Clay’s Green Corner

Greetings global goombahs! The Green Corner looks around and sees green grass (well, Western New York ‘green’), black asphalt, gray concrete and wonders what happened to the snow. Folks who love the snow, and there are plenty here who adore it are disappointed because our incredibly low snow total puts a damper on outdoor activities. It’s just not the ski resorts that are hurting. They may make snow, but when the weather is mild, ski bums don’t become ski bums. Cross-country skiers along with people who slap on snowshoes or hop on a snowmobile find themselves heading to the golf course????? In an economy that is slow to recover, we need snow for the sake of our local businesses. We’ve had 25″ of snow. This season. For THIS entire season: 25 inches. We average close to 65″ by now and last year we were topping 93″.

While snow-lovers are disappointed, the terrific grounds crew at the University of Rochester, under the direction of Dan Schied, do not waste a moment preparing for the elements, getting ready for the spring, and cleaning up all types of debris. And the crew operates in a sustainable manner, also. Grounds recently purchased a new woodchipper. You may not think an urban campus such as UR would need a chipper. Well, when you have an award winning campus like ours, all types of equipment are essential to maintaining our beautiful landscape. Instead of hauling debris from fallen trees, branches and leaves to a landfill, our crew chips on site as they are clearing and put it right back into the environment. These organics help our plant life and also supports local wildlife habitats (and you thought the only ‘wildlife’ was in the dorms).

 It’s win-win and allows the Green Corner to quote a line from a favorite movie, Fargo (1996). The ever so dedicated police chief, Marge Gunderson solves a kidnapping and some murders and happens upon one suspect trying to make his escape after “removing” his partner- in- crime in a most grisly manner. Marge, ever-so-midwestern-polite,says:  “….And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper.”

So, no snow, but plenty to do, even if it’s cleaning up the yard, catching up on some favorite movies, or thinking outside the chipper.