THE RELOCATION OF SOME BOULDERS & PLANT MATERIALS PRIOR TO A CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS:
Instead of performing my normal morning inspection, I headed over to Research One, to remove part of a boulder outcropping landscape, and decide what to do with the removed material. On my way over to the site, I recalled seeing a group of boulders in the construction site for the Roberts Road expansion project.
I flagged down the tractor loader, and large stake body truck, to collect the stones and have them dumped at the storage yard. We now have a new stockpile of boulders, to use as time and each particular landscaping situation demands, something I would need later that day.
By 7:00 am, at Research One, I inspected the portion of the landscape that had to be removed, so the contractor installing new ADA compliant walkway and landing, could continue his work unimpeded: the first conifer, two boulders and a group of shrubs.
I decided to use my foreman suggestion, and move the boulders and material to the other side of the existing patio. The tractor backhoe dumped two small boulders, I would use them later, and began to remove a row of shrubs where the boulders were gong to be relocated, but decied to changed the plan, and had just the three shrubs closest to the street removed. The tractor reset up and began to remove the shrubs and perennials from the other side of the patio. Next the tractor worked the first boulder loose, carefully maneuvered around on the small patio scooped the boulder into in the bucket, and backed up to the new location and set the boulder.
Meanwhile, I removed the remaining daylilies so the tractor could repeat the operation with the second boulder. This time, the tractor had an easier time
moving the boulder across the patio, placing it up the slope, and setting up to maneuver the boulder into a more stable position. The tractor made a few fine adjustments, to get the boulders to touch, which makes them both more stable (they can only move as a unit, not individually) and scraping soil behind the boulders to begin backfilling.
After some sedulous inspection, I sent the tractor back to the yard to collect the largest of the new boulders set it into place next to thee other two, collect a load of topsoil, and dump the soil as additional backfill. With the last large boulder set, and topsoil in place, I rolled one of the small boulders the tractor had dumped when it first arrived on site down the hill and set the stone in place, in the gap between the first two boulders. With that boulder in place we began to replant some of the shrubs. The tractor set-up to push the first group of shrubs, removed earlier to make space for the boulders, down the hill to form a larger hedge against the building.
I had my foreman mark the new location for the conifer, and discussed how I envisioned the other shrubs to be replanted, and left to complete some administrative tasks. Later, I met Steve back on site to inspect the relocated boulders, conifer and other shrubs, and to make sure the old portion of the original bed had been cleared of material for the contractor’s sidewalk installation. Before leaving to resume work on a project at West Campus,
The tractor delivered the last of the topsoil stored in the yard for additional backfill behind the conifer, and scraped another bucket load of soil from the old site. Today we will water all the transplanted material, and tomorrow we will clean-up and mulch the new boulder outcropping landscape. The remaining shrubs we removed will be transplanted adjacent to the building entrance.
After completing some administrative duties, a last inspection shows three remaining shrubs we will relocate along the building, adjacent to the entrance, to change the shape of that bed to make mowing easier and eliminate some trimming, the boulders and other plant material relocated, and the construction site is clear for the installation of the new walkways and landing.
Archie T. Nesbitt
Grounds Shop Superviso
Facilities Management-1E4
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030 |
