Grounds Services 

Horticulture and Landscape Services

Landscaping work is largely seasonal, as is typical in northern New England. In spring, Grounds employees clean up the winter debris and repair turf damaged by snow removal. This rapidly transitions into mowing, restoration of planting beds, and trimming of shrubs and trees, which takes the team through summer and into fall. October and November are typically occupied with leaf removal and generally getting the landscape ready for winter. Winter is one of the busier times for the Grounds crew, as they remove snow and treat icy surfaces on 89,000 ft of sidewalks. The team also opens and closes  Occom Pond for use by the College and the local community.  

The Grounds crew includes several specialists such as the Campus Arborist and Turf Manager. In addition to assisting with general maintenance of the campus landscape, the Turf Manager and team assistants are responsible for all of the athletic fields, both natural and synthetic.  

Grounds Operations 

Employees in our labor crew perform a wide variety of tasks on campus including office moves, event setup and takedown, maintenance of drainage structures, etc. They are also responsible for 28.52 acers of parking lots and 30,000 ft of roadways in the winter.  

Trash and Recycling  

Our dedicated waste management crew picks up all of the trash and recycling on the campus. We currently have four compactor trucks for trash pickup, and we dispose of trash at the Lebanon NH Solid Waste Management Facility. We also have several trucks dedicated to picking up recyclables around campus and consolidating them at central locations. The recycling is picked up by Casella Waste Management, and it’s then processed for reuse.  

Vehicle and Maintenance Repair 

Our dedicated mechanic inspects 165 vehicles and repairs equipment from a variety of College departments.  

Woodlands 

Foresters in the Woodlands Office, located in Milan, NH, are responsible for sustainably managing all of Dartmouth's woodland properties in northern New England, including the 27,000-acre Second College Grant. The Grant is a multiple-use forested ecosystem, used for educational, research, recreational, wood production, and financial purposes.    

Sustainability

In collaboration with the Class of ’89 Pollinator Project, the Grounds crew is establishing wildflower patches across campus, bringing a pop of color in addition to diverse species that support pollinators. To reduce carbon emissions, Grounds Services is replacing full-sized combustion trucks with more efficient electric golf carts as well as integrating electric equipment into our tool inventory.