Hillside Auditorium Green Roof

Hillside Auditorium is home to a green roof filled with plants adapted to our region. Green roofs provide valuable environmental and economic benefits, such as sequestering carbon, improving storm water management and runoff, mitigating the urban heat island effect, and increasing biodiversity in an urban setting.

In 2019, the middle roof section will be allowed to naturalize for the benefit of wildlife. The lower level near Dickson Street contains prairie grasses and sedums that will be supplemented with additional plantings of similar species.

Oak Ridge Trail Invasive Species Removal

In June of 2018, OFS began an ongoing program removing invasive species along the Oak Ridge trail. Invasive species prevent native plant growth and are often difficult to remove, but the Oak Ridge cleanups utilize help from both volunteers and goats to effectively tackle the problem.  

If you would like to participate in helping to maintain the Oak Ridge trail, check GivePulse for volunteer opportunities. To learn more about mountain bike trails in Fayetteville, visit our mountain bike page!

Greedy Goats Invasive Species Project

The Greedy Goats have been used around campus to clear out underbrush and invasive plants. Goats remove invasive green vegetation, which helps volunteers find and remove remaining roots more effectively. The goats eat almost every non-grassy invasive plant, such as bush honeysuckle and poison ivy. If you see the goats on campus please remember that they are working and are usually surrounded by an electrified fence to protect them from dogs.  Feel free to take pictures, but please don't try to pet them. 

Tree Campus USA

Tree Campus USA is a certification through the Arbor Day Foundation that recognizes universities their efforts to care for trees on campus. The certification will provide national recognition and includes partnerships between arborists, urban foresters, and City of Fayetteville officials. Currently, we are on track to obtain  Tree Campus USA certification by 2020.

Pollinator Habitat

In the fall of 2018, OFS installed a Pollinator Habitat pilot program.  The pilot plot, located next to the OFS office, is a model that will be studied and used to expand and improve pollinator plots across campus. The ultimate goal of the habitat is to make campus more pollinator-friendly and restore areas to their natural state. Stop by the office to see how the Pollinator Habitat changes with the seasons of the Ozarks!

Tree Mitigation Alternatives

The Tree Mitigation Alternatives project was conducted with City of Fayetteville urban foresters as the initial phase of larger alternatives to city-mandated tree mitigation. The City of Fayetteville requires mitigation when a proposed development would remove trees beyond a minimum required canopy area. Preservation is the highest priority, followed by forestation. In scenarios where mitigation is required but not possible on or off-site, the developer is required to pay into a tree escrow account. The implementation of mitigation alternatives would allow developers in approved conditions the opportunity to implement a green roof or green façade that would count toward their mitigation requirement.

Clover Hill Project

The ongoing Clover Hill project entails seeding a small, partly forested hillside near the McIlroy House along the Oak Ridge bike trail with three species of clover; crimson, red, and white. The goals of this project include beautification, soil restoration, pollinator habitat creation, and erosion control. Clover Hill will serve as a pioneer for similar projects across campus.