Only 7 out of 95 lawn acres turned to meadow
- Out of the over 600 acres owned by Clarkson we have dedicated a small amount of Clarkson’s land to meadow habitat.
- People who prefer a conventional landscape aesthetic with less life/diversity still have dozens of acres of lawn in their campus landscape.
- We chose peripheral, unused, and often sloped land that is difficult to mow for the meadows.
- In two small areas the grass sod was removed and a native wildflower seed mix was planted. In other areas we are allowing the meadow to develop with its own seedbank.
- These managed meadows will be cut down after a heavy frost in the fall.
87% of Clarkson Community Reported they Want Meadows on campus:
In 2019 The ISE surveyed the Clarkson community in an open house event in the Student Center MPRs. The majority of respondents indicated they would like meadows on campus. More and more people are beginning to appreciate the aesthetic of a more wild, alive landscape over the typical conventional lawn. When surveyed about how they would like to interact with a typical northeast meadow people responded as follows:
- Spend time in this area: 18%
- Would like in peripheral campus areas: 69%
- Avoid meadows on campus: 13%
A growing number of institutions are allowing parts of campus to rewild
- St. Lawrence University has over 70 acres of managed meadows
- Paul Smith’s College has recently added many meadow areas. They use “meadow restoration” instead of “low-mow” to describe the new features.
- SUNY Potsdam has added a large meadow area near 56.
- This is happening nationally
Meadows on campus bring benefits
- Money saved on weekly fuel for mowing
- Hours saved weekly throughout the growing season means more time is available for flower beds, tree care, forest trail maintenance, etc.
- Biodiversity is much stronger! A mowed lawn is a mostly dead landscape. A meadow is full of bugs, flowers, birds, and creeping critters such as foxes.