Sixty-degree days and thunderstorms may have ensured Ohio University’s grounds department a reprieve from the ice and snow removal duties faced during typical winters, but nature provides four seasons that deliver additional options for keeping busy.
When thinking of the grounds department, most would think of cutting grass and trimming hedges, but at OU, it covers a little more ground, and the entire calendar. Steve Mack, director of OU’s Facilities Management listed spring, summer and fall as growing seasons that require mowing, weeding and other groundskeeping.
“For us, October to December is pretty heavy leaf removal, and you know we have a few trees around here, so that’s a pretty major effort,” Mack said. “From December to March we typically shift gears and go to snow removal. So I wouldn’t say one’s any busier than another, we keep pretty busy year-round. It’s just the tasks that we do vary.”
During mild winters like this year, time is spent pruning, spreading compost, performing maintenance on equipment and sharpening blades in preparation for spring.
The grounds department keeps an ear near a weather radio that informs the department of which duties may need to be scheduled. Winter snow forecasts may indicate earlier starts and extended hours, summer rain forecasts could predict mowing delays, and gusty wind forecasts could predict fallen tree limb removal.
If snow falls, plans are in place that prioritize clearing walkways from the residence halls to the dining halls first, and then walkways to academic buildings. The number of footprints in the snow signals which pathways are used most and help dictate the priority of their clean-up.
Rudy Baumgartel is the upper campus grounds manager. He oversees the grounds keeping of the campus green. OU’s College Green was ranked by College Rank as the second most-beautiful college green in the U.S.
Baumgartel takes pride in maintaining such a prominent landmark and said much of his contribution goes unnoticed.
“Overnight you’ll have people that will be throwing beer cans and stuff around, and we like to be unnoticed,” he said. “We like to come in and clean it up so that nobody noticed that there was a lot of litter overnight.”
Sights like College Green and the surrounding brickwork factor into the decisions of many prospective students, and the grounds crew play a vital role in how well they look.
“OU is a beautiful campus, and that definitely contributed to my decision (to attend),” Lauren Flum, a sophomore studying journalism, said. “I came and visited the campus during the summer and saw College Green and saw all the different living places, and I was definitely drawn to it.”
There’s a strong probability that the campus will be draped in white again before the trees bud and the flowers bloom, and if it happens, the grounds department will be at work cleaning the walkways, parking lots and streets.
