Green Attributes
A group of student interns not only devised but implemented a campus-wide green landscaping plan that has protected about 180 acres (roughly 14%) of our campus lands.
What is Green Attributes?
In an effort to reduce the school’s impact on the local environment and showcase the region’s natural beauty, the Green Attributes project was conceived and led in 2022 by a group of summer sustainability interns.
Green Attributes focuses on preserving small and large patches of habitat for native plants and animals, as well as “low-mow” zones to promote growth of field habitat. In conjunction with professors from environmental studies and biology, those involved with the project plan to calculate how much carbon is saved from forgoing the designated plots’ previous mowing regimens and hidden by more heavily vegetated areas.
The project aims to categorize different types of sustainable land use on campus, delineate these spaces, and find spaces to propose a land-use shift toward incorporating more of these naturalized spaces.
The project specified 5 land-use types:
- No Mow Zones - forest regeneration sites that are not actively managed
- Reforestation Plots - forest regeneration sites that are actively managed
- Wetlands and Drainage Sites - wetland habitat and stormwater management sites
- Low Mow Zones - open spaces with long grass maintained as field habitat
- Pollinator Habitat - open spaces with long grass maintained as field habitat with wildflowers seeded for pollinator
The students worked closely with Facilities Management and several campus offices to execute the plan, and now anyone walking around campus can read about the project thanks to signs installed throughout campus.
Why Protect These Spaces?
These little-to-large spaces, which are spread out all over campus do a lot toward making Hamilton’s campus more sustainable. (Read more about student-led sustainability efforts.)
- Providing habitat for wildlife
- Reducing mowing fuel consumption
- Promoting native plant growth and biodiversity
- Increasing carbon capture and storage
- Providing food for pollinator populations
- Reducing stormwater runoff
Map of Green Attributes
There are 103 Green Attributes on campus to date, shown on the interactive map below. Look for signs around campus!
Maintenance Requirements
This flow chart acts as a key for the map below and distinguishes between “no-mow” and “low-mow” maintenance distinctions and ranked loosely by total management requirements.
Inside Hamilton’s Student-Led Sustainability Movement
Among the many people and departments on campus working tirelessly to help Hamilton achieve its carbon neutrality goal by 2030, there’s a group of students doing the work right alongside them: the Hamilton Sustainability Coordinators.
Contact
Contact Name
Brian Hansen
Director of Environmental Protection, Safety and Sustainability
