Albion Interactive History / People
Mark Frever
ALBION, Mich. – Eachnew summer day bringsnew challenges forgardeners andhomeowners about howbest to care for lawns,trees, plants and flowers.Even wonder about thebest time to water? Or theideal shrub to plant in ashady area? Help hasarrived.Mark Frever, who asAlbion College groundssupervisor designs andmaintains the campuslandscape, has launchedan online question-andanswerservice that willaddress questions relatedto lawns, trees, shrubs,perennials, annuals, ornamental plants, bulbs, vines, and groundcover—just about everything thatgrows, except vegetables and houseplants.
Frever, who came to the College last year after a career in golf course landscaping, said he got theidea for an online help center after receiving inquiries from alumni and area residents. Since hebegan caring for the College’s grounds, Frever said a number of people have approached him withlandscaping questions. He said alumni sometimes contact his office looking for the name of a treethey remember from their student days.
“They might remember something on campus that they liked when they were a student,” Freversaid. “One graduate from the 1970s called because he remembered a tree that was near BobbittVisual Arts Center and he wanted to plant one, so I researched it for him.”A 14-year landscape veteran, Frever spent much of his career in the golf industry before coming toAlbion. He interned at the prestigious Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Mich., during the1996 U.S. Open, and also has consulted on grounds for fertilizer and chemical companies. Heearned a BA in arts and social science at Michigan State University in 1991 before studying for acertificate in turf grass management at MSU in 1996.
Frever said he enjoys all aspects of his job—including this summer’s major overhaul of the athleticfields [click here for more information]—and thinks of it as a hobby rather than job. Thesatisfaction he takes from his job, Frever noted, comes a great deal from the pleasure others takein the landscapes on which he works. “People really respond to landscape and their surroundings.You get a lot of that here—more so than you do with golfers.”“I like it because you realize that you can make an impact on something,” Frever said. “I guess theartist side in me comes out in landscaping. In addition to designing, I also like to renovate oldlandscapes that someone put in years ago. I see that as an artistic challenge. Then you go to theother extreme, like the renovation of the soccer field, and your start from scratch and design it thatway.”
Frever invites alumni and members of the College community to send him questions, many ofwhich he will post on the landscaping tips Web page, located athttp://www.albion.edu/facops/Lawntips.asp . Questions may be sent to mfrever@albion.edu .
Source: Albion College Office of Communications, “Landscaping Help Only an E-mail Away,” June 20, 2003.
From: Albion AAUW. Some Notable Women of the Albion Area. Albion, Michigan: American Association of University Women. 1998.