When your campus is your community partner
This is part of an ongoing series of blog posts following up on the real-world, community-based work being initiated through Pando Days. We talked with Adriane Jones, Associate Professor of Biology at Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, about her Pando Days project to develop a more sustainable landscape on campus, and how using the campus as a “laboratory” can further sustainability in the community.
Pando: Hello, Adriane! I’m eager to catch up on your Pando Days work.
I know that you’ve been busy for some time now implementing sustainability plans you’ve developed over prior Pando Days seasons on campus. How are things progressing?
Adriane Jones: The project transformed an oddly shaped piece of lawn that needed constant watering and mowing. The students and the facilities team worked together to design a drought-tolerant, native garden. The students and landscaping crew began the planting in the spring and helped install the irrigation system. The plants are now coming in beautifully—flowers are blooming, and the garden continues to look great through the seasons.
At the time of our project presentation at the Pando Awards last spring, everything was still small and just getting started. Now, it’s more beautiful than I ever imagined. It’s really rewarding to see.
The students also designed educational signage about the plants and water conservation to educate the campus community. We hope to have those printed and installed soon.
We’re continuing our data collection using environmental sensors to monitor soil moisture and temperature. We should soon have a thorough comparison showing how much water we save with this sustainable landscape versus the traditional lawn.
The hope is to use this model to transform other pockets of lawn and water-intensive landscaping on campus into native and drought-tolerant gardens. It’s great to have such a supportive and encouraging facilities department.
Great to hear that there has been a positive reaction on campus! I know you are currently on sabbatical. Is it mostly students now who are continuing the work on the project?
Yes, the students are doing a fantastic job. The environmental club is collecting data with the sensors and documenting the garden’s growth with photos. This project has generated a lot of excitement among them, and it’s wonderful to see the students take ownership and pride in the garden.
I know that for this year’s Pando Days project you plan on putting in a microforest on campus. Where did this idea come from? Is it building off your current trajectory, or is it a wholly new idea?
The idea actually came from the Pando Awards event at Caltech last spring. The Malibu Foundation saw our work and got really excited, asking more about the project and our future plans.
The university is also in the final stages of opening a new wellness center as part of a larger wellness initiative. I’m hoping we can incorporate the microforest into that movement, creating a small, meditative space for students—similar to the idea of forest bathing. The Malibu Foundation is excited to partner with us on this ecological space, which will use all native trees, shrubs, and grasses. This project fits perfectly with our other initiatives and will help further connect our campus to the natural environment of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Wow. I am so glad to hear that you could make those connections back in April and that it’s paying off. That’s truly the power of the Pando network!
Yes. We are very grateful for the connections and support.
And I love the campus-as-classroom model that you’re using. Tell me more about it – and its benefits across the board, from students and campus to the natural environment.
Well, I’ve always been a big proponent of using the environment as a classroom. Stepping outside the traditional classroom can really inspire students in profound ways. Our university is somewhat isolated from the city, so it’s logistically challenging to get students out into nature. But these on-campus projects provide a fantastic doorway to unique experiences.
Having an outdoor laboratory shakes up the students’ day and their learning. They get excited about it.
With project-based work, students take pride in ownership—they get to see how their ideas play out in the real world. This is not only hugely beneficial to them but also builds community on campus. People stop us when we’re working outside to ask about what we’re doing, and the students love that interaction.
Where do you see this work leading?
We started with our first Pando project in 2022. The students wanted to transform the campus and just began doing it.
At first, they weren’t sure how or if it was even possible, but they reached out to stakeholders, met with facilities, and eventually got buy-in from the administration. That collaboration across campus was empowering for them.
After the microforest, I’d love to see more lawns and water-intensive areas transformed into native and drought-tolerant spaces. I’d also love to create pollinator islands throughout campus, connecting us to the Santa Monica Mountains.
By creating these spaces, we’re helping to foster a cultural appreciation for biodiversity. Our local environment isn’t always green and lush, but it has a deep beauty. I’d love to see that beauty reflected in our campus landscaping.
To become “one with the mountains?” Something like that?
Yes. Exactly that.