Inside TCU's landscaping and grounds

By simply taking a stroll through the TCU campus, visitors will notice the vibrant grounds right away. The TCU landscape and grounds crew is focused on maintaining all outdoor campus areas with an extreme level of thoroughness, from the purple tulips in front of the Mary Couts Burnett Library to the nationally recognized urban forest across campus.
Students may be accustomed to seeing the grounds crew around campus. The sounds of lawnmowers outside their dorm or the white carts full of lawn care equipment that drive alongside students on their walk to class are everyday sights and sounds.
And yet, without knowing the full scope of the grounds crew's duties, students might not realize that the crew's responsibilities extend across 300 acres, including the athletic fields.
Nationally Recognized
The Arbor Day Foundation named TCU a "Tree Campus Higher Education Institution" for the eighth consecutive year. The award recognizes the university’s commitment to care for the campus’ trees... and TCU is proud of its trees.
During Family Weekend, TCU offers a self-guided audio tour to feature their over 3,200 trees on campus.
“The guys that make up the grounds team are hard-working, dedicated landscaping professionals who take a ton of pride in providing this beautiful environment for the campus community to enjoy,” Erik Trevino, director of landscaping and grounds, said.
TCU's crew earned the Grand Award from the Professional Ground Management Society. TCU ranked at the top of the mid-size division, which includes campuses between 200 and 500 acres.
The Princeton Review ranked TCU as No. 16 in the country in its "Most Beautiful Campus" ranking.
Trevino described the long process of being considered for awards.
“Each award includes a unique submission process that requires pictures and information including but not limited to budget, staffing, fertilizer/plant health care plans and schedules, challenges, safety and sustainability,” Trevino said. “An award submission takes many hours to complete and often requires years of reliable data collection on practices and procedures.”
Sidewalk off of Stadium Drive near King Family Commons
Sidewalk off of Stadium Drive near King Family Commons
Two trees in front of the Mary Wight Admission Center.
Two trees in front of the Mary Wight Admission Center.
Flower Garden at Ray Gates on West Berry Street
Flower Garden at Ray Gates on West Berry Street
TCU's Pollinator Garden located in Tom Brown/Pete Wright Community
TCU's Pollinator Garden located in Tom Brown/Pete Wright Community
Game day ready
TCU’s dedication to the campus foliage stretches beyond the flower beds and the trees. With the 18 acres of grass athletic fields that need precise water, sunlight, mowing and fertilizer, the entire operation needs advanced planning.
Walking into Sports Field Manager Andrew Siegel’s office, the planning is quite literally written on the wall. His office is adorned with giant monthly calendars detailing everything from mowing the fields to painting the logos.
“A lot of data goes into what we do,” Siegel said. “It’s not just as simple as mowing the fields.”
He said other duties include filling the dirt with moisture, making everything level and organically fertilizing. He jokingly referred to himself as a “grass nerd."
“The number one goal for the fields is safety for the athletes,” Siegel said, talking about the university’s commitment to grass fields. “Athletes notice the benefits of a grass field on their body."
The nonstop planning paid off for Siegel and his team, as they won two Field of the Year awards from the Sports Turf Managers Association in 2021. His team received awards for both the W.A. "Monty and Tex" Moncrief Field, used for football, and the Garvey-Rosenthal soccer field.
TCU's nationally acclaimed landscaping work show no signs of slowing down, as Siegel's and Trevino's teams continue to beautify and care for the campus' flora.


