Ohio Northern University has received an Honor Award in the University and College Grounds category of the 2013 Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) Green Star Awards program.

ONU will be recognized during the 2013 School of Grounds Management and GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Ky., from Oct. 23-26, 2013.

This program recognizes the grounds manager and staff responsible for maintaining a well-manicured landscape year round. Grand, Honor and Merit Awards are offered in 15 categories, covering all types of private, public commercial and industrial landscapes.

To qualify for entry, a landscape must be at least two years old and under continuous maintenance for at least two years.

Marc Staley, ONU’s director of facilities, said, “We are very honored to receive this award, which recognizes the hard work and dedication our grounds crew puts in every day to maintain the beauty and safety of the campus. This award reinforces the commitment made by the staff in the upkeep of the University.”

The ONU grounds crew, comprised of 17 full-time staff and one part-time member, is responsible for 325 acres with 9,000 square feet of shrubbery beds and 3,000 square feet of display area (flower beds), 3.7 miles of roads and 29 acres of parking lots.

The challenges ONU faces each year are the constant trimming of bushes, edging of trees and shrub beds, landscape around buildings, snow removal, and tree management.

PGMS was established in 1911 as a professional society for the individual with the purpose of education and professional advancement. The majority of PGMS members are institutional grounds managers who work for organizations such as colleges and universities, municipalities, park and recreation facilities, office parks, apartment complexes, hotels/motels, cemeteries, theme parks, and landscape management companies.