Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.82
Liaison Rebecca Collins
Submission Date Dec. 10, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Temple University
OP-9: Landscape Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.82 / 2.00 Rebecca Collins
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total campus area (i.e. the total amount of land within the institutional boundary):
351.30 Acres

Figures required to calculate the total area of managed grounds:
Area (double-counting is not allowed)
Area managed in accordance with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses a four-tiered approach 9.80 Acres
Area managed in accordance with an organic land care standard or sustainable landscape management program that has eliminated the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in favor of ecologically preferable materials 2.50 Acres
Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) 5.64 Acres
Total area of managed grounds 17.94 Acres

If the total area of managed grounds is less than the total campus area, provide:

A brief description of any land excluded from the area of managed grounds (e.g. the footprint of buildings and impervious surfaces, experimental agricultural land, areas that are not regularly managed or maintained):
Our total area of managed grounds is 17.94. Temple University is located in North Philadlephia in a very dense urban area. The remaining acreage is streetscape, building footprints, parking lots, walking paths, cartpaths.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program 

Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program:
54.63

If reporting an IPM program, provide:

A copy of the IPM plan or program:
---

A brief description of the IPM program:
54.6% of the total managed acres is managed in accordance with an IPM program. These acres are located at the Ambler Athletic Fields. 1. Scouting / Pest-Pathogen Identification; 2.Determination of Damage Threshold; 3.Selection of Control; 4.Evaluation of Results

Organic Program

Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an organic program:
13.94

If reporting an organic program, provide:

A brief description of the organic land standard or landscape management program that has eliminated the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in favor of ecologically preferable materials:
These 2.5 Acres receive no pesticides or fertilizers

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:
Known invasive species are avoided when choosing plants for the campus landscape. Native plants and those with low water requirements are utilized so long as they meet the other demands (aesthetic, etc.) of the project.

A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:
The university has a total of 14 separate green stormwater infrastructure projects.

A brief description of the institution's approach to materials management and waste minimization (e.g. composting and/or mulching on-site waste):
The university composts its organic waste from grounds keeping. In 2012, a dedicated organic waste compactor was installed adjacent to the Grounds Department operations center. Organic waste from Temple's horticultural operations is kept out of the landfill and recycled into useful compost at a professional facility offsite. Excess soils are stored on site for future use.

A brief description of the institution's approach to energy-efficient landscape design:
The campus landscaping lighting standard is LED fixtures.

A brief description of other sustainable landscape management practices employed by the institution (e.g. use of environmentally preferable landscaping materials, initiatives to reduce the impacts of ice and snow removal, wildfire prevention):
In order to reduce the volume of ice melting agent applied to the grounds, the Grounds Department is very diligent in removing all snow and ice before applying melting agents. As a policy the Grounds Department does not treat surfaces with ice melt before a storm event. The Grounds Department uses Calcium Chloride (CaCl) instead of rock salt or Sodium Chlroide (NaCl).

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.temple.edu/facilities/sustainabaility.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Ambler IPM.docx

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
FY 2019

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.