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PGMS
Events > 2008 DC Site Visit 2008 DC Regional Grounds Management Seminar & Site Visit a Success!
Grounds professionals who have supported PGMS' regional visitation program since they were launched in March 2006 are beginning to realize a return on their investments after just concluding this summer's dynamic meeting in Washington, D.C. Initiated by then PGMS President Ellen Newell, CGM, at her Arizona State University (ASU) campus, the visitation programs include presentations on grounds operations at an array of facilities plus several hours of classroom lecturing. The DC visitation program included an up-close look at the grounds operations of American University, George Washington's Mt. Vernon, Hillwood Estate and Gardens, the Smithsonian Institution and Sidwell Friends School, one of Washington's premier private schools that is the only one of its kind to have achieved Platinum LEED certification. The program also included classes on green roofs, tree inventorying, motivating employees and site sustainability issues. "Our DC Branch is to be congratulated for taking PGMS visitations to a new level of excellence," said PGMS President Greg Nichols of Lenni, Pa. who has attended all of the past visitation programs including the ones at ASU, University of Delaware, the Biltmore Estate and the North Carolina Arboretum and last March's visit to Dallas, Texas. "From the onset as we toured the magnificent American University campus under the tutelage of Paul Davis, landscape architect at American University, we knew we were headed for a most interesting and informative program that would allow those in attendance to garner new ideas that will ultimately assist them in being better grounds professionals for their respective employers," stressed Nichols. PGMS Treasurer Joe Jackson, assistant director of facility management at Duke University, added, "We wanted this visit to focus on sustainability issues and each of the sites we visited included a chance to observe what was being done to reduce greenhouse gases, manage storm water run-off, and provide natural habitats while simultaneously expanding the intrinsic beauty of a well-planned and maintained grounds operation." Following the detailed tour and presentation of planting and maintenance techniques being used to beautify the AU campus and a class presentation by Wayne Mills on Green Roofs, the PGMS group of 55 climbed on its bus and headed off to the scenic home of George Washington, Mt. Vernon on the Potomac River. There, Dean Norton, director of horticulture for Mt. Vernon, presented a most enlightening and entertaining review of the historic details that go into managing the property. From "ha-ha" walls to the thinking behind the location and design of Martha Washington's vegetable garden as well as to concerns expressed about a 140 foot pecan tree that sits only feet from the wooden home, Norton stimulated discussion and provided a great look at how Mt. Vernon's grounds operated in the end of the 18th Century. On the second day of the visitation program, buses headed out early for a visit to Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens, a 25-acre ground located in the center of Washington, DC Restored in the 1950's by Marjorie Merriweather Post of the Post Cereal family, the lush gardens include beds of perennials and annuals, a tree and forest preservation area, a French Parterre restoration, a Japanese style gardens, rose gardens and greenhouses. The Hillwood staff manned the various gardens to allow the PGMS group to wonder leisurely around the grounds and ask questions of interest to those areas of particular interest to each attendee. From Hillwood, it was off to a dynamic tour of the Enid A. Haupt Garden which greets visitors to the Smithsonian Castle building, the original building of the Smithsonian Institution and on to the newly constructed National Museum of the American Indian and its unique gardens. In keeping with native peoples' relationship with the environment, this museum is surrounded by landscape consisting of four habitats indigenous to the local region: an upland hardwood forest, lowland freshwater wetlands, eastern meadowlands and traditional croplands. While at the museum, educational classes on tree inventorying as presented by Shirley Trier of the Davey Resource Group and motivating employees as presented by American University's Michelle Estep-Frederick were also conducted. Still, with so much new knowledge and after having walked in 95+ degree weather for two days, there was still one more stop that needed to be made. That was to the Sidwell Friends School where a detailed briefing on what went into the school achieving its Platinum LEED certification was offered. One of the more fascinating elements of the operation is a system that fundamentally recycles "flush" water within the toilet system. This impacts the grounds operations as it requires a filtration system in a constructed wetlands. Storm water management was also a critical part of the grounds operation. Exhausted but beaming with fonts of new information, the PGMS attendees closed out the DC visitation with tremendous words of appreciation to the members of the DC Branch of PGMS who had organized all the details of the tours and classes. Of particular note for a salute was Stephanie DeStefano and Mark Feist of American University and Mary Bean of Mt. Vernon. Plans are now underway for the 2009 visitations which will take place in the spring and summer months. Sites are being selected and will be announced soon. "While we certainly want every member to join us each year at our School of Grounds Management which is held in conjunction with the GIE + Expo in October in Louisville, we hope that more members will avail themselves of these dynamic and informative visitation programs," emphasized Nichols. "Besides the value of the classes and tours, the opportunity they present to network and pick each others' brains is simply a return on investment that exceeds all expectations."
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