General

Q: How do you contact the office staff at Landscape Services?

A: Click here, or on the "Contacts" link near the top of every page, for contact information. The link will take you to the section where the employees' names, titles, and e-mail addresses are listed. You can also contact us over the phone at 355-7750. If you want to stop by to fill out an application, or to discuss a campus issue with a staff member, we are located at 158 Stadium Road, south of the Wilson Road tennis courts. Our office hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the building is labeled as the Landscape Services Building.

Q: What do the different crews do at Landscape Services?

A: The crews handle all general maintenance of the campus landscape. Our work force is divided up into several crews, each with different responsibilities for upkeep of the campus. Click on the respective service groups to the left for more detailed information about the work performed by each crew.

Q: How do you report a problem?

A: Give us a call at 355-7750. You can give us a comment, suggestion, complaint, compliment or report a problem. Safety issues that you should immediately call us about include a storm-damaged tree, a landscape issue and over-flowing trash barrels.

Q: How do I get a job at Landscape Services?

A: Fill out an application. Check our Employment page if you are seeking seasonal employment at the Landscape Services Department. Seasonal employment runs from April to November. If you would prefer to fill out an application in person, come on by. Our office hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Q: Why do A-frame signs get confiscated? How do I get one back?

A: The signs are confiscated due to a lack of permit and/or being improperly chained. In order to put out an A-frame, you need permission. To obtain a permit, you need to contact the events coordinator at the Physical Plant. When you are issued the permit, you are given instructions on how and where it is acceptable to locate and secure your sign. When Landscape Services confiscates a sign, we hold on to it for 10 days. If it is not picked up within the 10 days, we recycle them.

Q: What do the Landscape Services crews do during the winter?

A: During the winter, the Landscape Services crews spend the majority of their time on snow removal, ensuring that all campus roads and parking areas are cleared. They also attend to MSU's tree and shrub life by pruning campus plants and growing new ones in green houses for the spring beds.

The golf course staff transplants course trees from February through April — an ideal time when there are no course patrons and the ground is frozen enough to limit dig mess.

Additionally, Landscape Services employees devote themselves to special events and conduct employee training during the winter months.

Arborists

Q: What's up with the "Save Our Trees" signs?

A: Parking under trees kills them. The signs are part of an awareness campaign that is mainly targeted at football tailgaters, sports camps, and students moving in o and out of the residence halls. Parking vehicles under trees compact the soil. Compact soil "chokes" out the tree's root system and eventually kills the tree. We place very high value on the park like setting of this campus and protecting the trees is a part of that goal. Most folks don't want to kill the trees, they just don't realize how much damage they are doing by parking in this manner.

Q: What's an Emerald Ash Borer?

A: This small pest is causing big problems. The Emerald Ash Borer arrived in southeast Michigan in July 2002. The EAB is a wood-boring beetle from Asia that feeds on ash trees. Larvae tunnel beneath the bark and feed in the cambium between the bark and wood. The tunnels eventually girdle and kill the tree.

Q: Why is it important to not move firewood around the state?

A: Moving Ash firewood that is infested with the EAB contributes to the problem by giving the pest a free ride to new food. Moving tainted wood is how the EAB got here in the first place. The pest arrived here as a stow away in the wood of pallets and crates from overseas shipments. Since the EAB doesn't have a natural predator over here, we have to help prevent the spread. One way is to eliminate the vehicle, in other words — firewood.

Q: Why does it seem like trees are being removed so often?

A: If a tree is dead, dying, diseased or dangerous, it needs to be removed. Trees are removed from campus after careful deliberation between the Campus Arborist (Paul Swartz) and the Curator of Woody Plants (Dr. Frank Telewski).

A tree may be deemed dangerous if it has extensive decay, weak structural features, or limb stress/breakage due to storms, etc. Approximately 100 to 120 trees are removed, and 200 to 300 trees are planted yearly. We are in the process of mapping every tree on campus, we estimated that there are approximately 20,000 trees that we maintain in landscaped areas.

Q: What are those green bags at the base of newly planted trees?

A: Those are Tree Gator® irrigation bags. Each one holds approximately 20 gallons of water. Up to four bags can be zipped together around the tree. We generally use them in pairs. Small weep holes are located on the bottom of the bag. The water slowly drips out over a several hour period, keeping the rootball of newly planted trees moist.

Q: Why do we mulch around most of our plants and trees?

A: It's very good for them. A 2- to 4-inch layer of wood mulch helps to conserve moisture (an estimated 10 percent to 25 percent reduction in soil moisture loss from evaporation) and helps to keep weed seeds from germinating. By keeping an area around the plant vegetation-free, the plant has less competition for moisture and nutrients. In addition, the mulch ring tends to protect the trunk of the tree from mechanical damage from lawn mowers and weed whips.

Q: What do you do during the winter?

A: Gardening staff removes snow and ice from campus sidewalks, roads and parking areas using snow pushers, truck plows and snow sweepers.

Athletics

 

Gardeners

Q: What is that green stuff that is sprayed on areas that need new grass?

A: It is called hydromulch. Hydromulch consists of cellulose fiber (paper), green dye and a gum-based tactifier (sticker) to keep it from washing away when it rains. The hydromulch is mixed with grass seed, water and fertilizer in a hydro-mulcher machine. The machine consists of a tank, a pump and a spray gun. The mixture is applied to a prepared soil surface and aids in grass seed germination. It is also a good soil-erosion control measure until the turf is established.

Golf Course

Q: What do you do in the winter?

A: Course trees occasionally are transplanted from February through April — an ideal time when there are no course patrons and the ground is frozen enough to limit dig mess.

Q: When would I work if I was employed at the golf course?

A: It depends on the time of year.

• During the early spring: 7 to 11:30 a.m., lunch break, then noon to 3:30 p.m.
• During late spring: 6:30 to 11:30 a.m., lunch break, then noon to 3 p.m.
• During summer: 6 to 11:30 a.m., lunch break, then noon to 2:30 p.m.

Q: How often are the courses mowed?

A: Our staff keeps the courses mowed on a regular schedule.

• Greens: From Memorial Day through Labor Day the greens are mowed daily.
• Fairways, collars and approaches: From Memorial Day through Labor Day fairways are mowed at least three times per week.
• Roughs: From Memorial Day through Labor Day roughs are mowed at least twice per week. Different degrees of roughs are mowed at set heights.
  

Q: How are cups maintained?

A: Cups are placed no closer than one flagstick length from the edge of the green.

• West course: Cups are changed on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
• East course: Cups are changed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

 

Hard Surface / Mechanics

Irrigation

Nursery

Site Crew

Q: What do you do during the winter?

A: Site crews remove snow and ice from campus sidewalks, roads and parking areas using snow pushers, truck plows and snow sweepers.

Snow Removal

Q: Who do you call when there is snow on your steps/building entrances?

A: Call a Custodial Services crew at: 355-7750. Custodians clear walkways, steps and loading docks. Landscape Services crews plow sidewalks, roads and parking lots.

Q: What about snow removal in student parking lots?

A: We plow the lots and all of the empty spaces we can get to, along with the sidewalks in the area, but we don't shovel out individual cars. It is partially a liability and workmen's compensation issue, but it is also a time and manpower issue. We do, however, do some extra "touch-up" on spaces that are reserved for persons with disabilities.

Q: When do the streets get plowed?

A: We plow campus streets when it snows more than 2 inches or when safety is an issue. Before the snow starts to fall, we evaluate the process of removal. It often varies with the amount and type of snow in the forecast and the timing of the snow fall. The general goal is to have campus "cleaned up" by the time students and employees start their day (7 to 8 a.m.). When the crews are called in, they start with roads, parking lots and ramps, and established routes for persons with disabilities. At about 5:30 a.m., a portion of the crew switches to walks. Check out the "Snow Removal" section for more detailed information.