If things look a little greener around here this April, there's a good reason. Our editorial staff is busy expanding the ideals of Earth Day into a month-long celebration of energy conservation, alternative transportation, recycling tips and about a million ways you can be a better friend to the planet. Welcome to Green Month, Milwaukee.

For many people in Milwaukee, lawn care is a chore. For others, it is a hobby -- if not an obsession.

To Gary Vanden Berg, it is a profession and a way of life.

As director of grounds for the Brewers, Vanden Berg has spent more than a quarter-century working on the grass at Miller Park and its predecessor, County Stadium. We caught up with Vanden Berg before a recent home game and talked about what it is like to take care of the most famous lawn in Milwaukee.

OnMilwaukee.com: In terms of snowfall and general misery, we just finished one of the harshest winters on record. Are you happy with the condition of the field, all things considered?

Gary Vanden Berg: I'm not unhappy with it. I'd like it better if it looked like it was the middle of June. We had a difficult winter. A lot of people have got the idea that we've got a heating system underground and some kind of controls to control the weather in here. We really don't. We're pretty much limited to whatever the ambient air temperature is and whatever sunlight we can get in here. Sometimes, that's not too much, depending on how much the roof is closed.

OMC: Does having a roof allow you to get the grass ready more quickly than you could at County Stadium?

GVB: The grass almost always is better in Miller Park in April, but I would clarify that only in the sense that it's much more difficult to grow grass here. The grass was always stronger at County Stadium than it ever was here.

We had exhibition games in March. If we opened up in March at County Stadium, with all the snow we had, it would have been difficult to have it playable. It would really have been a challenge for us.

OMC: I know that it's tough to grow grass inside, when the park doesn't get consistent sunlight, so it almost seems as though the roof allowed you to trade one set of headaches for another.

GVB: That's kind of true. It is a tradeoff. You don't have as much sun as you'd like, but on the other hand I don't deal with a tarp anymore. That was something that was routine to do. The hours are not as bad (in Miller Park) as they used to be. I used to have to come in at 6:30 or 7 in the morning to get the tarp off so it didn't burn the grass. Now, I don't have to do that. But, the grass we have now is not as good as what we used to have. It's OK. It isn't terrible.

OMC: Several players have told me over the years that your infield dirt is among the best in the league. Is it true that you brought some of it over from County Stadium?

GVB: That's true. I'd say 95 percent of what you see over there was brought over from County Stadium. We still work it every year. We tweak it a little every year. When you add a calcine clay that we use as a top dressing, it usually gets better and better. You have to be careful that you don't add too much to it. It'll get a little bit too beach-y. We keep an eye on it. If we need more clay, we'll add more. It's a little fussy.

OMC: What kinds of headaches do you experience that might surprise the average fan?

GVB: I would say the little wear and tear areas we have, like the areas in front of the mound, behind the mound and the area between the mound and home plate. I'm still at a loss as to why that wears out in a straight line there like it does. It has to have something to do with batting practice and then the games. It doesn't seem like you'd have enough wear and tear from a catcher and a pitcher that it would wear out, but it does. That's amazing. I still haven't quite figured it out.

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