The Landscape department is humming with activity as they prepare for the series of celebrations and exciting events in May and June. With graduation coming up, Gerhard Steudel, Director of Landscape, explains that the biggest challenge of having so many events together on the Campus Mall is keeping the grass dry and alive.
To prepare for the event, Gerhard and his team are aerating the grass to remove compaction, monitoring the watering between functions, and coordinating the Loma Linda University logo flower arrangement. The arrangement is displayed on the lawn of the Coleman Pavilion each year, a tradition since 1998.
Landscape is committed to making the campus a beautiful place to visit, work, learn, and heal. In April, the team completed the Lindsay Hall ramp that will allow staff and students to access the student residence more easily.
Gerhard explains how a few members of his team hand laid each stone with precision, admitting, “It gets me excited that they’re proud of what they do. And that’s something that we try to encourage. You can see that [project was] done by four engaged employees.”
The average tenure of an employee at Landscape is 15 years. “My philosophy is – I want to make this a pleasant place to work,” Gerhard continues, “We’ve tried to follow the Golden Rule. I want to treat you like I’d like you to treat me.”
Landscape continues to make improvements to their service to the campus in a number of ways. They arecontinuing their green waste recycling initiative, which gathers any green waste that has been removed from the campus and to be reused. Gerhard explains that Landscape is “trying to use the environment and nature” to reduce waste and benefit the department’s projects. After the green waste is collected, it is ground into mulch that is used as a soil amendment or ground cover in campus projects.
Landscape also plans to cut irrigation costs this year and implement water saving initiatives throughout the campus and at the new parking structure.
Gerhard acknowledges that Landscape has one key goal in mind. “We create the first impression,” he says. “I feel very blessed, privileged and fortunate to be part of it.”
To learn more about the Landscape Department, call extension 44557.
