Tree Campus & Bee Campus USA

Permaculture is the harmonious integration of landscape and people. Using permaculture principles and techniques, the Permaculture Living Lab (PLL) mimics natural systems to create a thoughtfully designed landscape; maximizing beneficial interactions among plant, insect and animal species. The PLL is located between Lee Hall, Wilber Hall, and the Shineman Center on the Lee Hall Quad. Students, faculty, staff, and community members have collaborated to create this natural, productive learning space. The nutrient-rich, organic food produced from the PLL garden is available to all. Experts including students, faculty, local and international community members are invited to come together and share their knowledge of hands-on skills and techniques. From research, practice, and perfection, the PLL is a place to cultivate beauty and root the SUNY Oswego community in its own unique landscape.

Alvar ecosystems beautifully show how the geology of an area affects vegetation. Alvar ecosystems are defined by horizontal exposures of limestone that have been impacted by erosion and dissolution by water. The limestone bedrock is often fractured by deep cracks. The proximity of limestone bedrock to the surface creates conditions with thin, patchy, alkaline soils with open vegetation. The lack of shade makes alvars open, hot, and seasonally dry habitats with a mosaic of conditions for plant colonization and persistence. These unusual conditions provide habitat refugia for species of the Great Plains and boreal regions not typically seen in the flora of the Great Lakes region. The alvar gardens at SUNY Oswego provide an opportunity for visitors to the Shineman Center to see noteworthy native plants of conservation importance in our region and promote their stewardship. Additionally, the diversity of plants in the garden provides critical food and habitat islands for native pollinators that are in decline globally. All boulders and rocks in the garden were recycled from campus surplus landscaping and building materials.

This was the first official effort by SUNY Oswego to fulfill the commitments required of a Bee Campus. This bed is home to a variety of shrubs and herbaceous plants that bloom at various points throughout the year, creating a very diverse ecosystem that is pollinator-friendly!

Both of these beds, situated at our Rice Creek Field Station (located just two miles from campus), are full of shrubs, herbs, flowers, and more that contain many native species of plants to the Eastern region of the United States, in addition to a few non-native species.