Cal Poly San Luis Obispo - Building 192 (north side)

Description

The Surfrider Club at Cal Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo was looking for an on-campus service project to create an Ocean Friendly Garden. The effort was led by student Alex Ly. They identified a portion of the landscaped area on the north side of building 192. They consulted with Assistant Director of Landscape Operations, Scott Loosley, about the requirements to make this happen and he was supportive of the project. Then they submitted a proposal, identifying the site, outlining the work to be done, materials needed, and long-term maintenance.

The site was already landscaped primarily with California native plants and a few other drought tolerant species. There was mulch applied in the past, but it is wearing thin. There was also a swale built into the landscape for rainwater collection. A drip irrigation was also present, but needed inspection.

The Club committed being responsible for all labor required to retrofit the landscape. Campus staff gardeners would continue to work on the landscape as has been done in the past. The only exception would be that the area be designated as a non-herbicide, non-pesticide zone. Because the landscape was almost completely in compliance with OFG standards, there was a minimal amount of changes needed:

- Hand-weeding of the landscape 

- Trash pick-up 

- Irrigation check - are all components 

- Application of 2-4 inches of mulch covering all un-planted areas 


After completion of the project, the Club committed to continue to coordinate with campus staff about the state of the area, i.e., do area clean-ups annually or bi-annually, as needed.

They held a work day on April 27th, 2014 to remove weeds, apply mulch, and check the irrigation system. The effort was well attended by volunteers and much was accomplished. The tools and mulch material needed to complete the retrofit were provided by campus landscape services.

To ensure they met the OFG criteria (the qualifications to get an OFG sign), they coordinated with the Surfrider-San Luis Chapter’s OFG Program Chair, Rob Neito (a landscape contractor), to come on a walk through with them to evaluate.

Here’s a link to the post on the QUAD website: http://www.surfrider.org/quad/projects/entry/calpoly-college-club-2014-ofg-project