Sustainability: A Contemporary Approach 



\ohn Hart 



Sustainability is one of the mushier words to ap 

 pear in the lexicon. There is no single defini 

 tion of the term, but there is a shared vision: 

 the earth's resources must be used only at a 

 rate at which they can be replenished; waste must be 

 disposed of at the rate at which it can be assimilated 

 and recycled into the earth's systems. And this holds at 

 all levels — from your customer's backyard to Spaceship 

 Earth. 



Over the past year, several informal and voluntary 

 working groups have formed at the University of New 

 Hampshire to tackle a number of "sustainability" con- 

 cerns. An education and curriculum group has been 

 working to foster interdisciplinary courses and integrate 

 sustainability concepts into others. Another group is in 

 the conceptual design phase of a sustainable living and 

 learning center which would house demonstration 

 projects, research and education components, and resi- 

 dential units. An outreach group is looking at how to 

 take these ideas into the state. 



A multimillion-dollar endowment for sustainable liv- 

 ing education has been received and the first two 

 rounds of seed grants have been awarded A "UNH 

 Sustainability Strategy Paper," a set of specific sugges- 

 tions regarding university systems, has been produced 

 (Published in the Campus ]ournal last spring, it is acces- 

 sible online at <http://www.unh edu/natural resources/ 

 index. html>.) A director of sustainable programs, Dr 

 Tom Kelly, has been hired The Class of 2001 is already 

 on a path called "Sustainable 2001," in which their 

 progress and attitudes will be polled and evaluated 

 from freshman graduation through graduation and two 

 years beyond 



A very visible part of the sustainability work at UNH 

 is its landscape 



Arboreta and botanical gardens are tree and plant 

 "museums" focused on education, research and the 

 artful demonstration of the materials of horticulture and 

 the interaction of humans with gardens A number of 

 colleges and universities make a point of unifying their 

 landscapes under the umbrella of a botanical garden or 

 arboretum — Smith College Arboretum, Scott Arboretum 

 (Swarthmore College), Connecticut College Arboretum, 

 Cornell Plantations. 



Now the UNH campus is in the process of assuming the 

 title of "Botanical Garden" — but one for the 21st century: a 

 sustainable, systems-based, bioregional New England eco- 

 logical garden. The vision includes the following: 



artful integration of regional plant and animal com- 



munities into the campus landscape, with connec- 

 tions to the larger watershed ecosystem; 



conversion of the campus landscape to more 

 sustainable management practices (less turfgrass; 

 more meadow, native plants, community gardens; 

 increase in organic matter mulched at site of origin; 

 conversion of impervious to pervious paving; reduc- 

 tion in use of rocksalt; provision of new educational 

 resources for students; 



education of the campus, state, and Green Industry 

 in the structure and function of the local watershed 

 ecosystem and in sustainable landscape practices; 



research (including research by students) on 

 sustainable landscape management practices and 

 other relevant issues; 



extension of this research and these practices 

 beyond the campus into the landscape and mindset 

 of New England; 



lowering landscape maintenance costs at the 

 university while increasing funding for campus 

 improvements by providing an attractive and timely 

 target for federal, state, and private agencies 

 interested in furthering this emerging example of 

 sustainable living. 



In February, The Garden Project was awarded an 

 $8,000 grant from the Sustainable Living Education En- 

 dowment; in August, the UNH Parents' Association 

 awarded this project over $20,000. These grants will sup- 

 port the garden establishment into the summer of 1998. 



A steering committee is setting goals and moving 

 projects forward. This group includes UNH students, 

 faculty, and staff; Anne Moore, chairperson of the NH 

 chapter of the New England Wild Flower Society; Amy 

 Craig of Bestmann Green Systems, wetlands specialists 

 from Salem, MA; and Lionel Chute, Society for the Pro- 

 tection of New Hampshire Forests. 



There is significant advisory and psychological sup- 

 port and an abundance of ideas and enthusiasm. By 

 this time next year, demonstration plots should be up 

 and running. In the meantime, check out The Garden's 

 preliminary website: <http://pubpages.unh.edu/~lchute/ 

 neeg.html>. For more information on sustainability at 

 UNH, contact Tom Kelly at 603-862-2640 or 

 <thkelly@hopper unh.edu> or |ohn Hart at 603 862-1091 

 or jlhart@christa.unh.edu>. 



\okn Hart is associate professor in tfie horticulture curriculum 

 at the Thompson School of Applied Sciences, University of New 

 Hampshire. Durham 



THE PLANTSMAN 



