Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Charles Fremaux
Have you ever noticed the lawnmower that drives itself on Belmont Abbey’s campus? Although this mower has perplexed many around campus at first, this mower is one of the newest additions to the Abbey. This past fall, SSC Services for Education contractors provided Belmont Abbey with a new Autonomous ZK self-controlling lawnmower. This mower can be seen around campus mowing the beautiful lawns of the Abbey completely on its own. This mower, and others like it that have been provided to campuses by SSC, is part of an initiative that helps schools maximize the usage of their students’ tuition fees and reduce operational costs.
The Autonomous ZK mower is used across campus to mow lawns and keep the campus beautiful. The addition of this mower to campus has saved the Belmont Abbey Maintenance Department significant time and effort that would otherwise have to be put into mowing the acres of grass on the college’s grounds. This mower also allows groundskeepers to devote their time to more detailed lawncare, as well as provide a better overall experience for students, faculty, and visitors of the Abbey.
This new mower provided by SSC provides financial benefits to the college as well. Through new technological advancements such as the Autonomous ZK, the Abbey is able to reduce expenses in order to create more efficient use of funding and tuition expenses the school receives. This progress on campus will help support new additions to the campus, such as the dorm buildings that the Abbey plans to finish by the fall 2023 semester.
While this appears to be a small change to the campus, the implementation of new technology like an automatic lawn mower signifies a greater change occurring throughout Belmont Abbey. This mower helps represent the college’s constant strive for progression and advancements in all aspects of its community.
This article was originally posted in the Spring of 2023, Issue 1 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.
