Student Perception of Campus Sustainable Landscapes: University of Delaware Laird Campus Case Study

Sustainable landscapes are increasingly recognized for their potential to restore ecological benefits to urban and suburban landscapes. Greater adoption of sustainable landscapes requires public acceptance of sustainable landscaping practices. Environmental interpretation is recognized as a method of cultivating public acceptance of sustainable landscape management. Sustainable landscaping practices have been implemented on the University of Delaware’s Laird Campus, but the landscape management has been met with some reluctance from the university community. This research examines student perception of the sustainable landscape on Laird Campus and the impact of interpretation on student perception of the landscape. Students living on Laird Campus were surveyed before and after an interpretive campaign designed to describe the benefits of sustainable landscaping. The results of this study found that the majority of students perceive the landscape to be attractive, sustainable, well maintained, and functional, providing encouragement for the use of sustainable landscaping practices on university campuses. Reduced mowing, as it is implemented on Laird Campus, was identified as the sustainable practice least likely to be considered acceptable by students. Sustainable landscaping interpretation improved student awareness and acceptance of sustainable landscaping practices. Changes in students’ awareness and acceptance of sustainable landscaping practices increased with greater levels of engagement with the interpretation campaign. In contrast to students’ increased awareness and acceptance of sustainable landscaping practices, students’ perception of the landscape’s appearance did not significantly improve after the interpretation campaign, suggesting the need for future interpretation campaigns to directly address aesthetic issues in addition to interpretation of environmental benefits.