The quality of Oxford’s quads and lawns could be severely affected this term as college gardeners are faced with a hosepipe ban.
The ban was brought in on 5th April in order to combat the drought currently plaguing much of England, which over the past few days has spread beyond the Southeast of the country to affect as many as twenty million people. The Environment Agency has warned that restrictions may last until Christmas.
An investigation carried out by Cherwell last year revealed that 50% of the eighteen colleges questioned employ sprinkler systems to water their lawns. Of these, several obtain water through natural means, such as by collecting rainwater, or, as in the case of Worcester, by redistributing water from the lake over the quads.
A number of these colleges, including Jesus and St John’s, specified that their sprinkler systems were not “plumbed in”, but were rather used only when required. Nevertheless, all such colleges will be forced to find other ways to water their quads as the dry summer approaches.
The University Parks Department maintains the gardens of a number of colleges, including Exeter, Oriel and Brasenose. Walter Sawyer, the superintendent of the University Parks, said that the ban would be strictly adhered to. “There simply won’t be any watering with hose pipes and sprinklers on any of the established sites that we manage. The drought order is very clear [in that] it does not permit watering in established gardens using these techniques”.
When asked how he intended to keep the lawns looking pristine, he pointed to the legality of methods such as the watering can, bowser, or water tank. He also acknowledged the Parks’ fortunate position, in that “few colleges have any water collection facilities. We have some large underground rainwater collecting water tanks in the Parks that will supply some of [the] needs here”.
Bruce Taylor, the head gardener at University College, commented, “Obviously for the foreseeable future we will not be using [the sprinkler system], and so the lawns will not be watered.”
However, he remained optimistic as to the state of the lawns. Whilst conceding that “a green lawn looks far superior to a brown one”, he stated that “grass is the most resilient of plants and lengthy droughts are unlikely to kill it. If we do have moist conditions over the summer then there are chemicals that we can apply just to green it up a bit”.
Despite the efforts clearly being made to maintain lawns, certain students at University College remain unimpressed. A first year student said that he was “disgusted” at the prospect of brown lawns, and concerns were also raised as to the effects of discoloured lawns upon potential applicants at the July open days.
A New College cricketer questioned the impact that the ban may have on sports fields. He argued, “The Parks wouldn’t be the same without its lush, green outfield; anything less just isn’t cricket.”
Jules Ginsberg, an undergraduate at St Catherine’s College, was more conciliatory. She commented, “It’s unfortunate that during croquet season the lawns will be less green,” yet conceded, “I do think that a hosepipe ban is necessary in light of the drought. However, if ever there was a time to let it rain on our parade, that time would be now.”
