Grounds Crew

SCC has a beautiful campus. The landscape is gorgeous. Thankfully, SCC has a grounds crew consisting of eight individuals who put a lot of effort and hard work into keeping SCC green, in both ways.

Dan Porter, SCC Grounds Supervisor and member for 6 years, said that the grounds department has been making improvements towards a greener environment. One of the large improvements is an Integrated Pest Management Strategy.

"We only use chemical treatments when absolutely necessary. We used to have 100 percent herbicide coverage for weed control, we used to use dormant oils on our campus trees which helps with damaging insect control, but also destroys beneficial insects as well," Porter said. "Now we only spot spray when absolutely necessary and as a last resort, and we check and monitor insects for damage tolerances, and monitor beneficial insects before we determine a need for spraying. Also, in some cases we remove pests by hand. This is much more environmentally responsible."

According to Porter, organic fertilizer is another green initiative that the grounds crew is incorporating.

"We have an organic program now for our turf, trees, and flower beds. Soil testing as opposed to just guessing, and treating the soil for what it needs instead of using a catch all formula, is also more responsible and results in less waste and harmful run-off from fertilizers," stated Porter.

Most people feel important while in a uniform. A new project the grounds crew took on was their uniforms.

"You will notice our uniforms say "Go Green!" Not only are these shirts inspiring but they are green themselves as they are made from organic materials as opposed to synthetics and cottons that were fertilized from synthetic fertilizers," Porter said. 

Taking an acting role is important. If everyone does their part we could have a completely green society in no time. For example, get involved and recycle, recycle, recycle.

"We are active in many organizations that promote and incorporate green practices. We are active with the Higher Education Sustainability Consortium, National Arborday Foundation, SCC Green Team, and more." Porter said. "We started doing our part for the single stream recycling. We will be working diligently and teaming up with housekeeping to be sure the program is successful and we can make such a large impact on the campus and our future!"

The future is exactly what the grounds crew is thinking about and preparing for.