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Show DAILY THE UTAH CHRONICLE CAJAPUS LIFE t. mPm yy vjvwwuufvyu'lj'v CHRIS BROGAN Chronicle Feature Writer Groundskccpcr Kelly Murphy describes herself as casual and enjoyable. And by the nonchalant way she describes her new 4Runncr being stolen, one has no reason to doubt her. Besides working full time for the University of Utah Grounds Departe student. ment., Murphy is also a "I finally have my general eds out of the part-tim- way after 20 years," she says. She plans to gel her degree in horticulture. The Grounds Department has a program, and if she gets a C or better, the department gives full tuition reimbursement for the classes. Weekly grounds duties include weeding, pruning, maintenance of shrubs, trash , and lawn edging and mowing. Starting in the spring, she will cut the clean-up- grass every week. Murphy begins her day by getting her tools that arc nestled under a tree she calls it her little office. Then she walks around the grounds and cleans up trash from the parking lot. As she picks up leaves and pine needles, Murphy describes her job. She explains the aesthetic reasons for edging, and the long amount of time involved in doing it. She goes on about how aeration helps the ground recover from being walked on, and how mulching helps with weeds. She describes the intricacies of spraying the are Round Up pesticidepedestrians wary of how the spraying may affect their health. "You have to have a pesticide applicator's license," she says. The license is issued by the Department of Agriculture and is not easy to get some people don't pass the test. To pass, one must know how different chemicals work on different ornamentals and turfs. One also needs to know the right time to spray. A windy day would be bad, for instance, Murphy notes. For Murphy, the most annoying part of job is the garbage. "When you. have 25,000 people on campus, there is going to be trash," she said. is finished, she After all the clean-u- p docs gardening in the afternoon. She enjoys planting flowers, but says that most of the flower work is done by three ladies at the U's large green house. The majority of flowers on campus this spring, by the way, will be geraniums. Some 54,000 plants grow on campus! The U has the distinct honor of being one of the few universities classified as an arboretum, a place for the scientific study and public exhibition of rare trees. Susan Pope, head of the Grounds Department, says "the crew members get a lot of compliments on their work." These compliments are generally on the ornamental grass, flowers, crab apples trees, and magnolias. A lot of work goes lif g - "1J. The Grounds f i'CS into getting those compliments. It takes approximately 4 hours to get a section of ground planted on 12,000-square-fo- ot campus. The grounds crew is planning three major projects for this spring. It's putting in a drought bed full of native plants near the Social and Behavioral Science Building. It will also work on a rose garden and will overhaul some of the irrigation-systehydraulics. According to Pope, there will not be many new types of shrubs on campus this year. "If we had more funding we would do more," she says. She believes the department has to stick m foar" -- p' 4h J iMf" '"' ifiw '51 with more practical stuff; most abundant shrubs on campus are honey locusts and junipers. The junipers thrive in the dry climate. For water conservation and survival, the department tends to plant shrubs that are native to the area. Almost all the grass on campus is sod because it's less and more to the One disadvanof forgiving damage. of a hill is the on built tages campus being erosion. The grounds crew has to watch the bike tracks and turning gullies that can contribute to the problem. The sod allays the situation. As a child, Murphy used to help her mother and grandfather with the gardening, and she would actually mow the lawn for fun. She lived in Southern California up until 11 years ago. labor-intensi- o I ... ,,. ..... Kelly Murphy tends the grounds around the University Bsokstore ar.d west of the J. Wiliard Marriott Library. v' 1 i CHRONICLE FEATURE EDITOR jfc r ffl i I JAMES GARDNER JGARDNERCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU DpajmeiitttialotalnsM1ySOO 00 intents on cawpusj i Moving to Utah because she wanted a change, Murphy worked as an executive secretary for five years at University of Utah Housing. Her interest in landscaping resurfaced when an opportunity for an apprenticeship program in landscaping opened up. She then worked for a friend who owned a landscaping business, and eventually found herself as an employee of the U's Grounds Department. The campus is divided into three areas. The daily work is divided into sections. The gardeners have to cover an area of eight to 12 acres. Murphy's section is the University Bookstore and the west side of the J. Wiliard Marriott Library. With another girl, she shares a red cart for when heavy loads need to be carried around. The department usually has 5 or 6 carts for the employees to use, but Murphy usually walks from location to location. Murphy feels it's a challenge to keep an area safe and aesthetically pleasing. For instance, she must keep clear the area around crab apple trees, which can get slippery for people walking on the pavement. According to Murphy, there have been accidents involving the Grounds Department. She also notes that the department has received the university, award for safety for the past couple of no major see GARDENERS, page 7 581-704- 1 'POOR |