Park Achieves Lofty Sustainability Rating
Spring 2012 · Comment ·
When students toss a football or frisbee on The Green at they鈥檙e standing on exclusive ground. The Green is one of three projects worldwide to receive certification from the Sustainable Sites Initiative, or聽SITES.
A partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at UT Austin, and the U.S. Botanic Garden, SITES provides a ratings system for landscaping similar to the U.S. Green Building Council鈥檚 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation.
With the help of design and sustainability experts, SITES partners in 2009 established guidelines and performance benchmarks. More than 150 pilot projects have been working toward initial certification.
鈥�This is a very rigorous process,鈥� landscape architecture Associate Professor David Hopman says. He and faculty research associate Sonal Parmar led UT Arlington鈥檚 effort to achieve certification. 鈥淵ou not only have to say what you鈥檙e going to do, you then have to measure what you鈥檙e doing and show that you鈥檝e accomplished it.鈥�
The Green at College Park opened in March 2011 and includes 2.6 acres south of . It contains several recycled features, such as a walkway made from recycled beer bottles, and helps reduce and filter storm water runoff from College Park Center before it flows toward flood-prone Johnson Creek.
鈥�This designation shows that UT Arlington is on the cutting edge of sustainable practices, not just in our buildings but all across campus,鈥� says Meghna Tare, the University鈥檚 director. 鈥淭he Green is a place to enjoy nature and learn how to preserve the natural environment.鈥�