With over 440 acres to maintain, 8,000 trees, 20 flower beds, 16 grass pitches and 10 artificial facilities – the grounds and maintenance team have the daunting task of making every inch of Loughborough campus look as good as possible. Plus, they ramp things up when they have special events like graduation and open days. This year, graduation coincided with the East Midlands in Bloom judging day, you can learn more about that right here.
So what does a typical day in the life of a gardener involve? We took the opportunity to shadow them and get to learn exactly what they do on a day to day basis.

Early morning starts

A typical start is between 6.00 and 8.00 in the morning. Yeah, that’s pretty darn early, but it means they can get here before everyone else which allows them to maintain busy or high traffic areas without disturbing the normal routine of those who study or work here.
So whether they’re maintaining busy round-a-bouts or mowing the pitches before they’re in demand – the teams get here nice and early to ensure the campus is ready for your arrival.

Come rain or shine

It’s not unheard of to stare enviously out of the window at a gardener enjoying the lovely weather, but do you feel the same when the window is protecting you from the torrential rain and gale force winds? If the weather is extremely wet or windy, this can restrict the type of tasks they can do and it also makes it harder for them to do their job.

Day to day tasks

Each day is different. One day, you might find them wading through the water at Holywell Park to maintain the fountain while the next you’ll find them outside student halls mowing the grass, near the swimming pool weeding the flower beds or clearing pathways across the campus by pruning back shrubs.

Lots of ground to cover

Do the sheer size of the campus, there’s a lot to maintain. To give you an idea of what the teams here at Loughborough University cover, below is a brief overview of who the teams are and the areas they cover. There’s no excuse not to say hello now.

They work tirelessly throughout the year to make sure the campus looks the best it can. So, next time you spy one of the gardeners working away to clear a path for you, mowing the grass so you can sit down and enjoy a spot of lunch in the summer – have a word with them. They’re all really friendly and just like you, they like to hear that people appreciate the hard work they are doing.