Greening Princeton for twenty years

When the former grounds manager couldn’t plant grass along McCosh Walk because of the shade and nature of the soil, he used lily turf instead. After seeing how aromatic sumac could grow near a Phoenix airport, despite the dust and dirt, he decided to pair it with Japanese weeping cherry trees for ground cover beside Wallace Hall.

Consolloy ended his 20-year tenure at the University on Friday. Guided by his love of plants, Consolloy oversaw much of the landscaping around the 2,300-acre campus and was responsible for maintaining the health of its 400 species of trees. Other responsibilities included directing a grounds crew of about 35 to 40 people each year and keeping the roads clean for students and deliveries in all seasons.

Consolloy stepped down as grounds manager last October, but has stayed on campus since then as a special projects consultant. Al Pearson has filled his position in the interim.

On the job

Managing the grounds required a constant commitment, often at irregular hours, Consolloy explained.

“The job was for me 24/7,” Consolloy said. “I had Public Safety call in the middle of the night with problems. I had Public Safety call me on the weekends with problems.”

He recalled plowing snow on the morning of his first Thanksgiving on the job in 1989, along with many other grounds crew members, and starting scheduled workdays at 6 a.m. for the past 20 years.

Still, Consolloy said that he was grateful for the chance event that brought him to campus. When the tree nursery he worked with was relocated to a nearby state, he searched for a way to continue working in the area and discovered a posting for the University grounds manager in the local paper.

“I’ve lived in the same house, I guess, for close to 50 years,” he said. “I’ve lived here all my life. My wife sometimes jokes that I’ve only moved eight miles since I was born.”

Consolloy received his degree in biology and environmental science from Upsala College before deciding to pursue a master’s degree in horticulture at Rutgers. Following his love of plants, Consolloy decided to go into the nursery business, which eventually led him to grounds maintenance at the University, he explained.

“I came from a landscape-construction-nursery type background, I had a lot of experience in growing and tree maintenance, and I was a certified tree expert in the state of New Jersey, so coming to a campus that was full of trees and many, many plants that were ornamental ... from all parts of the world was an exciting time for me,” Consolloy said.

He was involved with much of the landscaping that has taken place in the past two decades, including projects near Princeton Stadium, Frist Campus Center, Campus Club, Lewis Library, Jadwin Hall, Fisher Hall and the Carl A. Fields Center.

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Consolloy’s mark on campus has been “the trees without a doubt,” said Pearson, who has been assistant grounds manager for the past decade and a member of the grounds crew for the past 30 years. “Jim has really taken the initiative in replacing trees, going forward, being pro-active, planting trees where they only have five years, 10 years left, so that there’s not a gaping hole when they’re gone.”

Pearson added that Consolloy’s knowledge of and focus on trees will have a lasting impact even after he leaves.

“His love of the campus and the trees has created a sense of protection among the grounds crew,” Pearson said. “Everyone looks out for the major possible problems when it comes to trees now.”

Consolloy explained that his work with trees has led to some of the most unexpected and memorable moments of his tenure.

He worked with the Secret Service when former president Bill Clinton delivered the Class Day address in 2006, helped set up for two decades’ worth of Reunions and senior events, worked with students on an organic garden and farmer’s markets, restored the Prospect Garden fountain and became more involved with the University community.

Consolloy, who spends most of his working hours on campus, said he appreciated being at a university with such excellent resources devoted to managing the grounds.

“When I’ve had grounds managers over from other Ivy League schools, they were jealous of our campus for several reasons, including the quantity of land we could work with, the soil operations and the greenhouses,” he explained.

Consolloy added that his tenure has been relatively free of major problems, despite storms that occasionally knocked down some trees.

“I guess my biggest challenge was skateboarders over the years. They do a lot of damage to the campus,” he said. “The important thing is to have the campus looking the same every day, especially where the Orange Key guides take their tours. That’s a trade secret.”

He noted that another major challenge during his time as grounds manager was “finding native trees that will benefit the insect population and tree-bud population,” such as the pagoda dogwood.

In the community

Outside his work as grounds manager, Consolloy is also an honorary member of the Class of 1976 and a fellow in Mathey College. He has been an annual campus tree tour guide during the past 20 Reunions and a consultant for the Princeton Borough Shade Tree Commission since 1994.

Consolloy has been involved with the Princeton Botany Club, sharing his extensive knowledge of trees on campus. Maddy Case ’12, the club’s president, described him as “very, very friendly and very encouraging.” He regularly interacts with the group and conducted a tree tour specifically for them this year, she added.

Case recalled an incident when the regular club meeting time conflicted with her organic chemistry exam, forcing her to cancel the meeting. To comfort her, she said, Consolloy sent the club an e-mail noting that he uses organic chemistry every day in deciding what chemicals to use on his plants and on the sidewalks, so as not to harm his plants.

“He’s always just talking to people and sharing what he knows,” Case added. “He’s a very unpretentious and comfortable guy.”

Consolloy adopts the same approachable attitude when managing his grounds crew.

“Jim’s been critical in my personal growth,” Pearson said. “He’s been a good sounding board for ideas. Jim’s the type of person that lets you learn things for yourself, and he doesn’t micromanage.”

Moving forward

As for Consolloy’s future plans, he hopes to stay in the area for “part of the year” and spend some time with his wife at a cabin they own in the mountains in Pennsylvania.

But, Consolloy said he intends to keep up with some of the projects he has started. He plans to leave the University “a collection of podcasts on the history of landscape over the past 100 years as seen through my eyes and the eyes of the grounds managers,” he said. Consolloy’s knowledge of the school’s plants and plant-care facilities includes information about the time when the school had its own nursery, in 1910, and knowledge about oaks on the school’s grounds that are descendents from the original Mercer Oak at the Princeton battlefield.

Consolloy will remain active with the International Society of Arboriculture and also plans to continue his research on various disease-resistant cultivars, or cultivated varieties, of the American elm.

Reflecting on his career, he said a few central questions have driven many of his decisions: “Is it going to be maintainable? Is it going to be sustainable? Will it fit with the future mission of the University? Will it help us to make this a good place for people to work and study?

“The thing that dawns on me is that everybody around me is the same age they were 20 years ago,” he said. “I don’t spend too much time in the office. I’m always out on the campus, talking to students. And it has the reverse effect when the alumni come back. It’s an interesting conundrum.”

Correction: A previous version of this article named Consolloy a consultant for the Princeton Township Shade Tree Commission. He is, in fact, a consultant for Princeton Borough's Shade Tree Commission.