Feathered Friends and Green Spaces

On a blisteringly hot day in August, a group of curious faculty and staff members from the University Libraries met to learn about the creatures with whom we share our campus. The session, part of Library Staff Summer Camp, was led by Mary Ellen Mallia, who has been Director of Sustainability at UAlbany since 2008.  

She opened by introducing us to some of the birds we were most likely to encounter around UAlbany: sparrows, robins, blue jays, house finches, woodpeckers, mourning doves, juncos, orioles, crows, red-wing blackbirds. We also talked nature identification apps: iNaturalist, PlantNet, and Merlin Bird ID were recommended.  

Then, armed with our knowledge, we headed out to see what we could see. Unfortunately, the campus birds seemed to have missed the invite to our nature walk, or maybe they were hiding from the 90 degree-plus heat. Still, we encountered some hardy sparrows, unidentifiable birds flitting around in the growth by Parker Pond, and what we thought was a catbird proudly displaying himself on top of a short tree. 

Mary Ellen also pointed out many intentionally designed sustainable features around campus. They’re right under our feet (or over our heads) but few of us had known about them. On the roof of the Campus Center, we stopped by one of the campus’ green roofs – surfaces which are built to support small, resilient plants. These plants help reduce runoff, improve water quality, and keep the building cool, reducing energy needs for cooling. Walking towards the southern corner of campus, we passed over porous pavement – regular-looking asphalt that is designed to reduce stormwater runoff and slowly return it to the ground instead. We also passed bike racks and a bike fix-it station, many buildings with solar panels on their roofs, lush trees planted through a tree replacement program, and a Heritage Garden intended to teach students about cultivation and natural history.  

Possibly the highlight of the walk was our visit to Parker Pond, which felt like taking a deep breath. The pond contains over 3 million gallons of water and is home to an ecosystem with a wide variety of plant and animal species. As a wetland, it filters sediments and pollutants from water, replenishes groundwater, and helps control flooding. In addition to its practical purposes, it’s a beautiful and recharging place to spend a lunch break, if you’re up for a little walk!

Mary Ellen closed our walk by bringing it back to the importance of sustainability. As she explained, new academic buildings mean more academic opportunities, but also more concrete, heat, water runoff, energy demand, and so on. That makes the work that her office does perpetually relevant!