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Abstract
This research examines student perception of sustainable landscaping at the University of Delaware (UD), Newark and the impact of interpretation on student perception of the landscape. Students living on UD’s Laird Campus were surveyed before and after an interpretive campaign designed to describe the benefits of sustainable landscaping. The results of this study found that the majority of students surveyed perceive the landscape to be attractive, sustainable, well maintained, and functional, providing encouragement for the use of sustainable landscaping practices on university campuses. Reduced mowing (once per year), as it is implemented on Laird Campus, was identified as the sustainable practice least likely to be considered acceptable by students. Sustainable landscaping interpretation improved student awareness and acceptance of sustainable landscaping practices. Greater levels of engagement with the interpretation campaign increased students’ awareness and acceptance of sustainable landscaping. In contrast to students’ increased awareness and acceptance of sustainable landscaping practices, students’ perception of the landscape’s appearance did not significantly improve after the interpretation campaign, suggesting the need for future interpretation campaigns to directly address aesthetic issues in addition to interpretation of environmental benefits.
Sustainable landscapes include design, construction, operations, and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Sustainable Sites Initiative, 2009). Practices associated with sustainable landscapes include but are not limited to reduction of lawn space and replacement with site climax vegetation such as meadows or forests; storm water management on site through bioswales and rain gardens; planting a high percentage of native plants to support native wildlife; and recycling materials within the landscape. In the past, ornamental horticulture has focused primarily on control and manipulation of the landscape with little regard for the existing or surrounding ecosystem. Practices such as routine mowing, chemical insect control, and selection of vigorous exotic plant species were employed to create uniform landscapes that placed primary value on aesthetics and standardized maintenance. These controlled landscapes meet the desired aesthetic function desired by most land owners, but do not provide the ecosystem services required to support life in an increasingly suburbanized world. Sustainable landscapes are increasingly recognized for their potential to enhance ecological, social, and educational benefits in urban and suburban landscapes (Ecological Landscaping Association, 2009;...