Campus grass looks dead? Xeriscaping has begun; the beauty is yet to come

Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 24, the College will begin an ambitious xeriscaping project. Xeriscaping is the practice of designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation. This will mean some changes to the physical landscape of our main campus.

As a part of the College’s ongoing sustainability and resiliency initiatives, we will reduce the amount of irrigated lawn grass on campus and replace it with low-profile, ecologically-friendly prairie landscapes. This transition will reduce water usage from irrigation, reduce maintenance and labor needs, add natural aesthetic beauty to the grounds, and create a different habitat on campus.

The xeriscaping areas are primarily located on the perimeter of the campus, leaving the interior lawn spaces intact. This concept was developed during the Xeriscaping Master Plan process, which focused on the goal of reducing irrigation across campus by 40 percent.

The first step in implementing native prairie landscapes on campus is to eliminate the existing lawn grass areas on the campus perimeter. We will begin herbicide application on August 24. In the coming weeks, you will see the lawn within the project areas start to turn brown and die. Afterward, it will be time to seed the site with the native prairie species. In the coming years, the native species will take root and thrive.

If you have any questions about this project or the xeriscaping process, contact Nicholas Paseiro, HFC IEMP Coordinator, at 313-317-4018 or njpaseiro@hfcc.edu.