Cary Avery, CGM, Associate Director of Grounds and Landscape at the University of California-Davis, discusses some of the sustainability programs on campus. To hear Avery's comments click over the marked areas on the image.
Mowing practices
Native plants
Smart irrigation
Water treatment
Campus tree canopy
The campus uses UC Verde buffalo grass, which was developed by scientists at the UC-Davis and UC-Riverside, needs only 24 percent of the amount of water used for other turf grasses and meets the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED standards.
The landscapes at UC Davis include plant collections from the school's "Arboretum All-Stars," which are plants native to California and also others that are well-suited to local growing conditions.
A centralized irrigation system on campus adjusts the system according to the weather, and saves more than 900 hours of work and an estimated 49 million gallons of water per year.
UC-Davis generates more than 1.7 million gallons of wastewater each day. Its treatment plant uses mercury lamps to disinfect the water with UV rays.
There are more than 12,000 trees on the UC-Davis campus. The forest canopy covers one-fifth of the main campus area. A tree analysis estimates the university saves about $106,000 per year on electricity and natural gas costs.
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