SUSTAINABLE
FSU
June/July 2015
IN THIS ISSUE: Featured Area: FSU Grounds and Landscaping - p.1 Greenspace: The Seminole Organic Garden - p.3 Nole in Action: Austin Mast - p.5
Featured Area:
FSU Grounds and Landscaping
It surrounds us every day when we walk to class or lounge on Landis, and it probably was one of the reasons we fell in love with campus on our first school visit. A beautiful campus is high on our list of bragging rights as Seminoles, and it’s the tireless work of the FSU Grounds staff and crew that we have to thank. Responsible for the upkeep of 574 acres of landscaping, all campus statues and artwork, trees and shrubbery, recycling, and trash collection, the crew’s work is twofold: not only are they tasked with the beautification of our campus, they also implement the most sustainable and eco-conscious practices possible. Measures such as avoiding the use of harmful pesticides, fertilizing plants only when necessary, avoiding phosphorous (which can enter and pollute our water supply), and using from-the-earth pest control remedies like soaps, oils, and coffee grounds, creates a campus that is not only visually stunning, but also an example of the latest in environmentally responsible practices. David MacManus, assistant director of Grounds and Landscaping at FSU, works each day with his crews to implement what he describes as a “park-like” outdoor classroom for students and faculty to enjoy. He draws on his background as a grower for wholesale nurseries and his degree in Environmental Horticulture to cultivate a wide assortment of native plants that represent our area’s unique ecosystem. In his daily work and in his vision for the future of our campus, MacManus thinks about not only this class of Noles, but future generations as well. With everything the crews do, they prioritize leaving behind a campus that is as beautiful as it is minimally impactful upon the local ecosystem. MacManus describes the Seminole Organic Garden as a prime example of the type of student led projects he hopes to see more of (check out our feature on page 3.) He says, he and his crew are always looking for similar projects that they can assist students with. 1
June/July 2015
“Nearly all of our activities directly or indirectly touch on the relationship of the campus to our environment,” says MacManus. “Our activities should meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.” Next time you’re walking through campus, be sure to check out the landscaping around the Student Success Center, which MacManus and the crew designed to feature plants like saw palmetto and a few varieties of palms that are all native to Florida and require minimal watering for much of the year. Smith Hall is surrounded by plants like agave, aloe, and yucca that don’t have to be irrigated, which cuts back on water waste. Other eco-conscious measures including sensors that shut off automatic irrigation when it’s raining, and walkways and patios made of recycled concrete, such as in the Oglesby Union outdoor seating area. For more information on what’s blooming around campus and which plants to keep an eye out for next time you’re walking to class, check out the ground’s Facebook page.
Florida State University Grounds and Landscaping 2
GreenSpace
The Seminole Organic Garden
There’s a new dining option on campus, but you won’t find it in the Union, and flex bucks aren’t accepted--it just requires you get your hands a little bit dirty. Tucked away between the Marching Chiefs practice field and the circus, the Seminole Organic Garden is turning a previously unused piece of campus into a flourishing food garden. Here anyone with the desire to eat fresh and local can experience the process of growing and harvesting their own food right here on campus. The garden was first proposed in June of 2013 and came to fruition as a result of meetings between FSU Facilities and SGA, who provided the green light and the necessary support to begin. The garden features raised beds, each of which are tended to by campus groups such as Food Recovery Network, Healthy Noles, Student Dietetics Association, Biological Honor Society, and the Wesley Foundation. The groups are responsible for every step of the process from planting, watering, mulching, and ultimately harvesting what they’ve grown. 3
With Noles leading the way in every facet of academic and student life, a campus garden was the next logical addition to campus, as more and more universities and colleges around the country jump on the national trend of growing their own food. Everyone from the Ivy Leagues like Yale and Duke to universities and public and private schools such as FIU, University of Maryland, and Emory are bringing to life unused corners of campus, which then directly supply fresh produce to many campus dining options. With the average meal in the United States traveling approximately 1,500 miles before it reaches out plate, eating local not only tastes better, it saves money, fuel, and resources required to transport our food to our tables. Community gardens and small local farms are scattered across the Tallahassee area, popping up all around town in unexpected urban corners and unused plots of land, and providing anyone who wants it with fresh, local produce. The average age of a U.S. farmer is currently 57, but the current wave of interest in local food is encouraging a generation of young farmers, including students. Want to get involved in the FSU garden, but have zero gardening know-how? Not a problem; the garden manager assists the groups and provides all of the seeds, plants, and materials. And if you don’t have a group, but want to get growing, the garden also includes a food forest of native and edible trees, flowers, vegetables, and cover crops open to anyone who wants to stop by and volunteer. Be sure to check out the garden’s webpage for additional info and volunteer hours: http://sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/Our-Programs/Seminole-Organic-Garden
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Nole in Action:
Austin Mast
creates digital archive for next generation
FSU Associate professor Austin Mast already has a full plate. He teaches courses in the Department of Biological Science and is working with students on projects related to pollination, climate change issues, and invasive species, but his work doesn’t end in the classroom. Mast was first exposed to sustainability issues during his childhood spent on the Chesapeake Bay, where he spent lots of time hanging out on the boats and found out about the “Save the Bay Campaign,” which first got him thinking about sustainability. Since then, Mast earned a degree in ecology and then a Ph.D. in botany, and came to FSU to teach in 2003. Aside from teaching, he also serves as director of various institutes and heads up a myriad of projects such as FSU’s Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium and iDigBio, a joint initiative between FSU and UF to digitally document millions of biological specimens. We caught up with Mast to hear more about his various projects, and how he thinks his work plays a crucial role in sustainability.
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Your areas of research cover a lot of ground--what are you specific interests in sustainability, and how does your work incorporate that? I'm deeply interested in sustaining biodiversity, and it's hard to do that without knowing what is there to begin with. My research is bringing that starting point into sharper focus, particularly as it relates to biodiversity documentation over the past 300 years with research specimens (archival specimens of plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc., held in the world's museums, universities, and field stations).
Tell us about your involvement with the effort to document specimens, such as with iDigBio? Representatives from the community of research collections got together five years ago and concluded that digital information about the roughly 1 billion specimens in US collections had compelling value for sustainability, science, human health, natural resource management, and policymaking. Only about 10% of specimens were digitized at the time, but in the past 5 years, the rate at which the data is being generated has really picked up. I manage iDigBio's citizen science portfolio, which is focused on engaging the public in digitization of specimens. We’re creating "blitz kits" to give the other 1,300 US collections a starting point to do the same.
You’re also the director of The Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium. What is your mission there? The herbarium is our local collection of 220,000 plant specimens that document distribution and natural variation of the 2,400 species of flowering plants, ferns, conifers, and cycads found in northern Florida—one of North America's biodiversity hotspots. The Godfrey Herbarium has collaborated with FSU Grounds in recent years to produce a campus tree map, which can form the basis for planning a more deliberate education initiative on campus.
How would you like to see sustainability initiatives evolve in the future at FSU? We have campus with great native plantings, thanks to FSU's Grounds Department. I'd like to see FSU's campus become a venue for learning about our local biodiversity and the importance of native plantings for sustaining wildlife. Watch for QR codes in the garden beds on campus and scan them to learn more about the plants. The more visits to these interpretive webpages, the more compelling the case for doing more for informal sustainability education in the campus landscaping!
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