Libe Slope Meadow
Sustainable Landscapes Trail at Cornell University
Collaborating with faculty, campus areas were identified to reduce mowing, decreasing the need for fertilization, pest control and watering. The results are a more natural campus landscape with a reduced carbon footprint.
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Why is this site sustainable?
By utilizing grasses that are naturally slow growing such as fine leaf fescues, and also allowing some areas to naturalize on their own, mowing of portions of Libe Slope is limited to one time per year, significantly reducing the carbon footprint for this area. Inputs of water and fertilizer are reduced, if not eliminated, in maintaining these areas.
Libe Slope Meadow Construction & Function
After a collaboration between faculty and the grounds team, the selected grass types were seeded into the lawn area around the Donor Overlook location west of Uris Library. The larger Libe Slope Meadow on the northern end of the slope was allowed to naturalize with existing vegetation. A reduced maintenance plan was implemented and these ‘meadow’ areas are now mowed once per year, generally in mid- August.