David Broyles | The News
This is a view of the newly installed pond on Surry Community College’s Dobson campus. Horticulture students installed this near a high traffic walkway on the lawn of the Richards building. Students put down more than 2,000 square feet of sod and planted dozens of trees, shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses.
David Broyles | The News
These are just some of the trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and ornamental grasses SCC horticulture students planted on the Dobson campus. Students not only designed the plantings and a small pond, the project had to be reviewed and approved by Director of Facilities Randy Rogers.
DOBSON — Horticulture students at Surry Community College turned ideas into reality, building a waterfall and small pond on the Dobson campus.
According to Horticulture Instructor Jeff Jones, the work was the result of a capstone design project for students in Horticulture 112 and Landscape Design I.
Jones said the project was closely tied to real world experience with students presenting their proposal to SCC’s Director of Facilities Randy Rogers who approved the project. Rogers had previously assisted the students with a site location for their project.
“The Horticulture program at SCC is second to none. The work done by this group of students proves that they not only learned the principles of landscape design but they also learned how to work together to put them into practice,” said Rogers.
Students installed near a high traffic walkway on the lawn of the Richards Building where a new sidewalk had recently been completed. They put down about 2,500 square feet of zoysia sod and planted dozens of trees, shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses and annuals. The Ararat rock company also donated large rocks which were used to create a small pond.
“We were dealing with a large area with a limited amount of time and weather is always a factor in our work,” said Jones. “The water feature was new to many of the students including myself. There weren’t any challenges we couldn’t overcome. They put a real life project into action including design, approval and installation. They improved a section of campus for all the students, faculty and staff to enjoy for years to come. “
Jones said two factors involved in the high profile area project were making the area look nice and make it engaging to persons using the sidewalk. Student Hallie Johnson had landscaping experience and had installed pre-formed ponds before but said she had never worked with a free form pond.
“It was a challenge but not too challenging. Of all the components in the project the sod surprised me most,” said Johnson. “It surprised me how quickly it went down. We worked together well and I enjoyed it. This is what I want to do for a profession.” She estimated the entire project took two months with four days devoted to pond installation. She said she wound up doing a lot of the tractor work which made her feel at times like she was at home and not school.
Johnson said the class was surprised at times by people who would just watch them preparing and planting the areas. She said she had never thought of landscaping as a spectator sport. Classmate Pam Dhesi said this had been her first time participating in a landscape project of its kind. She said the students received a lot of support from the administration and were pleased with how the project went off.
“It’s a big difference from paper to planting,” said Dhesi. “It was a lot of work and well worth it. Teamwork is what made it easier.”
Jones said students had done various other projects around campus but this was the first one with such a high level of coordination with the facilities and maintenance department.
“We are able to use our campus almost like a laboratory at times,” added Jones. “Trial and error can teach us a lot and we are always able to fix our errors.” He said recent trends in outdoor living spaces, edible landscaping and emphasis on local produce were opening up more opportunities for horticulture students.
SCC offers a diploma and degree in horticulture technology and a certificate in sustainable horticulture. Interested persons may get more information by contacting Jones at 336-386-3391 or visit the school web site at www.surry.edu.
Reach David Broyles at dbroyles@civitasmedia.com or 336-719-1952.
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