Creating a ‘sustainable and enduring campus’

New group creates plan focused on planting more native, drought-tolerant vegetation at CSUB

By California State University, Bakersfield

March 15^th, 2023

Diseased and dying trees. Overwatered lawns. A lack of native species. These are all issues that a group at California State University, Bakersfield is looking to address to create a more sustainable future for the campus.

CSUB formed a Sustainable Landscaping Working Group (SLWG) last spring — made up of faculty and staff, as well as a student and community member — that aims to help the university adjust to climate change and reduce water use.

To help accomplish this, the group recently created a Tree Care Plan that provides guidance on the selection, planting, maintenance and removal of trees at the university.

CSUB has committed to following the five-year plan by planting mostly drought tolerant or native trees on campus, following a standardized process for tree pruning and removal as well as offering at least two service-learning opportunities every year — such as tree-planting events — that allow students and community members to become a part of the effort to build a more sustainable university.

“We want to showcase and illuminate how trees can help us with cleaning our air and saving our water. We want people to know how important trees are to sustainability,” said former Energy and Sustainability Specialist Jennifer Sanchez Biedermann. “We need to — not just as a university but in the region — spread awareness of what species are established for our area and what you can plant that won’t waste water.”

A Tree Care Plan is a required for CSUB to be recognized as a Tree Campus through Tree Campus Higher Education, a national program created by the Arbor Day Foundation that recognizes colleges and universities for effective tree management.

Sanchez Biedermann said the SLWG applied for membership to help structure the university’s sustainability goals.

“We want to first start with communicating the importance of trees, and we believe this membership will help us do that through our commitments and the pride surrounding the membership,” she said. “We really want to inspire some pride around our tree care.”

The university expects to hear sometime this spring whether it has been approved to receive Tree Campus recognition.

Sarah Alame, who currently serves as the director of sustainability for Associated Students Inc., is the student representative to the group. She helped conduct research for the Tree Care Plan and was involved in the writing process.

“It’s kind of empowering to know you are involved in creating these guidelines that are going to stand for many years to help improve our campus, especially when it comes to climate action,” she said.

Mitchell Coleman, a research botanist who has experience with the native flora of California, is the community representative. Coleman, a CSUB alumnus and a former adjunct professor at the university, currently works as the conservation science director for the Tejon Ranch Conservancy.

He was able to offer advice on which species to include in the CSUB Approved Tree List, which is included in the Tree Care Plan.

“It’s nice to see there’s a concerted effort to make CSUB a sustainable campus,” he said. “The committee is working hard to address long-standing issues around water use and how things are managed on campus around sustainability. We’re really starting to build momentum.”

'A shared purpose'

CSUB didn’t have a formalized planting plan prior to the creation of the Sustainable Landscaping Working Group. Vegetation was often being planted that wasn’t native to the region and required more water to thrive.

“We saw there were trees dying, not many native species were growing. There was an overwatering of lawns,” said Biology Professor Dr. Antje Lauer. “I thought there were a lot of things we could be doing better.”

In early 2022, Dr. Lauer brought her concerns to Joe Hedges, the associate vice president of Capital and Facilities Management Services (CFMS). Those conversations were the seed of what eventually developed into the SLWG.

In addition to Alame and Coleman, the group — which meets at least once a quarter but more often bimonthly — consists of CFMS and Sustainability and Energy Department staff as well as several faculty members from the Biology Department.

Alame said she was excited to be given an opportunity to work with like-minded individuals through her participation in the group.

“I’m very passionate about ensuring we have a lot of native plants and trees on campus, because they play very important role with climate change,” she said. “Everyone who is in the group is passionate about sustainability issues and wants to help make a difference for the campus.”

The SLWG provided Coleman a chance to be more involved with the campus and work with his peers.

“I love CSUB. It’s just home to me,” he said. “Any chance to collaborate with my biology friends is great.”

Sanchez Biedermann said what’s great about the group is its diverse makeup, with each member bringing their unique perspective.

“Everyone is contributing a piece,” she said. “We facilitated a way for us to come together and work together for a shared purpose. That’s really the beautiful thing here.”

Setting an example

The university has begun stepping up its sustainability events on campus. Last year, there was a California tree-planting event as well as the creation of a butterfly garden on campus near Student Housing East. During that event, 300 shrubs and plants, 12 cacti and eight trees were planted. More is expected to be planted there in the future.

“It was a great way for students to engage with the natural environment and have a peaceful activity where they could contribute to something positive that’s going to live on campus,” Sanchez Biedermann said.

The plan is for the garden to grow and eventually support migration for the endangered monarch butterfly.

“The goal is to create a waystation, a pit stop on their migration path,” she said.

Just this past weekend, CSUB students, faculty and staff planted 25 California native trees along the Kern River Parkway near Finish Line Bicycles. Additional tree-planting events will be held in the future in accordance with the Tree Care Plan.

Alame hopes the university’s commitment to sustainability will inspire other schools in the region and across the state to follow suit.

“By us having this Tree Care Plan, we can set a good example for other CSUs and other organizations surrounding the university,” she said.

Hedges said he is proud of what the Sustainable Landscaping Working Group has been able to accomplish so far.

“It takes a `Runner team to create a sustainable and enduring campus,” he said. “The team’s hard work has CSUB shining with pride and making us an example that other campuses aspire to follow.”