Whitman College
OP-9: Landscape Management

Campus farm properties have been excluded from this section. These properties are leased to outside entities and are not operated by Whitman College. Additionally building footprints have not been extracted from this calculation. This represents the general land mass of the academic main campus and athletic campus.

Additional land owned by Whitman used for biological research and conservation projects have also been excluded.

Soil health and vigor are essential to growing healthy plants. Our Grounds Department utilizes organic fertilizer produced by Griffin Industries handled locally by Wilbur Ellis. This fertilizer focuses on lower nitrogen levels than materials previously utilized by our grounds department. In addition to these efforts our campus continually works to improve soils in yards, shrub and flower beds. We process landscaping waste in a closed loop composting regiment. The campus applies around 200 cubic yards of compost to our shrub and flower beds. We utilize a mulching deck on our mowers so grass clippings are incorporated back into the turf. We also utilize pelletized chicken manure. We additionally utilize organic fertilizer on all our flower and shrub beds that have a broad range of micro-nutrients such as manganese and zinc. Fish fertilizer is our primary product which provides macro-nutrients.

The Grounds department in conjunction with our campus tree committee governs the utilization of pesticides and other pest management. Currently the campus employs a four tiered IPM. High threshold for broad leaf weeds in grass lawns and low threshold pest management for weeds in flower and shrub beds. Currently the grounds department utilizes fiesta concentrated FeHEDTA as an organic broadleaf herbicide in control of plantain, dandelion and medic in areas that are mostly devoid of grass. This is done inconjunction with aeration and fertilization. In addition to these methods the campus monitors weeds and pest identification prior to treatment. In order to control weeds in grass the campus employees regular mowing and removal by mechanical means in shrub beds. Most controls are mechanical and pesticides are rarely utilized. Ground crew use pesticide on less than 2 percent of the more than 1,500 trees on campus – the elms, birches and larches. Elms are susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease, birches are susceptible to birch borer infestations and larches are susceptible to case borer infestations.

The campus currently has an active Tree committee. This entity works in collaboration with our Grounds Manager and his grounds crew and certified professional arborist. As specified by the landscape mission they work to improve health and vigor of our large, midsize, and small tree canopy. Through proper pruning, thinning, and removal of dead and decaying plant material. The tree committees is dedicated to planting and maintenance of a wide range of trees which should thrive in our climatic region. We have reduced our herbicide use by heavily mulching with compost and in the process have increased the health and vitality of our soils which has led to stronger, healthier plants. In addition to these projects there is an active partnership between our Grounds Department and Environmental Studies department identifying, mapping and marking trees throughout our campus.

The campus has worked to shift irrigation from treated city water to campus well water. This minimizes the impacts of the energy/water nexus. Currently the campus utilizes smart watering techniques with the utilization of centralized water clocks. This takes into consideration the different soil types present throughout the campus. Additionally we are better able to control the utilization of water in order to harness precipitation and soil water content. We continue to work to maintain our irrigation system through active monitoring of leaks and repairs to mitigate water use.

The campus employees a closed loop composting system. We currently process all yard waste through a municipal composting facility. This compost is then utilized throughout our grounds. We additionally provide some yard-waste to local farms for them to utilize for composting. We also recently implemented a vermicomposter run by students to take waste from the dining hall. Our organic garden also takes waste from off-campus houses.

The campus tree committee works with our grounds crew to enhance the energy benefits of our campus grounds where acceptable. The campus currently utilizes a central plan developed by John Charles Olmstead.

The campus does utilize environmentally preferable landscaping materials.