone and indicate that the area cannot be used for storage of machinery, vehicles, or materials 2. Minimizing Soil Compaction -Do not work on wet soils with heavy equipment -For short term access, use mats to distribute the weight of any vehicles or machinery -If access must cross through protection zones, then tree roots and soil shall be buffered with 10 inches of mulch under protective mats or plywood 3. Soil Salvage and Reuse -Salvage all topsoil and other quality soil from areas to be disturbed before the start of any construction activities -Stockpile topsoil and subsoil in separate piles. Stockpiled soils shall be covered to prevent erosion, and mound height should be minimized to prevent anaerobic conditions from developing. 4. Erosion and Sediment Control -Projects must include an erosion and sediment control plan consistent with the current NYSDEC Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Controls. 5. Soil Restoration -Salvaged soils shall be tested and based on the results, appropriate soil amendments shall be used to modify pH, texture and structure, nutrient availability and biological activity before being installed on site -Compacted soils should be rehabilitated using the “scoop and dump” method, excavation with an air spade or soil rippers as appropriate -After construction, representative soil samples shall be collected and tested; based on the results, additional soil amendments shall be used to modify pH, texture and structure, nutrient availability and biological activity. -Any contaminated soils shall be removed and replaced.

Under development as a component of our Sustainable Landscape Management Plan.

Under development as a component of our Sustainable Landscape Management Plan.

The environmental impacts of snow and ice removal are addressed in three broad ways. 1) Reducing the area to be de-iced. Grounds maintains over 53 miles of sidewalks. Through the University's earlier Advancing Sustainability Action Plan (ASAP) we had identified just over 2 miles (~4%) of walkway closures for winter maintenance. This seasonal closing equates to a reduction of salt usage, equipment fuel, and savings in lawn damage repairs totaling $11K annually. The Grounds Dept. tested a new type of salt spreader in 2012-2013 and found that the new technology allowed greater operator calibration and placement of salt along walkways. Three more of these more efficient spreaders were purchased for the 2013-14 snow season. Plantations has 5.3 miles of trails of which they have no winter maintenance on 2.2 miles (~ 42%). 2) Through a specific program for efficiency in application and materials. Cornell University has had a De-icing Salt Conservation (Sensible Salt/Calibration) Program in place since 1987. The program emphasizes the most economical use of de-icing salt while maintaining safety on roads and for the environment. The metrics are Environmental, Economic and Social. Environmental metrics include proper storage, handling, application, drainage, and landscaping. Economic metrics include lower operating costs due to reduced salt, as well as continued safe operation of roads. Social metrics include the safety of the campus community and the continuation of campus functions in inclement weather. 3) To use materials that require less salt over time, to reduce environmental impacts to the extent possible. Continued in-house employee training and the expansion of de-icing products to include local recycled brine are being actively pursued. Our bulk salt usage for the last 5 years has been fairly static at 1800 Tons per season with a backup amount of 500 Tons in reserve.

Cornell's Mann Library Garden (0.1 acres) was one of the original 13 pilot projects certified under the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES).

While we are reporting only within the main campus boundary, Cornell University has a much larger extended campus as well as research stations within the county and New York State. CUAES has about 2100 acres of combined crop and forestland. Forested land and non-crop land (building spaces, grass alleys, etc.) occupy about a quarter of the total managed land area (525 acres). Of the remaining 1575 acres of crop land, we estimate that at least 1400 acres of that is managed in accordance with IPM practices. Details on our specific farms can be found at: http://cuaes.cals.cornell.edu/farms. Grounds Department IPM - http://fm.fs.cornell.edu/file/Pesticide%20pdf.pdf