Groundskeeping
Encyclopedia
A groundskeeper is a person who maintains landscaping, gardens or sporting venues (and their vegetation where appropriate) for appearance and functionality. In British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
the word groundsman (occasionally groundswoman if appropriate) or park keeper is used much more commonly.
In Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, the word curator is often used for a person undertaking this job, especially those involving cricket pitches
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
. At university campuses, groundskeepers are often called horticulturists. The equivalent on a golf course is a greenskeeper
Greenskeeper
- Basic work description and duties :A professional who maintains a golf course or country club's grounds. This includes all cultural practices along with setting of pins and marking of hazards for regular club play along with tournament play. Greenskeepers work under the direction of the Golf...
.
Groundskeepers
A groundskeeper's job requires a wide range of knowledge of horticulture, pest control, and weed abatement. As many institutions (especially schools) are moving away from the use of chemical pesticides and toward integrated pest managementIntegrated Pest Management
Integrated pest management is an ecological approach to agricultural pest control that integrates pesticides/herbicides into a management system incorporating a range of practices for economic control of a pest...
the experience, knowledge and scholastic requirements of top groundskeepers are increasing. While groundskeepers usually follow a site plan created by a landscape architect
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
, there can be many opportunities for creativity in detailed design and presentation.
Groundskeeping equipment
Groundskeeping equipment comprise implementTool
A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
s and vehicle
Vehicle
A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....
s used in groundskeeping, including:
- mowerMowerA mower is a machine for cutting grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g...
s - lawn mowerLawn mowerA lawn mower is a machine that uses a revolving blade or blades to cut a lawn at an even length.Lawn mowers employing a blade that rotates about a vertical axis are known as rotary mowers, while those employing a blade assembly that rotates about a horizontal axis are known as cylinder or reel...
s - tractorTractorA tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s - string trimmerString trimmerA string trimmer, also known as a strimmer, line trimmer, weed whacker, weed whip, weed eater, weedy, or whipper snipper, is a powered handheld device that uses a flexible monofilament line instead of a blade for cutting grass and other plants near objects...
s - snow blowerSnow blowerA snow blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is not wanted, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, rink, runway, or houses...
s - snow plows
- edgerEdgerAn edger is a garden tool used to cleanly separate a lawn from a walkway or other paved surface, such as a concrete sidewalk or asphalt path. Edgers may be manual or automated, typically employing a small two-stroke gasoline motor or an electric motor...
s - rotary brusheString trimmerA string trimmer, also known as a strimmer, line trimmer, weed whacker, weed whip, weed eater, weedy, or whipper snipper, is a powered handheld device that uses a flexible monofilament line instead of a blade for cutting grass and other plants near objects...
s - rakeRake (tool)A rake is a broom for outside; an horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from...
s - Leaf blowerLeaf blowerA leaf blower is a gardening tool that propels air out of a nozzle to move yard debris such as leaves. Leaf blowers are usually powered by two-stroke engine or an electric motor, but four-stroke engines were recently introduced to partially address air pollution concerns. Leaf blowers are...
- shovelShovelA shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
s - trowelTrowelA trowel is one of several similar hand tools used for digging, smoothing, or otherwise moving around small amounts of viscous or particulate material.-Hand tools:...
s - sprinklerIrrigation sprinklerIrrigation sprinklers are sprinklers used on farms, golf courses, and yards, to provide water to vegetation and plants in the event of drought. They may also be used for recreation, as a cooling system, or to keep down the amount of airborne dust....
s - garden toolGarden toolA garden tool is any one of many tools made for gardens and gardening and overlaps with the range of tools made for agriculture and horticulture...
s - Watering canWatering canA watering can is a portable container, usually with a handle and a spout, used to water plants by hand. It has existed since at least the 17th century and has since been improved. It is used for many other uses too, as it is a fairly versatile tool....
or truck mounted watering system (polyethylene tank and hoses)
Environmental impact
Pollution from gas-powered groundskeeping equipment is a significant source of air pollution. US emission standardUS emission standard
In the United States, emissions standards are managed on a national level by the Environmental Protection Agency . State and local governments play a subsidiary role.- Motor vehicles :...
s specifically limit emissions from small engines. Electric models produce no emissions at the point of use, but may shift pollution to power plants. Emissions may still be reduced by the use of renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
in grid generation, or because central power plants generally must have stricter emissions control equipment installed.
In fiction
Groundskeepers have appeared occasionally as minor characters in fiction and moving images. They are usually presented as comic or peculiar characters, often exhibiting a compulsive or obsessive personality defect.Some examples of fictional groundskeepers include:
- Groundskeeper WillieGroundskeeper WillieWilliam McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
is a gruff speaking Scot in the television animated series The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. - Ben Weatherstaff in the The Secret GardenThe Secret GardenThe Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's...
, is the only adult in the story to have some idea of the children's doings. - Carl Spackler is an assistant groundskeeper played by actor Bill MurrayBill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
in the movie CaddyshackCaddyshackCaddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
, who obsessively pursues the destruction of a gopherGopher (animal)The term gopher as it is commonly used does not relate to any one species, but is a generic term used to describe any of several small burrowing rodents endemic to North America, including the pocket gopher , also called true gophers, and the ground squirrel , including Richardson's ground squirrel...
on the golf courseGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
that he maintains. - Boothby is the longtime Starfleet AcademyStarfleet AcademyIn the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future's recruits to Starfleet will be trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded...
groundskeeper and grandfatherly figure to many cadets in the Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
series The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, and VoyagerStar Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
. - Chauncey Gardiner, played by Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
in Being ThereBeing ThereBeing There is a 1979 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby. Adapted from the 1971 novella written by Jerzy Kosinski, the screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A...
. In this case the character is central to the plot. Although of limited intelligence (from our viewpoint) he uniquely mirrors all who interact with him and so becomes a popular persona, even to the point of being suggested by others as a possible United States presidential candidate. - Rubeus HagridRubeus HagridRubeus Hagrid is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. Hagrid is introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a half-giant who is the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts, the primary setting for the first six novels...
is the half-Giant groundskeeper at Hogwarts in the Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
book series.
See also
- Organic horticultureOrganic horticultureOrganic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants by following the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil building and conservation, pest management, and heirloom variety preservation....
- List of organic gardening and farming topics
- American gardeners
- Professional Grounds Management SocietyProfessional Grounds Management SocietyThe Professional Grounds Management Society is an individual membership society of grounds professionals advancing the grounds management profession through education and professional development in the United States....