Graduation is only five days away and Larry Rhodes is moving fast. As manager of landscaping and grounds for Elon College in Elon College, North Carolina, he is largely responsible for how the campus will look on its biggest day of the year.
But this kind of pressure is not new to Rhodes or his staff of 11 full-time and eight seasonal employees. Elon College, the third largest of North Carolina's 36 private colleges and universities, is not only one of the top academic institutions in the South, it also has one of the most picturesque campuses... and it's growing.
Since 1992 the school has increased its square footage of building space by 40% and expanded its acreage by 100%. Included in this building boom is a new campus center, science center, library and a residence complex. A new stadium is projected to open in the fall of 2001.
"Nearly every activity, including a new building project, impacts our department in one way or another," tells Rhodes, who graduated from the college in 1986. "In addition, managing a landscape department in a college setting is not much different in one way from managing a golf course. There is always a lot of people activity. And how and when you do your work is determined by their movement."
He notes, for example, that the school's nine irrigation systems can only operate between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. This saves students and teachers from taking umbrellas to class on sunny days, he adds. And you won't find mowing crews mowing between 7 and 8:00 a.m. Instead, they will be "policing" the grounds for loose paper and other debris to ensure the campus is looking its very best for students, faculty and visitors.
Life has changed since he graduated, received an advanced degree from NC State in Turfgrass Management, Ornamentals and Landscaping, and came back to the school to work. As he puts it, the campus seems to be busy all year long, not only with classes but with special events, conferences and other happenings. In other words, being a landscape manager for a school such as Elon College is a full-time as well as challenging proposition.
The Rule of Efficiency
Of the 500-plus acres that comprise the Elon College campus, the landscaping and grounds department maintains more than 200.
Four gardeners are assigned to specific areas within the more high-profile areas of the campus. Mowing crews using four Walker Mowers and one Toro wide-area mower work a three-day Tuesday through Thursday mowing schedule. This leaves either Monday or Friday for routine maintenance or making up for a rain day. It also allows would-be mower operators to help gardeners trim and prune, or otherwise keep the campus looking neat.
"Being efficient is really the key to operating a landscape department successfully in this environment," tells Rhodes, who recently returned to the college after working four years as head groundskeeper for the Charlotte Knights AAA baseball team.
"Our mowing crews are assigned the same areas each week to allow them to mow as efficiently as possible and to make them more aware of any unwanted landscape changes, e.g., a broken sprinkler head or disease or insect encroachment." They are even assigned the same mowers, he adds, which gives them the feeling of "ownership" of their machine and familiarity with its operation.
Elon College operates nine 16- to 25-hp Walker Mowers. Two mowers equipped with 42-inch GHS decks, and two with 62-inch side-discharge decks, do most of the campus mowing, along with a Toro equipped with a 16-foot deck. All told, somewhere around 220 acres of grass are mowed weekly. Athletic fields with their Bermuda grass are maintained using a gang reel mower.
The other Walkers are assigned various tasks from blowing debris from sidewalks, shaping beds and removing snow during the winter.
"We use the Walkers for four basic reasons," tells Rhodes. "They are very maneuverable and leave a nice striping effect. Key engine and mower components are also very accessible. And the manufacturer continues to make technological improvements."
The mowers are durable, too, he adds, noting the school still has its first Walker it purchased 12 years ago. More recent purchases, however, are on a rotating replacement schedule.
In addition to the campus, landscape and grounds crews also tend to the college president's house, a nearby community church and a couple of other college properties off campus. "We lock and load one crew everyday," Rhodes explains.
Also keeping the staff busy is fertilizing, and a pesticide and herbicide program that covers the entire 200-plus acres. Some of the non-irrigated areas receive water, too, from water wheels. Special summer projects that include new walkways, new irrigation lines and parking lots will directly or indirectly impact landscape operations, as well.
Currently, the campus is undergoing a tree audit to determine tree health, and point out any potential safety hazards individual trees might pose. "We're still seeing tree damage from hurricanes that came through 10 years ago," says Rhodes, adding that landscapes in any setting are constantly changing. Successful maintenance programs stay up with the changes.
The biggest project currently underway is the new stadium that will bring even more turfgrass and landscape under the grounds department umbrella. With the new stadium will come a new stadium field, soccer field and practice field. "
As a department our focus has always been the campus area per se," Rhodes explains. "The new stadium won't necessarily change our focus. But it will shift part of our attention to a different part of the campus."
In the meantime, the focus at hand for the landscape and grounds team is graduation. Mowing crews are collecting nearly all 80 to 100 acres of mown grass, and gardeners are applying the finishing touches. ''I'm proud to say this campus looks great 95%, no almost 100% of the time all year long thanks to a great staff dedicated to maintaining the school's image," says Rhodes.
Graduation may not be the best time for our staff to relax and reflect on their effort, he adds, but their hard work is in full view for everyone else, including the graduating seniors and their parents.
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