{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/landscaping","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"landscaping","excerpt":"UCLA is one of the most beautiful urban campuses in the country – but who maintains the greenery many Bruins take for granted?","headline":"The labor behind the landscape","author":"Dylan Tzung","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/landscaping/new-1.prime.land.ED.2-bdd45e128a2b14cdeda0ec928d675d84.png","covercred":"Emily Dembinski and Esther Li","coveralt":"Photograph of a shovel through a chain link fence","articleType":"article","updated":null,"content":[{"type":"text","value":"It was the last day of summer break. Hordes of students played Spikeball on the grass, relaxed in hammocks and chatted with friends while enjoying the shade of the trees. I admired the greenery around me as the sun peeked through the leaves overhead – the lush grass, the budding flowers, the immaculately trimmed hedges."},{"type":"text","value":"Yet, in all of my admiration, I failed to consider the work that goes into maintaining one of the most beautiful urban campuses in the country."},{"type":"text","value":"Who cuts the grass around Janss Steps to the perfect length? Who keeps Bruin Walk clear of leaves and trash? Who maintains the flowers blooming in Wilson Plaza?"},{"type":"text","value":"Grounds Supervisor Christopher Woo is one of 77 employees on UCLA’s grounds staff, which includes positions of senior superintendent, supervisor, lead groundskeeper, irrigation tech, groundskeeper and laborer, among others. As part of UCLA Facilities Management, the grounds staff is responsible for keeping the campus free of trash and other debris, monitoring any safety hazards and maintaining the landscape, said Senior Superintendent of Grounds Greg Luna in an emailed statement."},{"type":"text","value":"I spoke to Woo on a warm Tuesday afternoon in late January. Our Zoom call was a brief, 15-minute pause in the middle of Woo’s workday. He seemed busy and eager to get back to his duties, but I wasn’t surprised. I was told from the start that coordinating an interview time with any of the grounds staff would be a challenge because of their heavy workloads."},{"type":"text","value":"On a typical day, Woo checks work orders, talks with the lead groundskeepers and assigns the other groundskeepers to specific areas of campus. He said that his role includes elements of both managing his team and conducting on-site work."},{"type":"text","value":"“Every day, I try to just achieve what we need to achieve around campus and make sure things, the work orders and the workload, are done correctly,” he said."},{"type":"text","value":"Woo said that nature itself often dictates the course of his day. When the wind blows leaves all across campus, the focus of the day shifts to cleaning up. Other days, Woo will get last-minute requests for item pickups and will need to adjust his schedule to accommodate."},{"type":"text","value":"Woo first joined the staff as a laborer, working his way up to his current position over about 4 1/2 years. He said that working as a laborer allowed him to learn the campus before moving into the supervisor position, which requires more knowledge and greater organizational skills."},{"type":"text","value":"As a native Angeleno, Woo grew up mowing lawns in his neighborhood and working digging and planting jobs on his days off school."},{"type":"text","value":"“Working at UCLA is a little bit like the weekend jobs I had growing up, but on a much bigger scale,” Woo said in an emailed statement. “But it is still about working outdoors and getting the job done each day.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Later in life, he found himself working in maintenance at a condominium on Wilshire Boulevard until a friend presented him with the opportunity to move to Australia. In 2015, Woo began working for an arborist there, learning about proper tree caretaking techniques and helping with tree trimming tasks."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"Every day, I try to just achieve what we need to achieve.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Woo said he has always been drawn to garden work, as he enjoys spending time in the sun and the variety each day presents. In pursuit of the same daily pleasures, he applied for a job on the UCLA Landscape and Grounds staff after returning to Los Angeles. During his time as a laborer, he became particularly fond of the Court of Sciences and now presides over South Campus groundskeeping."},{"type":"text","value":"“People who drive around campus or take their classes in North Campus would never know it is there, but it is a special place,” he said of his South Campus domain in the email."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of plants in the Court of Sciences\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/landscaping/new-1.prime.land.EL.5-361db9b756bf1ca49c965484e1cf73c1.png\",\"credit\":\"Esther Li/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Though Woo seemed to be a man of few words, his passion for the work was palpable in his discussion of the day-to-day obstacles and his role in ensuring work runs smoothly."},{"type":"text","value":"“I just enjoy the challenges that come on a daily basis, whether they do come or not,” he said. “(I’ve) always got to be attentive.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Professor emeritus Wayne Dollase became familiar with some of the groundskeepers during his time leading plant tours and compiling a list of all the flora on campus. Much like I noticed in my interview with Woo, the earth, planetary and space sciences professor said that in his conversations with the groundskeepers, he was struck by their dedication to the work. Luna agreed."},{"type":"text","value":"“They take great pride in their work, and it shows,” Luna said. “They all work well with one another in order to accomplish the main goal of keeping the campus grounds safe, clean and inviting for all to enjoy.”"},{"type":"text","value":"But Woo’s job is not always smooth sailing."},{"type":"text","value":"He said that working on a college campus is unique in that there are a lot of people concentrated in a small area throughout all hours of the workday. His staff must be particularly mindful while they are handling tools and driving their trucks across campus in order to avoid accidents."},{"type":"text","value":"Beyond such daily challenges, there are more deeply rooted issues. Before the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Dollase from returning to campus, Dollase heard some common complaints from the grounds staff, he said."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"They take great pride in their work, and it shows.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Overworking was a major concern, Dollase told me, because the groundskeepers were often assigned to areas that were too large for them to properly manage in a shift. Groundskeepers were bothered by working all day in one area and still not completing the necessary tasks, Dollase said."},{"type":"text","value":"“They’re professionals,” he said. “They want to do the best possible job they can.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Chief Sustainability Officer Nurit Katz acknowledged that staffing has been particularly challenging because of the pandemic, but it was also a significant issue in prior years because the state budget has not kept up with the needs of the University of California. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, from 1967 to 2017 the state funding for higher education as a whole declined from 18% of the state budget to 12%."},{"type":"text","value":"Justin Wisor, Director of custodial and grounds, said in an emailed statement that Facilities Management makes sure the UCLA grounds staff is equipped to handle the zones of campus they are asked to take on. He added that Facilities Management has worked to increase the size of its staff to meet the maintenance needs for all existing areas of campus, as well as areas that will be created in the future."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of a Facilities truck\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/landscaping/new-1.prime.land.ED-bed0ab7b1a1787f702182d7c57a18797.png\",\"credit\":\"Emily Dembinski/PRIME art director\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Overworking, however, was not the only problem Dollase noticed. When new buildings are constructed on campus, UCLA groundskeepers are not in charge of the initial planting work. But Dollase said the Grounds Staff sometimes feels like the construction crews have no real investment in the long-term care of the plants, and that there have been times when their planting was conducted haphazardly. Such careless planting frustrates the groundskeepers who are then responsible for taking care of the greenery."},{"type":"text","value":"“(The groundskeepers) say, ‘Look at the kind of planting that was done here. They really don’t care. They just simply want to put the plant in the ground and then go off,’” Dollase said, recalling the ground staff’s complaints."},{"type":"text","value":"In recent years, communication between the grounds staff and Capital Programs, the department in charge of new building construction, has increased greatly, Katz said. Wisor added that the grounds staff now work with Capital Programs to pick plant palettes that both fit aesthetically on campus and are compatible with the skills of the groundskeepers and native environmental conditions."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"They want to do the best possible job they can.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Although Woo did not present specific complaints about his job, I have to assume that the presence of Director of Media Relations Bill Kisliuk had some influence on Woo’s responses."},{"type":"text","value":"Prior to the interview, Kisliuk requested that I avoid asking Woo about the concerns raised by Dollase. He wanted the direction of the interview to be more focused on Woo himself, and not about the underappreciation landscapers face – something frequently mentioned by Dollase."},{"type":"text","value":"According to Dollase, passersby on campus rarely admire the work of the grounds staff to the degree they should."},{"type":"text","value":"“The great majority (of people) just simply walk by and don’t really even look at what’s there,” Dollase said."},{"type":"text","value":"Unfortunately, I am no exception. I felt a pang of guilt as Dollase explained that he was one of the only people who showed obvious appreciation for and interest in the work of the groundskeepers."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of plants in the Court of Sciences\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/landscaping/new-1.prime.land.EL.7-48db0a15cfb8f7c91dc42dc99fa98a6e.png\",\"credit\":\"Esther Li/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"When I asked Woo about his thoughts on the lack of appreciation, he declined to answer and passed the question to his superiors."},{"type":"text","value":"But according to Wisor, Facilities Management uses awards, celebrations and appreciation days to show their gratitude for the grounds staff."},{"type":"text","value":"“It would go a long way if anyone is on campus and sees one of our team members out trimming or raking to stop by and say, ‘Thank you for everything you do,’” he said. “I can tell you, it’s those small moments that make our team members’ days.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Dollase echoed this sentiment. Students may not have the time to appreciate the hard work that goes into maintaining campus, he said, as they rush around to the next class or activity. But he added that the groundskeepers are always grateful when people show interest in their endeavors."},{"type":"text","value":"Based on the number of students who flock to outdoor study spaces anytime the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, it would be unfounded to say the student body lacks appreciation for UCLA’s beautiful campus. But the problem lies in how this beauty is viewed – as an inherent quality of the grounds rather than something that requires extensive time and effort to maintain."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I can tell you, it’s those small moments that make our team members’ days.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"However, there are ways to encourage student engagement with campus greenery and landscaping. Victoria Sork, the Director of the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden and a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, would know – she taught a Fiat Lux class designed to do just that."},{"type":"text","value":"In Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 19: “History of UCLA Through Eyes of Trees,” Sork took her students to different parts of campus to discuss the history of the landscaping and to highlight connections to the existing ecosystem."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of purple flowers in front of buildings on campus\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/landscaping/new-1.prime.land.EL.3-a8f9e49e7e7d6211fae5d663f338e572.png\",\"credit\":\"Esther Li/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Mirroring Dollase’s view, Sork added that while most people spend their time on campus hustling from place to place, teaching this class has encouraged her to pause and appreciate the campus greenery. She now finds it impossible to walk around campus without thinking about the plants and appreciating the landscaping work. Her students had a similar experience, she said."},{"type":"text","value":"“It just completely changed how they thought of the campus because we spent the whole time talking about the campus and its plants, and how the type of landscaping that was done changed over time,” she said."},{"type":"text","value":"By speaking with Woo, I’ve been given a similar opportunity. After learning about the work that goes into the campus landscaping and groundskeeping, I have begun to look at the beauty around me with a fresh perspective."},{"type":"text","value":"I no longer see just a beautiful bed of flowers or a pristine courtyard surrounded by trees. Rather, I see the hours of work that go into pruning those flowers and the labor of Woo and his staff present in every corner of campus."}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"winter22","slug":"landscaping"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}