From Potentially Outsourced to a Green Star Award

By Matthew Doyle, assistant editor

 

Superintendent Fernando Reyna and his department are responsible for 39 acres of turf spread over the 450 acre ASU campus. About 13 acres of this is overseeded with a rye grass blend in October. The desert heat and poor water penetration are two major challenges. A combination of mower deck mulching, aeration four times a year and monthly fertilization keeps the grass green.

Headed up by Fernando Reyna, the Grounds Services Department has gone from being under consideration for outsourcing in the winter of 2006 to the recent winners of a Green Star Honor Award. All this has been accomplished at a university with a student population of 59,871 students, about 500 short of the largest in the country.

The Superintendent

Fernando Reyna is deeply rooted at Arizona State, having been with ASU for 17 years. He started as a student and then took a job at the greenhouse. Since then he has risen through the ranks to become the head of a groundskeeping program with a total budget of $2,366,660 in 2007.

Mr. Reyna is a Certified Public Manager, a Certified Nursery Manager Associate, and is also certified in Pest Control. He is the holder of an associate?EUR??,,????'???s degree from Glendale Community College and is a current senior in the ASU Urban Horticulture Program.

The Crew

Fernando heads up a groundskeeping staff of 58. The 450 acre campus is divided into 13 zones of responsibility with one qualified groundskeeper per zone. More specialized members of the team include a tree crew of six, a flower crew of two, two day equipment operators, four night equipment operators, and three waste management night workers. The waste management crew must service roughly 300 stops a night.

Almost all of the grounds keeping staff work a full time (or longer) schedule. By July of 2007, Reyna and his staff had already worked 20 consecutive days of at least 110????? Fahrenheit temperatures, with 120????? Fahrenheit reached at times. Also, Governor Napolitano?EUR??,,????'???s 2006 banning of all leaf blowers in state facilities required a shift to rakes. Heat related injuries are very real health risks under these conditions and work hours are scheduled to prevent these. The core group works from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Reyna is usually in by 3 a.m. and out by 2 p.m., ensuring full communication with shifts.

The groundskeeping staff was notified of their potential outsourcing before beginning work on this dirt patch adjacent to a major campus road. Going in with something to prove, they completed the project under budget and on time. By demonstrating a four-dimensional capability to design, install, maintain and invent landscapes, Reyna and his staff proved that they were able to do quality work while underbidding potential outside contractors by thousands of dollars.

Playing Fields

Reyna is currently responsible for two field areas on the Tempe campus. The Student Recreation Center (SRC) is used by student intramural sports and EZ Turf Midiron is used on the 8 acre facility. The other field area is the fraternity sports field, covering two acres and using common Bermuda turf.

Planting

The seed and plant materials budget in 2007 was $36,057 to maintain and expand on the 600 species of plant material on campus. Every October, about 1/3 of the on-site turf is overseeded with a rye blend. Trees are planted year around.

Flowers are planted in early September to accompany the arrival of the students, and again at the end of February and April. All other plantings are scheduled every other Thursday as needed, and 25 flower and rose beds occupy 1.9 acres and are changed out three times a year.

Turf

ASU contains 39 acres of turf. In 2005, to help deal with the heat mower mulching decks were adopted. Clippings are left on the ground except when a major event requires otherwise, allowing moisture and nutrients to be returned to the turf. This procedure, along with fertilizing, pushes Bermuda grass dormancy back a month.

Another challenge is the compacted soil and caliche layers that limit water penetration to four to six inches in some areas. A cycle soak program is used to compensate. The turf is aerated four times a year and fertilized monthly.

Reyna is particularly proud of ASU?EUR??,,????'???s extensive date palm collection. According to him, the collection is the largest in the world with 32 varieties. The campus also features 600 different plant species supported by a 2007 plant and seed materials budget of $36,057 and a fertilizer and chemical budget of $17,356.

Irrigation

ASU utilizes a Maxicom smart irrigation system. Fernando is happy with it?EUR??,,????'???s ability to ease the challenging task of managing the irrigation needs of the tremendous plant material variety on campus in the face of climate changes and various campus events. One major criticism he has regarding the system is its complexity, which he says can make getting qualified operators a challenge.

Reyna admits irrigation is somewhat of an Achilles?EUR??,,????'??? heel for ASU, as the campus has a mix of installations that have yet to be consolidated and coordinated. An irrigation system audit and renovation are among Reyna?EUR??,,????'???s top priorities.

Fertilizer

ASU had a chemical and fertilizer budget of $17,356 in 2007. All waste is compacted on site and moved to a local organic vegetable farmer for composting and return to the campus as fertilizer. While this has not totally eliminated chemical fertilizers, it has reduced the amount used.

Vehicles

ASU?EUR??,,????'???s vehicle fleet has a current operating budget of $480,000. A $5,200 fuel bill last April and the desire to excel in sustainability have led to a change in these vehicles. The old fleet of 1/2 ton Ford and Chevy trucks is in the process of being replaced with industrial bikes, solar powered carts, and electric carts. 10 of these vehicles have been replaced to date with two solar carts and eight electric carts. An additional five solar carts are under request, leaving about four pickups in the fleet. The industrial bike fleet consists of 12 bikes now, with an additional 11 bikes planned. Maintenance of vehicles went from a $98,000 expense in 2007 to $50,000 in 2008.

The vehicle switch has created a challenge due to the reduced hauling capability of the carts, requiring efficient labor planning. Previously, crews would load and move pickups on an individual basis, with material changing hands two to three times. Now, separate pickup points are planned in each maintenance zone to be picked up in one run by one truck, thereby ensuring material is handled once.