Going Green @ Haverford

Sustainability coordinator Claudia Kent examining early spring growth atop the College's first green roof.

The College earned a “B+” overall grade on the Sustainability Report Card issued in early October by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.  That grade continues the steady improvement Haverford has seen since it earned a “C” grade three years ago.  Last year the College got a “B” on the Report Card, which evaluates the environmental efforts of more than 300 participating colleges.

• View more on the survey
• View an interactive map of the participating colleges
• Read the New York Times article about the release of the report card

Nothing makes the case for native plants like fall color. I was checking out the gardens today with horticulturist Mike Startup. On a rare occasion we’ll take a stroll taking stock of how the growing season went. This year, we agreed, was a very good year.

Hilles Hill

We meandered out to the top of Hilles Hill. Over the years it’s had a couple different names. When the KINSC was first built it was grass covered and a bear to weed wack. We started installing boulders trying to give it some definition. Bill, the arboretum director, stood at the bottom directing the grounds crew on where he wanted them to go. Hence its first name “Boulder Bill Hill.” Over the years it slipped back into Hilles Hill, something you don’t have to explain on arboretum tours.

 As an avid backpacker I love the Pennsylvania landscape. Fall in Pennsylvania is eye popping especially in the northern part of the state. After the boulders were installed on Hilles Hill we started planting species of plants that were native to the Eastern Deciduous Forest, similar to what I had seen on my excursions. At the time I wasn’t choosing plants for fall color, I was thinking more along the lines of size and texture. We started with larger trees, Oaks, White Pines, Tulip Trees,  Birches, Redbuds, Silver Bells, Eastern Red Cedar and Amelanchiers and complemented with shrubs such as Sumac,  Snow Berry, Viburnum and Winterberry. Mike Startup came in several years later and added hundreds of native perennials giving the hill the “Wow” factor.

Asters, Amsonia and Winterberry

While planting natives for fall color is a great argument, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the other reasons to go native. Considering it took thousands of years for our natives to adapt here you are likely to get a better success rate when planting them. They are used to our soils and climate. Wildlife are able to digest native berries better. A local landscape architect  equated it to “good for you food” vs. junk food. The most compelling argument came from entomologist and author Douglas W. Tallamy. In 2007 he released his latest book entitled Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens. He explains there is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. Most native insects cannot, or will not, eat non-native species, therefore creating  a break in the food chain. We also depend on these insects to pollinate our food and keep other insects in balance.

Fall is Haverford’s best season and the natives are giving it their all. The warm days and cool nights and ample amounts of moisture promises a spectacular display. The Sugar Maples at the cricket field are in their crimson glory, the Honey Locusts are showing off their golden hues and Hilles Hill is at its peak. So during Fall break take a walk around campus and enjoy show. Working and going to school at Haverford gives you a front row seat.

                                                                 Claudia

Tucked away on Featherbed Lane, a little stone house built circa 1935 by  Mathematics Professor Cletus Oakley, houses one of Haverford’s many hidden garden treasures. Five years ago Richard Ball took over the reins when Professor Lyle Roelof moved on to Colgate University and he has waged war on invasive plant species ever since.  Gout weed, Lesser celandine and Norway maple don’t stand a chance when faced with Richard’s boundless energy. He won’t admit how many hours he spends in the garden but looking at what he’s accomplished over the last several years, it’s quite a lot.

While Richard loves most plants he considers himself a tree man.  Scattered around his wooded garden are, at last count, 25 small trees that he has planted. Whether he bought them from the Forest Farm nursery catalog, a local native plant sale, or plucked them out of cracks in the sidewalk in Avalon, each plant is lovingly labeled the year it was planted and fenced off. Not just for protecting it from deer, but his own feet as he moves through the garden.

Chemical free, Richard has some unique ways of dealing with invasive species. Lesser celandine over the last decade has taken over our local woodlands, choking out the native flora. Richard has hand dug the bulbs, wheelbarrowed them over to a remote part of the property, and has covered the bulbs with a tarp. He’s hoping, one day, to be able to use the soil again. Another technique is picking up discarded boxes from the Dining Center and laying them over the plants he wants to eradicate and covering them with compost or wood chips. Previously, he had been using old carpet to smother the plants, but felt the cardboard boxes were a more sustainable approach as they can be tilled in once they break down.

Moving through the Dahlias, Crocosmia and Daylilies you come upon a grove with stone picnic benches built by Oakley, the home’s original owner. Shaded by evergreens, the tables and benches are covered with rocks.  When asked about them Richard replied, “They just grow by themselves.” What to do with them? “My plan is to make a plan,” he replied.

His love for the garden is unmistakable. As horticulturists, the Arboretum crews have often walked through his garden and appreciated his work. Richard commented that this is the first year he feels that he’s seeing results that even the lay person can appreciate.  So next time you bump into Richard on campus, ask him about his garden, he’ll be happy to fill you in.

A three-acre area next to the Duck Pond has been transformed from lawn to wild meadow.

The College’s picturesque Duck Pond has an environmentally friendly new look this summer. What was once a swath of clipped lawn bordering the Pond is now a three-acre meadow where tall grasses and wildflowers dance in the wind.

According to Haverford ‘s campus sustainability officer Claudia Kent, who is also the College’s grounds manager, cutting back on the use of fume-spewing gasoline-powered mowers reduces the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.  Shifting from mowed lawn to wild meadow also provides wildlife habitat and a reliable food source for animals, and can help reduce, or even eliminate storm water runoff and erosion.

Haverford began the move away from mowing five years ago starting in the Pinetum, which is now entirely meadow except for some paths mowed through for the College’s cross-country runners.  The Pinetum was also planted with wildflowers on the north end.

Well-mowed lawns are still a major feature of the campus landscape, though, and those are getting the eco-conscious treatment as well.  One change is the College’s use of fertilizer, which is a key ingredient in keeping  grass (which would grow to be 18-24 inches tall if left alone) alive and lush despite the stresses of shearing.  Instead of synthetic fertilizers, which can end up washing down a storm drain and polluting rivers and streams, Haverford’s grounds crew uses an organic fertilizer in the form of composted chicken manure, which feeds the soil as well as the grass. Also helping to keep the lawn healthy is a regular program of aeration, which allows water, oxygen and nutrients to get to the roots more easily.

“Feeding the soil, coupled with aeration to reduce soil compaction, is a more sustainable approach,” says Kent.

Yum!!

Finally there is some action in the garden. We’ve been picking pounds of green beans and the tomatoes are just starting to ripen. Potatoes have been ready for awhile now and we’ve been enjoying lots of potato salad and french fries. We’re still harvesting beets and the green peppers are almost ready.

We’ve been working the soil continually adding compost collected from the dining center, it’s really making a difference.

Many thanks to my summer volunteers who have been watering and weeding.

Have a great summer!

We’ve updated the Going Green @ Haverford site to include a new Initiatives section, an updated Resources page, and new photo galleries relating to a number of on-going projects. Check out all of the new photos!

Also, visitors might be interested the following slideshow. This sustainability presentation was presented to staff last winter by Claudia Kent, John Francone and Ron Tola.

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Bob Harper

Bob Harper, the  Manager of Central Heating plant and HVAC Services, just clued me in on a great energy web site. I had been attempting to convert oil and natural gas into BTU’s and provide greenhouse gas emissions per-thousand square feet (yeah, I know!!) for the college. He told me not to be insulted but directed me to http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/index.html .  What a great site for explaining energy in simple and easy terms.

So the next time you need to know where natural gas comes from, what states produce oil or if you’re just in the mood for energy sudoku, check out this site.

While not a fully mature roof there’s still plenty to see. It can be seen anytime from the 3rd floor hallway outside the Career Development Office or attend one of our tours scheduled for this summer.

This spring, Haverford College Dining Services along with the Committee on Environmental Responsibility(CER) started composting pre-consumer food waste. Since its inception in March of this year we’ve composted almost 10,000 lbs of melon rinds, potato peels and lettuce leaves etc. In turn the composted material is being used in the student garden located at the Haverford College Apartments (HCA) and in the community gardens located below Facilities Management. CER is currently working on in-container composting system where both pre and post consumer waste is composted.

Over a 10-week period in March and April Haverford competed in Recyclemania. This friendly contest and benchmarking tool for college and universities  measures and ranks the recycling efforts of the schools that participate.  Haverford achieved an impressive showing for a first-time entrant.

“I am very pleased and impressed with Haverford’s results for our first year in the competition,” says Meg Dickey-Griffith ‘09 a Committee on Environmental Responsibility member and one of the coordinators of the event. ” As a small school focused on community and personal responsibility, it is fitting that we placed  so high in the per-capita competition.  Now that the student body knows what RecycleMania is and how well Haverford can do, I am optimistic for even greater participation and more recycling next year.”

Here are the results:

- Per Capita Classic Division, which pits colleges against each other to see who can collect the most acceptable recyclables per person:

Haverford ranked #17 nationally (out of 293 schools entered) and was #1 in the state (out of 30 schools entered).

-Gorilla Prize – Competition Division, in which  schools compete to see which can collect the highest gross tonnage of recyclables, regardless of campus population:

Haverford ranked  #171  nationally and #15 in the state, with  61,307 pounds of recyclables collected.

-Food Service Organics, in which schools compete to see which can recycle the largest amount of food service organics per person:

Haverford ranked #28 nationally and #5 in the state.