Sustainable Turf Management

Abstract

This project was completed as part of a year-long partnership between the City of Rosemount and the University of Minnesota’s Resilient Communities Project (http://www.rcp.umn.edu). The City of Rosemount is home to more than 30 parks, yet has only four staff working to maintain them. With limited time and expertise to determine and respond to the unique needs of each park and recreation facility in the city, the Public Works Department had mostly standardized their maintenance techniques. The goal of this project was to identify more effective and efficient long-term maintenance techniques for parks within the City of Rosemount in order to better preserve its natural public spaces and promote active living as the population grows. In collaboration with Jim Koslowski, Public Works Supervisor for the City of Rosemount, and Tom Schuster, Parks Supervisor for the City of Rosemount, four teams of students in HORT 4061: Turfgrass Management analyzed the soil, plant species, and drainage patterns at four different parks—the Dakota County Technical College Ames Soccer Complex, Brockway Disc Golf Course, Innisfree Park, and Meadows Park—and provided recommendations for how best to restore and maintain turf at these facilities. A combined final report from the project including links to brief YouTube videos on each of the parks is available.