Words by Leanne Bilodeau and Caitlin Lichimo.
Sustainable landscaping presents a key opportunity for university campuses to redefine how they maintain their outdoor spaces. While conventional landscaping often relies on gas-powered equipment and chemical herbicides that degrade soil, pollute waterways, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable landscaping practices minimize environmental disruption by protecting local ecosystems and supporting suppliers that offer responsible land management.
UBC Okanagan approached this opportunity with a new landscaping contract in early 2024 that enhances campus grounds while minimizing environmental disruption. But this multi-year contract doesn’t just focus on aesthetics — it supports the university’s long-term sustainability, climate action, and biodiversity goals.
Improved daily practices to cut operational emissions and promote biodiversity
By aligning operational practices with the university's Climate Action Plan 2030’s (CAP 2030) goal to cut operational emissions by 45% by 2030, UBC Okanagan is transforming its landscape management into a model for sustainable, climate-aligned decision-making, including the following practices:
- All routine maintenance activities now use battery-powered mowers, blowers, and other electric equipment, which reduces both noise pollution and fossil fuel
- Contractors are now required to seek approval for any herbicide use and prioritize low-impact techniques such as manual removal and prevention to protect pollinator habitats and preserve native plant species
- All organic waste (grass clippings, leaves, and branches) is now repurposed through mulching to enrich soil quality and keep valuable nutrients on site
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Dedicated care for raingardens and bioswales is provided by filtering runoff and reducing erosion, a nature-based climate solution to manage stormwater
Community workshops and learning opportunities to strengthen climate literacy across campus
To further showcase biodiversity and sustainability in action, the contract will establish a Nectar Trail, a pathway that will attract pollinators essential to local ecosystems by using native flowering plants to help them move safely through the urban landscape.
Additionally, the contract introduced a series of community engagement workshops offered to students, faculty, and staff, with topics including invasive species identification, sustainable gardening, and the role of native plants in local ecosystems.
A leading example of sustainability in procurement
All these factors support the goals outlined in the UBC Okanagan CAP 2030 to protect the natural environment, enhance biodiversity, and support long-term campus resilience while engaging the community in meaningful ways.
UBC Okanagan’s efforts were also recognized in the 2024 Annual Report on the State of Sustainable Public Procurement in Canada by the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP), which featured the contract as a leading example of sustainability procurement.