Legoland: A Not-So-Little Landscape

By Leslie McGuire, managing editor. An Exclusive Interview With Kyle Silrum, Landscape Manager

The Miniland crew is encouraged to do stretching exercises recommended by an occupational and physical therapist several times during the day. Because of the type of work they do, they are more likely to get repetitive motion problems.

Kyle Silrum, Landscape Manager for Legoland?EUR??,,????'???s theme park in southern California, loves what he does. Landscaping is his passion. The four landscaping crews who work on the park with him love what they do, too and it shows. Legoland is really a horticulturist?EUR??,,????'???s dream come true.

There are four main areas to Legoland with a crew dedicated to each. The outer park consists of about 35 acres, which includes the parking lots and Legoland Drive. Miniland, although less than one acre, has its own crew. The inner 35 acres is divided in half?EUR??,,????'??+east and west. Each crew is made up of one lead, and three to four gardeners. In addition, Lupe Rivera, the staff supervisor is also the irrigation specialist, and he works with two irrigation techs to maintain a vast network of controllers, valves and sprinkler heads.

Each crew has an equipment storage locker inside the maintenance headquarters where tools such as blowers, weed whips, hedge trimmers, chain saws and extended hedge shears are kept. The extended hedge shears are used not just on hedges but on the ground cover as well because they help prevent back injuries to the staff.

Monday through Friday, the staff?EUR??,,????'???s day starts at 6 a.m., and continues until 2:30 p.m.. Each morning starts with five minutes of stretching exercises. ?EUR??,,????'??A physical and occupational therapist was called in,?EUR??,,????'?? says Kyle Silrum, ?EUR??,,????'??and after reviewing the type of work the staff does, gave them a set of exercises, which are done as a group.?EUR??,,????'?? The exercises have helped keep injuries to a minimum.

 

Since it?EUR??,,????'???s important to keep the staff as mobile as possible, each crew has one or two carts loaded with the tools and equipment they?EUR??,,????'???ll need. Each cart is equipped with a trailer so as little time as possible is wasted hauling debris.

However, the hours from 6a.m. until 10a.m. are considered golden?EUR??,,????'??+that?EUR??,,????'???s when the staff has the park to themselves. They can use power equipment and do the larger jobs where debris is created. At 10a.m. or 10:30a.m. they break for lunch, and after lunch they do the lighter jobs such as pruning and weeding.

Every Friday, all the crews devote themselves to mowing the approximately four acres of turf around the park. With a 21-inch Honda walk-behind for smaller areas, a Snapper 36-inch and a Snapper 48-inch walk-behind (each with sulkies), and a 48-inch Scag ride-on mower the staff can mow, edge and clean all the turf in about five to six hours. On Saturday and Sunday there is only a skeleton crew consisting of one supervisor and one gardener on site for emergencies.

In addition to the mowers, they use Murayama line trimmers, Stihl hedge trimmers, Stihl extended hedge shears, and Stihl fertilizer blowers. Says Silrum, ?EUR??,,????'??We switched to Stihl because we found their product better from the performance and maintenance standpoint.?EUR??,,????'?? In addition, they have a one-ton stake bed truck for hauling materials such as mulch and soil, as well as for hauling the mowing crew and their machines. An S-10 truck has been outfitted for the irrigation crew with a pipe rack and toolboxes. The 3/4 ton Ford F250 with crew cab is used for transporting the crew and their materials to the 35 acres of outer park, called ?EUR??,,????'??The North 40?EUR??,,????'??, which is being held for future expansion of the park. They also use it for work on the I-5, Canon Road exchange, which they maintain as part of the ?EUR??,,????'??Adopt a Highway?EUR??,,????'?? program.

Three times a year, Silrum and his crew fertilize. They apply nitrogen two to three times a year. Every three or four months, they apply 38-0-0 nitroform or granuform, which is a slow release granular fertilizer. They find it not only cuts down on the number of applications required, but there?EUR??,,????'???s less chance of leakage into the storm water system. In the last two years, they?EUR??,,????'???ve been able to cut the number of applications back to just two?EUR??,,????'??+the first in late April or early May, with a follow up in early September.

Generally, routine maintenance?EUR??,,????'??+such as oil, minor parts replacement, blade changes and filter cleaning?EUR??,,????'??+on the fleet of mowers, trucks and carts is done in-house. However, for bigger problems, their machines are serviced by outside vendors.

?EUR??,,????'??To make sure we?EUR??,,????'???re maintaining the correct soil balance, once a year, we send soil samples to Kinsey Agricultural Services in the Midwest,?EUR??,,????'?? says Silrum. ?EUR??,,????'??We take 140 samples from throughout the park.?EUR??,,????'?? Based on the soil analysis results, they?EUR??,,????'???ll use a fertilizer other than nitrogen. They also apply calcium carbonate to correct the calcium magnesium ratio, and regularly add potassium sulphate because of the high salinity of the recycled irrigation water. They add phosphorus only as needed and that?EUR??,,????'???s very infrequently. All additional micro-ingredients such as manganese, iron, zinc and boron are added according to the soil samples.

With 35 acres, 900 irrigation valves, 25 thousand sprinkler heads, 30 satellites and one main irrigation control computer, an irrigation specialist is obviously needed. The park uses two different kinds of irrigation systems: one is a MaxiCom central controller for the main park, and Lupe Rivera is the Maxicom expert; the other is a Netafim drip system for Miniland. The clusters of plantings and small Lego brick buildings require a subsurface drip irrigation system. If a spray were used, there would be an unmanageable buildup of calcium on the models, as well as uneven sprinkler coverage.

As far as irrigation on the slopes is concerned, it?EUR??,,????'???s necessary to set the nozzles so the correct amount of water is distributed to prevent run-off. However, the more calcium and mulches are added to the soil, the more absorbent it gets and runoff can be prevented. With Maxicom, they use a cycle and soak program. That breaks up the application of water into three or four cycle starts. They also have an onsite weather station that provides them with a daily evapo-transpiration (ET) rate. Then Maxicom runs the systems just to fulfill the deficits in the ET rate. ?EUR??,,????'?? We have filled in all the information?EUR??,,????'??+such as the soil condition, the terrain (slope or flat), the plant material (ground cover or shrubs), the sprinkler type and its precipitation rate,?EUR??,,????'?? says Silrum. ?EUR??,,????'??Maxicom uses all that plus the ET rate and adjusts the water accordingly.?EUR??,,????'??

To correct the overgrown roots around the entryway Canary Island date palms and carrotwood trees, they had to re-install the barriers six inches below the surface and put in low walls that double as additional seating. In addition, to prevent the area around the roots from becoming waste receptacles, new tree grates were designed and installed.

In the last year, a major renovation of the hardscaping in the park?EUR??,,????'??+especially in the main entry area?EUR??,,????'??+has been undertaken. The large Canary Island palms have very aggressive root systems, and the roots were tearing up the original six-inch curbing as well as the surrounding paving. With redone foot-high curbs, rootbarriers and tree grates, the entryway palms and carrotwood trees are now contained.

?EUR??,,????'??We have very stringent renovation criteria,?EUR??,,????'?? says Silrum. ?EUR??,,????'??Before we start anything, we first take into consideration what that change will affect. First of all, it has to fit in with the theming of the park. Secondly, the new changes must be pleasing and add value. And thirdly, ease of maintenance has got to be included as a major planning criterion.?EUR??,,????'??

The turf slope adjacent to the entryway heading toward Dino Island was very difficult to mow, and gardeners were constantly banging their hands on the railing that encircled that part of the park. Since the area was supposed to be prehistoric, the plantings were redone with big foliage to be thematically correct while matching those of the Dino Island site. Additionally, all the plants are labeled, and the resulting landscape not only fits the Dino Island theme perfectly, but it will be easy to maintain while providing educational value.?EUR??,,????'??

Special pruning is required at Dino Island and all the other rides. They need to keep a safety zone around the track of each ride to make it impossible for people to reach out and hit a tree or a shrub that?EUR??,,????'???s grown up under or adjacent to the track.

Another chore that, oddly enough, no one on the staff seems to mind, is that of maintaining the tree heights within the ride envelopes. Nothing tall can stay, so the crew is required to go on each ride regularly and reach out to test the parameters of the safety zone.

As part of their Integrated Pest Management program, the park has installed 20 owl boxes scattered throughout the site. Designed to invite breeding pairs of barn owls (none have showed up yet, but they?EUR??,,????'???re hopeful) they will help control any rodents in the park without using chemicals that might impact either guests or plants in a negative way.

As far as future additions to their management tools and materials, one of the ongoing issues the park has had is keeping up the quality of the water they use for irrigation.. There have been many parts failures in the irrigation system due to the high chlorine content. They?EUR??,,????'???ve been working with Rain Bird to improve the quality of the rubber components in the sprinkler valves. Chlorine is very destructive, and the rubber diaphragms were disintegrating in 18 months. With 900 valves, this was becoming increasing difficult to deal with. ?EUR??,,????'??Rain Bird has been very responsive,?EUR??,,????'?? says Silrum. A new Yardney Sand Separator is about to be installed on the main water line. It will pull out the debris and sand that contaminates the lines. Behind that, they?EUR??,,????'???re installing a Hydrochanger Hydroceramic Catalytic Water Conditioner to improve the quality of their reclaimed water. This unit changes the electron structure of the water so the sodium and chlorides don?EUR??,,????'???t combine.

So, while children and families pedal, squirt, climb, jump, stomp, slide, steer, pull, click, push, gallop, laugh, build and program their way through all the rides and attractions, Kyle Silrum and his crew are nurturing a true horticulturalist?EUR??,,????'???s dream come true?EUR??,,????'??+and making it look easy!

A new area is being added to the park?EUR??,,????'??+a miniature golf course, and for this they are installing artificial turf. Omni 26-03 in-filled with number 20 silica sand is being used as the paths. However, to replace the topsoil that covers the irrigation pipes around the paths so they can be planted. Silrum and his staff have devised a modified cement truck. By replacing the pipe with a conveyor belt, they?EUR??,,????'???ll be able to get the topsoil directly to the complex winding areas that thread throughout the course.