Sustainable Landscaping

Though Northland campus does have plenty of chemical-free lawns for lounging and impromptu games of ultimate frisbee, every spring more of the manicured short grass is replanted with orchards, native prairie flora, and gardens. The freshly broken sod near the Strawbale Demonstration Energy Lab has been transformed into a spiraling labyrinth of herbs, and through the windows of the McLean Environmental Living and Learning Center (MELLC), students now see a row of young fruit trees.

Each fall, apple trees on campus and around the community bear a bountiful harvest. Faced with more apples than anyone they can eat, students often turn them into jams, ciders, and pies. The more ambitious students also tap maple trees, several of which line the president’s lawn, and many more line Bay City Creek, a once denuded ravine that is now a thick strip of forest that helped Northland earn the Arbor Day Foundation’s TreeCampus USA designation.

Another unique effort by Northland students is using native landscaping as a way to purify storm water runoff, which is slowed, purified, and filtered by plants such as marsh marigolds and blue vervain. These student-managed storm water ponds and bio-swales, each populated with carefully selected species tailored to the specific needs of each location, create an educational resource and beautify the campus without inadvertently introducing exotic species that can later become a problem, such as buckthorn. The habitat provided by these native plants also makes Northland a living laboratory for students studying diverse areas such as botany, ecology, water science, hydrology, chemistry, ornithology, and even art.