Landscape Services is the unsung hero of campus beauty. While students walk to class among blooming Canna Lillies and towering trees, students and staff work tirelessly to maintain intricate displays of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.
This summer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Landscape Services staff, including 22 students, spent more than 4,000 hours cultivating the campus landscape for summer visitors and in anticipation of fall.
The staff maintained:
617 total acres
Craig Chandler University Communication Tyler Kingsley, a worker with FM&P Landscape Services, mows outside the Visitors Center on 12th and Q Streets.Over 325 acres of green space
Craig Chandler University Communication Husker Flag made of mega blocks being assembled on green space by Nebraska Union.Approximately 7,000 trees which contribute to the Arbor Day Tree Campus designation. The university has earned the designation for the past 13 years.
Craig Chandler University Communication Lincoln trees display their fall colors on UNL's City Campus.15 miles of streets and 35 miles of paved sidewalks
Katie Black University Communication The sun shines through the trees on a park bench on the south side of City Campus.84.5 acres of parking with 16,076 stalls
Craig Chandler University Communication Cars line up in the College of Dentistry parking lot.
In 2021, landscape services has planted:
4,108 annual plants
Craig Chandler University Communication Sunflowers in field near Minneapolis, Kansas.669 perennial plants
Craig Chandler University Communication Blooming flower on City Campus.314 shrubs
Craig Chandler University Communication Greenery on City Campus.137 trees
Craig Chandler University Communication Blooming Magnolia Trees outside the Lied Center on City Campus.
Landscape Services also supports recycling efforts at Nebraska. In 2019, the university diverted 3,354 tons of materials away from the landfill with a diversion rate of 59%. The university employs three full-time drivers to empty bins across campus, which include 979 recycling and waste receptacles. According to Green Quest, as a result of recycling efforts in 2019, the university conserved:
11,837 trees
4,874,240 gallons of water
974,848 pounds of air pollution
2,854,912 kilowatt-hours of electricity
2,298 cubic yards of landfill space
In the winter, Landscape Services trades their lawnmowers for snowplows. During winter 2020-21, they spent:
- 4,428.25 hours clearing parking lots
- 5971.75 hours clearing sidewalks and building entrances