2008 Green Washington Award from Washington CEO Magazine for SU's sustainable landscape practices and pre-consumer food waste composting program

2006 Washington Toxics Coalition’s “Hall of Fame" for grassroots activists working on toxics issues in Washington State

1994 Business in the Green recognition from King County’s Greenworks program for SU’s pollution-preventing grounds practices

2003 Certificate of Recognition from the Governors Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices

The campus’ 48 beautifully landscaped acres are a green oasis demonstrating how humans can live thoughtfully amid the built environment of the inner city. The history of the Grounds Department is filled with stories of unique individuals and their equally distinct influence on the campus landscape. Fujitaro Kubota designed and planted many of the gardens in the mid 1960’s working with Father Nichol, nicknamed Fr. Greenthumb, who was in charge of the campus grounds. In the late 1970’s Ciscoe Morris took the helm of the Grounds Department and began a transformation that has made the university a model for ecological gardening. Craig Chatburn built on this foundation by making the athletic fields pesticide-free, adding many edible plants, creating the ethnobotanical and Shakespeare themed garden and Chardin Hall’s p-patch.

Wildlife Sanctuary

In 1989, the university’s landscape was designated a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. In 2007, the National Wildlife Federation qualified the campus as a Wildlife Habitat. The mission of a wildlife sanctuary is to create healthy habitat that attracts and sustains wildlife. The criteria are to provide water, food and shelter. Fountains provide water. A diversity of plant material bears seeds, berries, and nectar to feed birds and small mammals year round. Trees and shrubs provide shelter with a seamless, dense cover from the upper tree canopy to the ground. A 1991 bird survey counted 40 species.

Gasoline powered trucks were replaced with electric work vehicles. Older equipment was replaced with lower emissions and noise-producing equipment. Biodiesel is used in the mowers, dump truck, delivery truck, bobcat and tractor.

Educating the Community

Other educational institutions. In 2000, the Grounds Dept. hosted a sustainable landscape practices forum for Northwest college and university grounds staff that was sponsored by AASHE. Horticulture classes from local colleges consistently use the campus grounds as a field trip destination. A local middle school summer science program used the campus landscape as a destination site for learning about a well balanced soil ecosystem and materials recycling. The Grounds staff speaks at many local functions and panel discussions on sustainable landscape practices.

Benchmarking to SU’s practices. Willamette University in Oregon funded a consultation where SU’s Grounds staff presented the science and cost reductions of a soil ecosystem-fostering maintenance practices to staff, students and faculty. Northern Arizona University funded a three day consultation for SU’s Grounds staff to present to and meet with staff, students, faculty, Herbicide Elimination Committee, and university vice presidents and aid them in drafting an organic maintenance plan. Other local institutions that benchmark to our practices are Pacific Lutheran University and Western Washington University.

Partnering with academics.

The Ethnobotanical garden was a partnership with an Anthropology professor who secured grant funding and translated the plant signage into Lushootseed (language of the first people of Seattle). A Geology professor created a list of rocks that would be useful for their department to have on campus and Grounds aesthetically incorporated them into the Ethnobotanical Garden.

At the Fine Arts Building, Grounds worked with the faculty to transform a once resource-dependent turf dominated landscape into a sustainably designed garden with an educational connection. The theme selected by the Fine Arts Department was a Shakespeare Garden and highlights plants mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays including an apple tree.

Students in the Air and Water lab science class and an English seminar on ecocritism and environmental justice go on a tour of SU’s sustainable landscape practices. In the 2007-2008 academic year seniors in the Environmental Studies program are being mentored by Grounds staff to create a rubric of values for sustainable landscape design strategies to help determine and guide the replacement landscape to a net gain for the campus ecosystem.

Campus community. A sustainable landscape tour is given to students, faculty and staff during Earth Week in April.