Sustainability
Sustainability
Phone: (218) 755-2560
Mailing Address:
Bemidji State University
1500 Birchmont Dr. NE, #31
Bemidji, MN 56601
BSU is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
BSU is among a select group of leaders in EPA's Green Power Partnership.
Landscaping
There are varying definitions but sustainable landscaping should include an attractive environment that is in balance with the local climate and requires minimal resource inputs, such as fertilizer, pesticides and water. Sustainable landscaping begins with an appropriate design that includes functional, cost efficient, visually pleasing, environmentally friendly and maintainable areas.
Native Landscaping
BSU currently has three native plant
areas. One is a buffer zone by the lake, which helps with soil erosion
and run-off from nearby parking lots and buildings. Another is by the
library and the upper union. This bed has many native plant species. The
third is actually a native Monarch butterfly garden which is between
the lower union and Sattgast. We are currently working on making more
native plant gardens around campus. Native plants are beneficial to an
area because they require seldom watering, mulching, or continuous
mowing. The cost is generally less over time in terms of maintenance and
buying new plants every growing season. These landscapes do provide
potential habitat and refuges for wildlife, especially birds. Native
grasses protect soil while their root systems spread and grow deep for
excellent erosion control.
Campus Garden
Starting in Summer of 2011, the very first campus garden was up and running. A group of students got together and decided that BSU needed a campus garden so students can have the opportunity to grow their own food and have it be organic. There is a total of 28 plots, with the option of planting extra seeds on the outside of the fence for the public to use for free. Lots of manual labor was put into it by students, faculty and staff. The Bemidji State's Campus Garden is located across the campus library on Birch Lane and 16th.
Low-Mow Pilot Project
In the fall of 2011, the Sustainability Office, with the help of Students for the Environment and People in the Environment, finished the Low-Mow Pilot Project. Between the upper union and Memorial/Sanford, there is what looks like a pile of dirt! What's actually happening is we wanted to kill to grass, and let it decompose back into the ground, by putting seven layers of wet newspaper over the grass, then 4-5 inches of compost over that. Our goal of the project is to get more native, low-mow grasses on campus. We want to reduce the amount of lawn mowing, watering and chemical use on the campus grounds. In the Spring of 2012, we'll plant some low-mow grasses, see what happens and what people think!
"We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy -sun, wind and tide. ... I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that."
~ Thomas Edison to Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone (1931)