New Goals in Development
With the existing Huron River protection goal sunsetting in 2025, the Office of Campus Sustainability has been leading a workstream to review and recommend expanded goals to promote resilient grounds and water protection
Get Involved!
- Stop by the Town Hall
- Thursday, October 24 from 4:30-6 pm
- Biological Sciences Building Room 1060
- Submit comments to [email protected] with the subject line “Future resilient grounds goal feedback.” We’d love to hear from you.
Proposed Resilient Grounds Goals and Targets
Chemical Reduction
- Reduce active ingredients of synthetic chemicals by 70% from the 2006 baseline by 2030.
- With future development aligned with the campus plan, maintain at least 75% of green space in the greater Ann Arbor campus area as naturalized and/or sustainable.
- Eliminate the use of neonicotinoids and 2-4D by 2030 with the exception of treating noxious weeds, invasive plants, and pests.
Biodiversity
- Conduct a campus-wide inventory and gap analysis of existing and desired ecosystem GIS layers, unify existing layers, and address low-hanging fruit to fill gaps to reflect priorities and values in alignment with an ecosystem/habitat index by 2026.
- Conduct a comprehensive ecosystem assessment, including:
- Assess and map ecological services and natural features in accordance with identified index.
- Establish metrics to assess change over time of key and foundational ecosystem indicators.
- Develop a process for index and maps to serve as spatial strategic planning tools for campus plan.
- Phasing: prioritize areas with greatest potential for impact (ex. Connector pathway, North Campus development, high-flood risk areas, etc.).
- Utilize the resulting information to pursue more progressive and effective conservation planning.
- Develop S.M.A.R.T. goal(s) by 2027.
Land Use / Stormwater
- Increase resiliency of campus greenspace and infrastructure by prioritizing compact development and preserving and/or restoring habitat and ecosystem services.
- Implement campus-as-lab project(s) to test stormwater management strategies and measure co-benefits in alignment with Campus 2050 plan and coordination with campus sub-area plans.
- Establish more nuanced stormwater goals (hyper-locally-based) by 2027.
Other
- Raise the visibility of sustainable grounds and stormwater projects on campus.
- Ongoing, proactive engagement of academic and research partners to increase campus-as-lab opportunities.
- Increase and track institutional support for natural area stewardship, e.g. funding sources, volunteer base, integration with curriculum, etc.
Workstream Process
Office of Campus Sustainability convened a workstream of campus operational staff and primary stakeholders to identify potential new targets, metrics and implementation strategies. The workstream conducted data review, peer review, and numerous workshops to identify and prioritize potential new targets, metrics and implementation strategies.
Workstream Partners
- F&O Grounds Services
- Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
- Athletics
- U-M Golf Course and Radrick Golf Course
- Recreational Sports
- Campus planning and stormwater staff
- Faculty from the School for Environment and Sustainability, College of Engineering, and Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Efforts Supporting
Resilient Grounds
Recognition
Resources
2025 Goal Background
The 2025 Huron River protection goal, established in 2011, was to reduce chemical applications to Ann Arbor campus landscapes by 40% by 2025. We’re pleased to report that through the actions of many partners, this goal was achieved in 2019 — six years ahead of schedule.