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Physical plant helps usher in spring
By Heather Lamson
Associate Features Editor
PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN BELL
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The last remnants of the snow mounds are melting away in flowing, oil-laced rivulets, and the robin scouts are once again hopping through the lawn. In a few short weeks the campus will seem to spontaneously transform from sad winter leftovers to brilliant flower boxes and blooming trees. But in reality, much work goes into preparing the campus’ physical plant for spring.
“Nothing usually happens until most of the snow is gone like this last spring break,” said Charles Huizinga, Assistant Director of Grounds Physical Plant. “The first thing is to pick up all the trash that accumulates over the winter, cigarette butts and stuff like that. We had a real early winter, so a lot of snow fell before we had a chance to pick up all the leaves. Until that point we are out pruning the trees.”
The deliberate attitude of respect for the original, indigenous plants incorporated into the landscaping creates a dilemma for those charged with maintaining the campus. “It’s a balancing act,” says Huizinga. “We have a landscaper who is trained in tree pruning, but also we have a professional company come in for spring break. Obviously you want to take the dead wood out of the tree that may have a danger of falling on someone. But Randy Van Dragt of the biology department has requested input; we just got a letter about keeping some of that around for habitat for woodpeckers and stuff, so we’ll be working with him more closely on that issue.”
As cleanup of winter damage and litter is completed, the fruits of labor from two seasons ago will come to maturation when over 15,000 tulips and daffodils bloom. The hill bearing the Calvin sign along the East Beltline alone was allocated 5,000 of those bulbs planted last fall, all daffodils. The flower boxes outside of the chapel contain between 250 and 300 bulbs each. When these fade, they are removed and replaced by annuals.
“We buy a lot of them, but we’re working more and more with donors,” Huizinga said. “There are quite a few donors out there and we’ve used them in the past, to save the college money and get more donated material.”
PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN BELL
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Beyond caring for the plants on campus, snow plow damage is identified and corrected along the many walkways on campus, curbs are swept, catch basins cleaned and potholes filled. Work is also done on projects the administration has approved. Recent developments include a new baseball and softball field.
“We’re in the planning process of looking at doing more landscaping at Knollcrest East,” Huizinga said. “We get input from Student Life, and then we have our own ideas. We pull everything together, what we think we have to have done, and then the administration decides what will get funded, what’s a priority and what’s not, how much money I can spend on asphalt, how much money I can spend on irrigation, pruning trees, stuff like that.”
Asked which part of campus is his favorite, Huizinga said, “The water fountain, definitely, the water fountain. That project was brought about because they wanted to keep the pond cleaner. This was the second time that we actually pumped the pond dry and took all of the mud out of it and hauled it away, and then in order to keep the water circulating we were going to put in a fountain. But then we looked into it, and to get the same effect, the same result, we could pump that water up and make the water fountain. So aesthetically it looked a lot nicer and we did it for the same cost. And it’s become a real favorite for photographers and students who like to hang out and study.”
And the worst?
“Cigarette butts,” he said. “It’s terrible. We have smoking areas, but without enforcement, I don’t know how you can enforce it anyway. I’m not blaming anybody, but it’s a real problem. It takes a lot of our time. We put rubber gloves on, pick them out, take a backpack blower, try to blow them out. It takes fifty years for those to completely decompose. It just makes the campus look so ugly. It’s our biggest challenge.”
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