Weeds are sprouting by the campus signage, students have trampled one corner of the Quad lawn, and the rose bushes outside the president’s office have weird black spots on their leaves.
If you find yourself searching for a class called “Stress Relief for College Facilities Managers 101,” there’s help.
Need a little landscaping help? Need a lot of help? Here’s how Level Green Landscaping can ease college campus managers’ landscaping stress.
Flexible Contracts
Maybe you have your own facilities staff, but they’re overworked and can’t get to everything. So things aren’t looking as great as they should.
Need some help? A contract with Level Green isn’t all or nothing.
Our partnership with Loyola University is a great example.
Level Green has been working with Loyola University for a year, taking care of some key areas on campus as well as filling in as needed, helping the college facility manager by supplementing the university’s own facilities staff.
Level Green’s agreement with Loyola is that crews are on call to help with landscaping as needed, in addition to their specific defined tasks.
“If their crews are short-handed, we step in to help,” says Marvin Balsoma, the Level Green Landscaping branch manager who works with the university. “They might suddenly need three guys for a day or three guys for five days. We make sure we can meet their needs.”
Big event on campus? College facility directors can call on Level Green crews to add flowers, fresh mulch, trim and tidy.
Top-Notch Communication
College facilities managers want to know all the right things are happening out on campus without having to ask, remind, or nag about it.
That means proactive communication.
One key way Level Green reaches out: digital property service reports that detail exactly what services were performed out there.
Were flower beds weeded? Trees pruned? Mulch delivered? Irrigation checked?
There’s no mystery — it’s all outlined for you, in a snap. It might include a photo, too. Crews might point out a hole they discovered that should be filled in so students or staff don’t twist their ankle.
These instant updates, along with timely check-ins from your account manager, keep communication flowing.
Balsoma reaches out regularly to the Loyola university facilities manager and calls him if he sees anything that needs extra attention: Grass that won’t grow in one spot. Roses with diseases. Struggling plants.
.png?width=1200&height=666&name=college%20landscapin%20-loyola%20university%20(1).png)
“The best thing I can do is keep an open line of communication, and get over there within a day to meet any needs,” Balsoma says. “We’re able to get out there at a moment’s notice when there’s a problem and come up with a solution.”
Innovative Ideas
You’ve got a lot of competition. What makes your campus landscaping stand out?
No time to ponder new ideas? College facility managers are super busy. No worries — we have plenty:
Multi-Purpose Outdoor Spaces
Lots of cool things happen outside at college, from outdoor poetry readings to yoga classes.
Students need comfortable, appealing places to study, gather, sip lattes and catch up with friends.
Think comfortable benches, shrubs for privacy and trees for cooling shade.
Level Green crews spruced up the popular plaza area at the University of the District of Columbia.
Students gather at this central campus location, sitting at tables equipped with solar panels where they charge phones and laptops.
Upgrades included lots of annual flowers around the plaza perimeter — in the school’s red and yellow colors, of course.
Pavers for High-Traffic Areas
When high-traffic areas of lawn get trampled time and time again, college facilities managers heave big sighs. Time to install a path.
Using permeable pavers allows water to drain better than a five-foot-wide concrete walkway. And it has more personality. Pavers and stepping stones are always more interesting than concrete or asphalt.
Strive for Sustainability
Students and parents expect universities to be leaders in sustainability. But college facilities managers aren’t always up on the latest practices.
Level Green has led the way in environmentally friendly landscaping with these green practices:
- Permeable pavers
- Environmentally conscious use of chemicals
- Battery powered equipment
- Low-care native plants that need no pesticides
- Rain gardens with soil that filters oil, grease and other pollutants before slowly releasing the cleaner water into the water table.
Let Us Make You Look Good
When your university landscaping is attractive, thriving, and impressive, with innovations that boost campus appeal, you look good, too.
Everybody wants to make the boss happy. That includes easing budget worries. Colleges and universities are trying to do more with less money these days. Everything costs more than it used to.
Let us help you wrangle that landscaping budget. We’ll be honest about what we can realistically provide for the money you have to spend, without overpromising.
Frazzled College Facilities Manager? Partner with Level Green
When you’re competing for students, striving for sustainability and boosting school pride, great landscaping is a key part of the equation.
But there are about a hundred other things on your plate.
Let us give you a hand.
If you’re not already a Level Green Landscaping client, we’d love to add you to our growing list of happy customers. Our focus is on commercial properties like offices, mixed-use sites, HOAs, municipalities and educational institutions in Maryland, Washington DC and parts of Virginia.
Contact us at 202-544-0968. You can also request a free consultation online to meet with us one-on-one.
We’d love to hear from you.
