Abstract

Landscape maintenance is central to the environmental quality, functionality, and visual character of university campuses, yet its effectiveness is often judged through managerial assumptions or general impressions rather than through systematic comparison of user perception and actual site condition. In private universities, where campus appearance contributes to institutional image, student experience, and competitive positioning, ineffective or uneven landscape maintenance can diminish both environmental performance and user satisfaction. This study evaluates landscape maintenance practices at Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State, Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the gap between perceived maintenance effectiveness and observed landscape condition. A mixed-method case study design was adopted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with maintenance personnel, direct site observation, photographic documentation, and questionnaire responses from 224 campus users. Qualitative data were analysed thematically, while quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The study assessed maintenance activities, organizational structure, maintenance coverage, and user satisfaction across different campus zones. Findings show that landscape maintenance at Caleb University is active and institutionally organized, with routine attention given to planting, trimming, weeding, and general environmental upkeep. However, maintenance outcomes are spatially uneven, with high-visibility areas such as the administrative precinct, campus entrance, and cafeteria surroundings receiving more consistent care than less prominent spaces. Questionnaire responses indicate moderate user satisfaction, but they also reveal perceived inconsistencies in maintenance quality across the campus. Observational evidence confirms this unevenness, demonstrating a disconnect between management perception, user experience, and actual physical condition. The study concludes that the landscape maintenance system is functional but insufficiently balanced across the campus. It recommends the adoption of a structured preventive maintenance framework, more equitable distribution of maintenance effort, and improved monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Given that maintained green infrastructure supports environmental performance and contributes to healthier and potentially restorative campus settings, strengthening maintenance practice is necessary not only for aesthetics but also for sustainability and user wellbeing.