Our Grounds
The Grounds department is responsible for the growth and maintenance of MRU’s external landscape which includes: shrubs, trees, annuals / perennials, pest control, and lawn maintenance. Grounds also maintains and repairs all sidewalks, parking lots and roadways ensuring all snow is removed from hard surfaces. The Grounds department consists of 4 sub-teams, including Irrigation, Turf, General Horticulture and Maintenance. Irrigation is in charge of all of the irrigation on campus, while turf is responsible for mowing, fertilizing, aeration and pesticide spraying. General Horticulture oversees the annual care of plants, bed maintenance, mulching of beds and water management. Maintenance manages the sidewalk repairs, curb refurbishments, parking lot/roadway sign replacements and repairs, snow and graffiti/sticker removal and mowing.
Grounds in the summer
Spring Cleaning consists of gravel removal from roadways and parking lots, and bringing in the sand/salt boxes and snow fence. At this time the Grounds team will start the annuals in the greenhouse in the planter boxes and pruning the shrubs and trees that are chipped and used as mulch in our less visible beds.
Landscaping includes mowing, tree trimming, planting, weed control, irrigation, pest control, landscape construction and maintenance. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are considered to be our maintenance days, but mowing occurs 3 times per week. The Grounds department has added an autonomous mower to field 2 and will continue to utilize the reel mower to cut field #1 for game days. The turf is maintained to 3 inches.
Since last Fall, the department has been working with contractors on a five-year pruning plan for high level trimming. The Grounds team is budgeting $5,000 a year to plant new trees on the property and has developed a three-year IPM program to deal with weeds. There is an irrigation master plan progressing to reduce water usage by applying the right amount of water based on weather and soil conditions. New cloud base controllers are being installed with master valves and flow sensing this year. In regards to pest control, the department monitors and responds to gophers, pigeons, mice, insects, etc. complaints.
Find out information about our community garden here: https://samru.ca/garden/
Grounds in the winter
Visit our Snow removal and winter conditions page to learn about Mount Royal's snow removal program.
If you see an area on campus that requires attention, please report it to the Facilities Management by calling the Customer Care Centre at 403-440-6417. Representatives are available 24/7. If you or someone else slips & falls, report the incident to Security Services at 403.440.5900 or via the MRU Now app. In the case of an emergency, call 911. Employees, please notify your manager and file an incident report in Intelex. Visit mru.ca/ehs for more details.