Sustainability at OSU

Natural Features and Landscaping

Oak Creek Restoration

OSU has embarked on several focused efforts to reduce its impact on Oak Creek, one of the area's most significant natural features. The two primary areas of concentration are the main campus (30th St. to 35th St. reach) and the Department of Animal Sciences' livestock facilities (generally west of the OSU Dairy Center).

Main Campus

Although recent reports have rated riparian functions in the 30th to 35th St. reach as "nearly fully functioning" to "fully functioning", there are improvements still to be made including:

• Removing invasive species like Himalayan blackberry and English ivy
• Reforesting certain areas of the corridor
• Reconnecting the floodplain
• Appropriately treating and buffering stormwater discharge into the creek

With these improvements and others, study opportunities abound. Study zones along the creek can be designated for students to evaluate various restoration and protection methods, study riparian function and monitor stream improvements.

Livestock Facilities

OSU's Dept. of Animal Sciences recently announced the start of a yearlong project to restore and protect areas of the creek that wind through livestock facilities. Supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the project will create wildlife habitat and riparian buffers along more than five miles of streams that include Oak Creek and its tributaries.

Animal facilities include the horse, sheep, swine, and dairy centers with plans to expand it into Soap and Berry Creek ranches and protect a different water system there. The properties are diverse and plans differ according to needs but the principals are the same:

• Selectively clear understory to remove undesirable species while keeping as many natives as possible.
• Build fences to keep livestock out of the waterways.
• Plant oak and ash species (22,000 planned).
• Provide continued maintenance by keeping noxious weeds and invasives controlled and irrigating trees during establishment.
• Where livestock can no longer access the creek for drinking water, watering sites will be established.
• In some places new stream crossings must be established. Old crossings are no longer usable because they are included in the buffer.

In total, the first phase of the project completed by summer 2009 will protect about 140 acres by installing new fences or mending current ones.

There have also been several past studies of Oak Creek: IWW information; F&W information. To get involved, contact Brandon Trelstad at 541-737-3307.

People's Park

In 1972, students lobbied OSU administration to create a park space at the site of the recently demolished administration building. Beginning in 2002, the construction of Kelley Engineering Center prompted the relocation of the park to its current location just west of Gilkey Hall.

The Student Sustainability Initiative in 2007 funded a landscape plan (below) that incorporated input from students and community members gathered between 2002 and 2007, and also built on the wishes of students since 1972. Recurring themes have influenced the park's design:

• Creating a safe, but set-aside place for quiet contemplation.
• Specifying and locating plants that will look good year-round but have low irrigation requirements.
• Adding low-key, informative markers so that park visitors learn how sustainable landscapes can also be beautiful.
• Choosing plants that that attract birds, butterflies and beneficial insects so that pesticides will not be needed.
• Specifying local construction materials and their sources.

Since beginning to manage the project in 2007, the Sustainability Office has continued to take input and move the design to construction by commencing fundraising in 2008. Please contact us if you can help make People's Park a reality by making an in-kind or financial contribution.

Grounds: Landscape and Hardscape Maintenance

The landscape shop is responsible for maintaining the grounds of the OSU campus. This includes lawns, sidewalks, trees, shrubs, and other open areas. Eight full time workers maintain the 423 acre main campus. These workers take many steps to reduce their operation's impact on the environment:

• Leave grass clippings on the lawns to return nutrients
• Obtain annual Oregon Dept. of Agriculture training to maintain pesticide best practices and application licenses
• Maintain the campus to different standards based on need (i.e., MU quad vs. low profile areas)
• Use of Maxi-com computerized irrigation system with weather-based watering
• Minimal use of only slow release fertilizers to avoid fertilizer run off
• On-campus handling and chipping of woody debris and compostable material
• Application as groundcover of mulch and wood chips to reduce watering and weeding needs

In addition to the list above, the grounds crew maintains pedestrian and bicyclist safety by controlling sidewalk alignment and moss growth. They also plant native and drought tolerant species where practicable, and install trees for shading and temperature control.