GVSU 2

Tree Planting Plan on Grand Valley's Campus

Claire Ureste, Rylie Dorman, Ethan Johnson, Jacob Lindsay

ENS 201: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES

Background

Walking around Grand Valley State University's campus one can see a variety of trees planted in numerous places; however, there are areas on campus that suffer after huge rain storms from heavy saturation. Trees are green infrastructure that help store and slow down stormwater runoff through infiltration. Impermeable surfaces, such as pavement, decrease infiltration. Stormwater runoff can also carry a multitude of pollutants and excess nutrients into our waterways causing a variety of issues. This project aims to sustainably counteract these issues by planting trees in areas that suffer from excess stormwater in order to increase infiltration while decreasing the harmful effects of runoff. Moreover, this project examines the benefits for each species of tree proposed for planting.

Research

We began this project with immersion, or assessing the needs of the area and talking with those who will be impacted. To do this, we met with Eileen Boekestein, an LGROW representative, who proposed the plan of introducing green infrastructure on school grounds to decrease stormwater runoff. She was funded a grant to assist in watershed management on school grounds in the Lower Grand River Watershed.

Lee Mueller, an iTree representative, also played a part in immersion by showing us how to use the iTree app to help us with this project. We used iTree to plan where to plant trees on Grand Valley's campus in order to produce the most stormwater benefits. We have utilized iTree's resources to research these tree species and decide which will produce the most benefits overall.

Steve Snell, GVSU's arborist, aided us in the immersion step by providing us with valuable information regarding trees on specifically Grand Valley's campus. He gave us recommendations about which type of tree species are desired for campus and places in which to place them. Additionally, he gave us information on Grand Valley's underground infrastructure so that our plans would not interfere with these utilities.

In order to determine what would be included on this platform, we began ideating within our group of the most essential pieces of information that were needed to make this project worthwhile and easily conveyable to an audience. We were able to work with another GVSU group to develop the best plan for planting. We are now in the implementation phase of the project, and we have gathered our findings onto this website, or our "prototype," where we will seek feedback and refine our tree planting plan.

Site Map

We are planting on Grand Valley State University's campus which is pictured in the left picture above. The right picture is a closer view of lot H which is where we will be focusing on. We chose to plant in the section of grass above lot H because of its lack of trees and its tendency to flood. The grassed area below lot H and the area above near the sidewalks are also areas we'd like to focus on to continue the rows of trees. These locations were recommended by GVSU's arborist, Steve Snell, who gave us good locations for planting and areas to avoid. We were mindful to choose locations that will not interfere with underground infrastructure.

Tree Species Being Planted

Eastern Hemlock

TSUGA CANADENSIS

Hardiness: 4-7
Sensitivity: Ozone (O3)
Pest Risks: N/A

Norway Spruce

PICEA ABIES

Hardiness: 3-7
Sensitivity: N/A
Pest Risks: Mountin Pine Beetle, Pine Shoot Beetle, Southern Pine Beetle, Spruce Beetle

Kentucky Coffeetree

GYMNOCLADUS DIOICUS

Hardiness: 3-8
Sensitivity: NO3
Pest Risks: N/A

Tree Benefits

Eastern Hemlock total stormwater interception 0-50 years: 2,603 gallons

Norway Spruce total stormwater interception 0-50 years: 3,262 gallons

Kentucky Coffeetree total stormwater interception 0-50 years: 2,262 gallons

All species total stormwater interception 0-50 years: 8,127 gallons

Tree Planting Locations

On West Campus drive we plan to continue the row of trees along the road and plant 3-4 Eastern Hemlocks.

Near Lot H we plan to plant two Kentucky Coffeetrees on each side of the sidewalk. This will keep the symmetrical aesthetics of the area as well as provide aid to flooding

Near Laker Village Dr. and Lot H we will plant 4-5 Norway Spruces to continue the row of trees into an area susceptible to flooding.

Total stormwater interception for four Eastern Hemlocks 0-50 years: 10,412 gallons

Total stormwater interception for five Norway Spruces 0-50 years: 16,310 gallons

Total stormwater interception for two Kentucky Coffeetrees 0-50 years: 4,524 gallons

Total stormwater interception for all species planted 0-50 years: 31,246 gallons

References

“Eastern Hemlock (Brandeis University - Lichen, Fungi and Non-Flowering Plants: Conifers, Ferns, Mosses, & Others) · INaturalist.” INaturalist, www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/552074. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

“Grand Valley State University.” Our Laker Community - Charter Schools Office - Grand Valley State University, www.gvsu.edu/cso/our-laker-community-98.htm.

Interview with Steve Snell - Johnson, Ethan et al. “Trees on Grand Valley's Campus.” 7 Feb. 2020.

“Norway Spruce - 2 Year Old, 6-12’ Seedlings.” Chief River Nursery, www.chiefrivernursery.com/store/Norway-Spruce-Seedlings.html?xid=JU2NhXvLDS4gdSdrHIjGh1jb2Dt1afup. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

“iTree Design v7.0.” design.itreetools.org/. 27 Mar. 2020.

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