Grounds and Gardens – An essential service

While many of us continue to work from home there remains a core of essential workers who are maintaining campus for when we return, including the Grounds and Gardens team.

Campus gardeners

The campus based team have been busy ensuring the external estate does not become overgrown and unmanaged during lockdown.  The work has included mowing the lawns, weed control, watering of the new planting that was undertaken by the team prior to lockdown.

Moving forward the Grounds and Gardens team will shortly be removing the annual bedding, unfortunately due to supply issues we will not be able to plant up the Baines Wing this summer, but the team have already placed the order for autumn delivery with Leeds City Councils Nursery at the Arium.

Sports Park Weetwood

The team at Weetwood have completed the essential annual pitch renovation programme.  In normal circumstances this work usually commences in early April with the final pitch usually renovated in late June.  This year the team have successfully procured grass seed that is 100% UK grown from farms in Hampshire & Suffolk.  The team have been able to make the most of the natural rainfall available and good growing conditions.

Handy gang

The Estates handy gang team have been busy since lockdown providing support to the NHS. This has included the delivery of beds and furniture items to LGI and St James University Hospital from a storage facility on campus.

The team worked successfully with colleagues in Health & Safety, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Institute for Cardiovascular And Metabolic Medicine to ensure the safe delivery of a Cat 2 hood from the Light Building to the Old Medical School to facilitate Covid-19 research.

During all times staff have been following social distancing guidelines where work has involved staff members working together.

A big thank you goes to the team for all their hard work during this uncertain time.