Landscape Services is a unit of WMU's Facilities Management division. We are responsible for the development, care and maintanance of the external, non-utility facilities of the University.

Check out our newly developed interactive mapping service for our landscape trees on campus.

Landscape Services Supervisors and Buster Bronco at our annual Arbor Day Celebration

 

Mission Statement

The Landscape Services division members are dedicated to providing excellent service to support University events and activities. We believe that the campus grounds should reflect the quality of life, educational, and research missions of the University.

Our mission is to enhance the educational, extracurricular, and working atmosphere by providing a safe, clean, and aesthetically pleasing exterior environment for the Western Michigan University community. All of this is provided with an emphasis on responsible environmental and fiscal stewardship.

 

Guided Vision

We believe that a Landscape is a means of Communication. Our Environment can affect us far more than we are aware. We look at the “features” of our campus as destinations or places for those looking for cultural exposure, interconnection, security, belonging, and sense of self identity.

We believe that placemaking is an art and science to develop spaces that stimulate or fulfill these needs. In this we look to our campus as having unique spaces remaining diverse yet interconnected with the “Sense of Place” that is Western Michigan University. Our hope is that the WMU community will take this vision with them.

 

Fast Facts

Campus Tree History (1991 to present)

• 954 trees planted
• 269 trees transplanted from construction sites to other areas on campus
• 471 trees taken down due to storm damage, safety hazards, or were too large to successfully transplant

Main Campus: 745 acres

• 197 acres of mowable lawns
• 38,000 square feet of perennial beds
• 5,000 square feet of annual flower beds
• 190 flower planters (for annuals)
• 27 lane miles of roads
• 120+ acres of parking lots
• 39 miles of sidewalks
• 200,000 square feet of steps, ramps, and entry surfaces
• 6,500 landscape trees measured and inventoried in a computer mapping software
• 84 acres of turf is under automatic irrigation
• 253 benches
• 137 bike racks
• 146 picnic/carousel tables with 53 umbrellas

Natural Areas and Preserves: 568 acres

• 274 acres of natural areas at Asylum Lake Preserve
• 50 acres of natural areas at Kleinstuck Preserve
• 113+ acres of natural areas at Parkview Campus
• 131 acres of tree canopy on Main Campus