Special thanks to an April 2023 student team in the GEOL 1333 Sustainability course taught by Ward Allebach for creating this content.
Landscaping with Native Plants
- Do not remove native plants from the wild. Moving them is not best for their survival. Native species struggle with transplanting. Purchase nursery grown plants instead.
- The Pennsylvania DCNR has resources outlining what natives are best for different exposures.
- Native Species require less maintenance. After they are established in an environment that suits them, native plants can live naturally. Routine watering of landscaping is not sustainable in the long term.
Pitt and Native Species
- Pitt is dedicated to maintaining and growing tree count and canopy on campus by 2037 (compared to 2017 baseline), while improving tree health & ecosystems in Pittsburgh.
- Pitt constructed a native rain garden in 2016 to help manage drainage from the Cathedral of Learning Lawn. Water seeps down into the lawn and drains into the rain garden. The water is then taken up by native plants in the garden instead of flowing into the stormwater system.
Utilizing Groundcovers
- Planting native groundcover plants can help to combat erosion issues. Erosion is harmful for an area. Stable ground cover plants foster a healthier topsoil environment.
- Groundcover plants include grasses and wildflowers. An area with sufficient ground cover is more resilient to stresses and less likely to be overrun with invasive species.
- Native Groundcover is a better way to facilitate stormwater management than standard grass. Since 2017, Pitt has converted 0.5 acres of lawn with native plantings and groundcover.
Pollinators
- Native Wildflowers benefit and attract pollinating bees, butterflies and beetles. These insects work to foster the reproduction of plants through their travels.
- Pitt is considered a part of Bee Campus USA. An honor which recognizes the university’s effort creating environments attractive to native pollinators.
- Pollinators help foster biodiversity in an ecosystem by attracting herbivores which feed on the plants they pollinate.
Reclaiming an area
- Natives are a great way to reclaim a piece of land where all plant life has been destroyed. Grasses should be planted to begin the process of rewilding. In disturbed sites where there is no plant growth.
- Need careful herbicide management every few years to combat invasive species. Reclaiming an area in an extensive process that starts with establishing healthy native grasses.
Warm Season Grasses
- Big Bluestem Andropogon gerardii
- Indian Grass Sorgastrum nutans
- Deer Tongue Grass Dicanthelium clandestinum
Cold Season Grasses
- Virginia Wildrye Elymus virginicus
- Povertygrass Danthonia compressa
- Autumn Bentgrass Agrostis perennans
Native Trees
Before Pennsylvania was colonized, the entire state was blanketed with native trees. Planting native trees can bring that feeling back to the area you’re trying to foster.
- Sugar Maple Acer saccharum
- Black Gum Nyssa sylvatica
- Eastern White Pine Pinus strobus
This webpage was created in April 2023 by a student team in the GEOL 1333 Sustainability course taught by Ward Allebach.
