The new scenery isn’t just aesthetic; it marks a major milestone in campus sustainability. In 2025, UCLA became the first university in California to earn the Green Grounds Certification from the nonprofit Re:wild Your Campus, which recognizes the school’s efforts to improve human health and biodiversity by taking an ecological approach to landscape and pest management.

Spanning over 400 acres at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, UCLA now manages more than 90 percent of its grounds without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, a scale unmatched by any other certified campus. Alongside the pesticide-free initiative, the university has worked to remove turf and dramatically increase plantings of drought-tolerant native species, such as yarrow and clarkia, from a list provided by the Gabrielino-Tongva tribe. UCLA’s commitment to both chemical elimination and rewilding sets the school apart from other institutions of higher learning, connecting the dots between two critical facets of sustainable land management on such a sprawling scale.

For years, colleges across the country have embraced rewilding as a way to restore biodiversity, save water, and bring a more natural aesthetic to their grounds by swapping manicured lawns for native plants. But too often, these efforts miss a critical piece of the puzzle: the chemicals being used elsewhere on campus. While wildflowers and native grasses bring beauty and buzzing pollinators, true ecological restoration is undermined if synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are used across the quad.

This is why Re:wild Your Campus created the Green Grounds Certification — to center both chemical elimination and rewilding and to link them together. Through this achievement, schools that are taking such a holistic approach to campus management can be honored and uplifted. UCLA’s large-scale commitment demonstrates that pesticide-free maintenance is feasible, even at a university with over 30,000 undergraduate students, but the campus is not alone in its efforts.

Prescott College, a small institution with just 313 undergraduates in Prescott, Arizona, is now recognized at the platinum level of Green Grounds Certification — meaning it is entirely free of synthetic pesticides. Over more than a decade, the grounds team has embraced a “wild” landscaping philosophy, filling the campus with native grasses and cacti, and relying on a suite of preventative, ecological strategies, from using its own wood-chip mulch and campus-made compost to sealing buildings to reduce pests. The campus gardens incorporate drought-adapted plants; for example, the rain garden slows runoff and supports pollinators by combining native grasses and succulents with an apple tree.

Grinnell College in Iowa is another example of a leading Green Grounds program. In 2020, students partnered with Re:wild Your Campus to push Grinnell to rewild a 5,000-square-foot area of underutilized lawn. Despite recommendations from experts to use toxic pesticides to kill the lawn, the students opted for mechanical removal instead: that is, using a sod cutter to clear the grass before replanting the area with native prairie species. But the ecological work did not stop there. Following the success of the prairie restoration, students launched an organic lawn-care pilot program so that Grinnell can transition away from using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers altogether. In 2023, Grinnell began transitioning Mac Field, the largest lawn on campus, toward this kind of organic management.

These case studies reveal a simple but powerful truth: rewilding is about fundamentally shifting how we care for land. By integrating native plants with organic maintenance, these campuses are demonstrating what’s possible, and challenging others to follow suit.

And embracing a holistic approach to land care does more than just create healthier campus environments; it reinforces the reality that colleges are not isolated spaces but interconnected microcosms of larger environmental systems. In many cities, universities offer some of the largest tracts of open space, yet the chemicals applied to campus lawns can run off into local waterways, impacting nearby rivers, lakes, and drinking water. This contamination can contribute to algal blooms and harm aquatic life. Students and faculty are increasingly recognizing this interconnectedness, leading to a surge in advocacy for campus policies that not only introduce native species but also phase out harmful pesticides.

Beyond environmental health, a rewilding approach can help safeguard human health. Students are deeply embedded in the outdoor settings of their colleges. They don’t just experience campus landscapes in passing; they study, relax, and build community in these spaces where pesticides can linger in the air, settle on picnic tables, and be tracked into dorm rooms. Numerous studies have linked synthetic pesticides to adverse health effects, including respiratory issues, neurological disorders, and endocrine disruption. Exposure can have long-term health consequences, making the shift to organic care not only an environmental issue but also a public health imperative. Through a holistic approach, institutions can fulfill their ethical responsibility to ensure that the grounds students walk on daily are free from toxic substances, for the health of all.

Viewing campus land care as part of a broader ecological approach strengthens environmental awareness and responsibility among students, too. When campuses prioritize holistic sustainability, students see firsthand how land management choices shape their daily experiences. This awareness fosters a mindset that extends beyond graduation, influencing how students approach environmental stewardship in their future workplaces, homes, and communities. A campus that adopts organic practices not only protects its own biodiversity but that of landscapes all over.

And that’s exactly what schools like UCLA, Grinnell, and Prescott are doing. Their leadership shows that sustainability is not about choosing between ecological health and operational feasibility; it’s about reimagining what’s possible when we treat land care as a public and planetary responsibility.