Visitors to Michigan State University’s campus might soon notice landscaping crews using quieter and more environmentally-friendly equipment.
MSU’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities Landscape Services are working towards turning areas of campus into “green zones.”
They are places where routine ground maintenance operations are completed with low-noise and zero emission equipment like battery operated string trimmers.
Operations Supervisor Josh Ridner says Brody Square is one of the places where autonomous lawn mower robots will be used.
“And then that area is supported with the hand tools to do the edging, and the [weed] whipping, and the trimming along those areas, those are going to be battery operated too.”
The transition provides comfort from a worker’s safety standpoint, there’s no emission or toxins that are produced and less chance for workplace injuries due to less extensive power equipment.
Ridner says, “It’s like a pledge almost, it says if we’re calling this a green zone we are going to do all of our routine maintenance with these pieces of equipment.”
Other locations on MSU’s campus include:
- Demonstration Hall
- The Spartan “Sparty” Statue
- 1855 Place
- W.J. Beal Botanical Garden
The areas on MSU’s campus will become some of the first in the state to be certified by the American Green Zone Alliance.
McKoy's story is brought to you as a partnership between WKAR and Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.