We work as a team and the whole grounds crew works very hard. She points to clearing out the ivy is one example of effective team work. The backhoe operators and most of the crew helped on this project, and after one year, the ivy is almost gone. I can't imagine how long it would have taken if I had had to do it myself. Spexarth also has relied on several other specialty grounds teams, such as the mower crew, irrigation crew, nursery workers, truckers, arborists and the equipment repair crew.
Gardeners also team up during major projects.
A work party that renovated a lawn and laurel hedge behind Hutchinson turned an area that was used only by the homeless as a campsite into one of the most popular new reception and barbeque spaces on campus. The grounds, even at the President's residence, are designed and cared for with the University's missions of teaching, research and community service in mind. The residence actually is a community place. But it is also a family residence, and the tastes of the family give it seasoning. Mrs. Suzanne Lebsock, wife of UW President Richard McCormick, has been very supportive of the gardeners' ideas and the garden's needs while the McCormick-Lebsock children have shown a growing interest in the vegetables.