Utah State Shows Its Inner And Outer Beauty

Utah State University was named the first-ever champion in the university category of the America in Bloom competition Oct. 9 for its overall appearance and environmental efforts.

America in Bloom is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to promoting beautification programs nationwide, as well as personal and community involvement in these efforts through the use of flowers, landscapes, trees and other environmental and lifestyle enhancements.

This is the first year universities have been included in the competition, which is based on the physical beauty of the campus, as well as its involvement in the environment.

In July, two judges from America in Bloom toured Utah State to evaluate the campus in eight areas — (1) tidiness effort, (2) environmental effort, (3) community involvement, (4) heritage, (5) urban forestry, (6) landscape areas, (7) floral displays and (8) turf and ground cover areas.

Utah State was named the winner and was given special mention and commendation for its stewardship of the environment. America in Bloom said Utah State demonstrates a responsible approach toward minimizing impact on the natural environment, and the new heating plant and infrastructure have impacted not only the university community, but also the greater Logan region.

According to Darrell Hart, assistant vice president for Utah State Facilities, the new Central Energy Plant (CEP), which replaced the former coal-burning plant, uses natural gas, reducing air pollution by eight fold. Associated with the new plant, the emissions from trucks hauling coal and ash were also eliminated.

The America in Bloom evaluation pointed out that the university has also positively impacted the environment by its reduce-reuse-recycle program, the use of natural gas for the internal bus shuttle system, and the university’s use of cutting-edge technology for the monitoring and application of water to its greenscapes.

Utah State has converted its manual irrigation system to a computer-managed system over the past several years, said Hart. Other improvements have also been made and are currently being made to create more efficient water systems.

The judges also congratulated Utah State for maintaining elements of the past, such as Old Main, the alumni house, the Quad and others. They said Utah State is fortunate to have a dedicated facilities staff that cares about the trees and canopy of the campus as well as the beauty and detail of the floral displays.

Utah State’s efforts in the program were coordinated by Ellen Newell, the university’s former landscape manager. Hart said the award is due to the combined efforts of so many individuals who work together to keep the campus looking beautiful.

Those involved in the process include the Utah State Facilities Division, especially Landscape Operations and Area Maintenance (LOAM), who busily prepared for the judges' visit and constantly care for and maintain the campus environment.

President Hall Kermit L. Hall said he has great appreciation for those who work to create and maintain the physical environment that greets students, staff, faculty and guests every day at Utah State.

"Among the places I've work, including Ohio, North Carolina and Florida, this is the best groomed and maintained campus," President Hall said. "It is a great pleasure to see the care, expertise and skill that is exercised here on campus. Our people do a great job."

Newell said Utah State has shown that environmental awareness is one of its strong points, particularly by its efforts with the shuttle bus system and the new heating plant.

America in Bloom thanked Utah State for participating and included in its evaluation suggestions and constructive comments on how the university can improve and maintain its environmental efforts. For more information on America in Bloom visit its Web site. http://www.americainbloom.org.

Writer: Tracey Fox, (435) 797-5506, tracey.fox@usu.edu

Contact: Darrell Hart, (435) 797-1952, darrell.hart@usu.edu