PLEASE BE QUIET. I’M TRYING TO STUDY.

LET’S BE MINDFUL OF MINDS. 

When students begin to wonder if lugging textbooks to sit in the middle of a jam-packed football stadium to prepare for finals brings more focus than the distracting scream of a gas-powered mower at 9am, that’s a problem. It goes without saying that when dorm room alarm clocks are being replaced by the wake-up call from backpack blowers, we also have to rethink campus landscaping methods.

If you can hop into your time machine and head back to that not-so-graceful transition from high school to college, a lot of change was taking place. The comforts of home as we once knew them were quickly in rearview. Diet, sleeping habits and studying environments — all rapidly turned on their heads. Heading off to college is a virtual shock to the system on many levels. Toss in a few new distractions like on-campus construction, work trucks, blowers and mowers, and you’re staring at a pretty anxious college freshman. 

Myriad studies have been done that are quick to link environmental noise to learning difficulties in school. And while construction, lawn care, and other noise-making activities are certainly necessary towards improving college campuses, there are small changes that can be made to lessen the impact. 

THERE IS A QUIET SOLUTION. 

It should come as no surprise that the number one driver to switch from gas-powered to battery-powered professional landscaping is for the ears. Parents and students don’t willingly fork over tens of thousands of dollars for a college education to find out that concentration during their most formative years is being severely disrupted by ear-piercing blowers and mowers. And professors typically aren’t fond of yelling class material over high-decibel lawn equipment. A private university in North Carolina went so far as to say that complaints from the administration, students and mental health professionals influenced their decision to try electric equipment. Noise pollution and gas fumes being the primary issue and negative impact on mental health in the minds of health officials. The halo effect of the switch? A more-than-substantial carbon footprint reduction.

People typically aren’t aware or constantly thinking about the major impacts noise pollution can have on students on college campuses. But one thing’s for sure, switching to an electric-powered lawn care system that greatly reduces noise pollution and completely eliminates air pollution is an educated move.