With matching blue t-shirts and green thumbs, 421 faculty, staff, student, and alumni volunteers fanned out across campus, April 9–10, for AU’s 31st annual Campus Beautification Day.

“The beauty of campus to me is part of our mission,” President Sylvia Burwell said after her final Campus Beautification Day as AU’s 15th president. “Today is always that example of community and mission coming together. Our campus is such a beautiful place because of the [facilities] team, but also because of the community and the pride we take in it.”

During the event, AU—a certified and award-winning 84-acre arboretum—received the Tree Campus USA designation for the 14th year. The festivities also included a raffle and lunch for all those who got their hands dirty.

Here are some snapshots from two days of hard work and spring cleaning.

Mountains of Mulch

One scoop at a time, Tiffany Trang, a utilities outreach program leader for Facilities Management, helped AU spread 6,500 cubic feet of mulch across campus.

“I want to make this campus beautiful,” she said, while tending to flowerbeds outside SOC’s McKinley Building. “I’m in the office all day, so getting to help the grounds guys is great.”

Part of the beauty of Campus Beautification is that it gives the campus community a greater appreciation for AU’s groundskeeping staff. “It gives them a sense of the work we are doing all the time,” landscaper Robert Sam said while watering a cluster of freshly planted butterfly bushes.

Vincent Harkins, assistant vice president of Facilities Management, said it takes about nine months to prepare for Campus Beautification Day. Sam, who has worked at AU since 1997, said the chance to work hand-in-hand with colleagues and students makes Campus Beautification a highlight of every year.

Planting in the Amphitheater

Over two days, the AU community planted more than 5,000 shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers, and 12 trees across campus. Grabbing a shovel and work gloves, Burwell contributed to that total by planting sumac at the edge of Woods-Brown Amphitheater.

She worked alongside a crew of mostly students, including Zoe Moga, CAS/BA ’26, and Lani Khuu, SPA/BA ’26, members of Alpha Phi Omega, AU’s chapter of the national gender-inclusive service fraternity.

Moga and Khuu decided to roll up their sleeves on April 10 because they don’t take campus for granted. Both appreciated a chance to brighten a spot where they often study, socialize, or stroll through on the way to class.

“I spend a lot of time out here,” Khuu said. “My friends and I like to hang a hammock in between these trees.”

Auditing Campus Waste

Outside of Mary Graydon Center, the Office of Sustainability audited 66 pounds of waste—one day’s worth—from the McKinley Building as part of ongoing efforts to divert as much campus waste as possible from landfills.

“Auditing waste in general is always important,” Caroline Boone, zero waste manager, said. “On Campus Beautification Day, you want campus to be as nice as possible. Sustainability is a big part of that—and making sure we are sorting our waste as well as possible.”

The audit revealed that 55 percent of trash was tossed in the wrong bin: 21 percent was recyclable and 34 percent was compostable. Fifty-two percent of waste in the recycling bins was properly sorted, while 27 percent was trash and 21 percent belonged in compost bins.

The dirty work improved the diversion rate from 37 to 64 percent.

Sprucing up Speech Plaza

Member of the women’s soccer team were among more than 100 AU student-athletes who volunteered, planting coronation gold yarrow at John F. Kennedy Speech Plaza.  

The plot where they worked is the site where Kennedy delivered his landmark “A Strategy of Peace” commencement address on June 10, 1963. It’s also a special location for the program, as it overlooks the team’s home field at Reeves Athletic Complex.

“It’s really important for our field to be our sanctuary,” said outside back/winger Phoebe Merrigan, Kogod/BA ’26. “We spend pretty much every single day here, and it’s really great to have it look really nice.”

On a typical Wednesday morning, the squad gathers for “life school,” a time when two to three players share a life skill with their teammates.

“That’s the ‘life school’ of today—how to plant some flowers and work together as a team,” Merrigan said.