\nOXFORD, Miss. – Scores of journalists from around the world began their
\nreports on last week’s presidential debate by mentioning the natural
\nbeauty of the University of Mississippi campus.\n<\/p>\n
\nThat beauty has been officially lauded. The Mississippi Urban Forest
\nCouncil has honored Ole Miss with its annual Scenic Communities of
\nMississippi award, which recognizes the university’s commitment to a
\nrange of activities to protect the environment, as well as planting and
\nmaintaining trees on its 1,000-acre campus.\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nDonna Yowell, executive director of the Mississippi Urban Forest
\nCouncil, presented the award Wednesday morning to UM Landscape Services
\nDirector Jeff McManus and Chancellor Robert Khayat in a ceremony on the
\nQuad near Paris-Yates Chapel. The ceremony was followed by a reception
\nfor dozens of landscape services employees.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0“I think it is a great honor for the Ole Miss family and
\nlandscaping team,” McManus said. “It is great recognition for the
\ncampus, and it shows our commitment to the continued enhancement of our
\nfacilities and grounds.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Oxford campus is home to some of the state’s largest and oldest
\ntrees, including a Northern catalpa with a circumference of nearly 21
\nfeet, and Mississippi’s largest Osage orange tree.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0“This past year alone, another 754 trees were planted, pushing the
\nuniversity’s inventory to well over 6,000 trees,” McManus said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0“Ole Miss works hard to maintain their tree growth, and they have a
\ngreat track record of maintenance of trees as well as the planting of
\nnew trees,” Yowell said. One thing that distinguished the university
\nfrom other applicants for the award is the care given to the towering
\noaks and other trees in the Grove, she said.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe shade provided by trees is a major part of the campus’ atmosphere,
\nshe said. “Can you imagine walking around this campus without the
\nshade?”\n<\/p>\n
\nOther factors that were considered include efforts to combat litter on
\ncampus, protect water quality and control storm runoff, Yowell said.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe award has been more than a decade in the making, Khayat said,
\nnoting that maintaining the campus’ beauty has been a priority under
\nhis leadership since 1995.\n<\/p>\n
\n“This is a huge compliment to the people here on our landscape team and
\nto Jeff McManus and his leadership team,” Khayat said. “The first thing
\npeople see when they come here is a manicured, loved, embraced
\nlandscape.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Landscape Services Department has received other awards in recent
\nyears, including the 2002 Grand Award from the Professional Grounds
\nManagement Society for having the nation’s best-maintained campus.\n<\/p>\n
\nMany hours are spent mowing, weeding, planting, distributing pine straw
\nand spraying to keep the campus looking healthy and polished.\n<\/p>\n
\n“No matter where you drive up on a college campus, you only get one
\nshot at a first impression,” McManus said. “We want our campus to make
\na statement: ‘You are at Ole Miss.'”\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0For more information on the Landscaping Services Department, go http:\/\/www.olemiss.edu\/depts\/ \n(kathleen williams and mitchell diggs)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"