Ferrum Community Garden and Arboretum

Arboretum Progress Update:
Gazebo Placement and Additional Work
Summer 2004

Additional photos at this link...

Water Garden Construction
Press Releases Below

Image excerpt from the PDF

Renderings from the two student design teams

Construction Photos of the Garden

More information & photos of this and future phases in the Ferrum Community Arboretum PDF

Water Garden Constructed in Ferrum College Community Arboretum

Water is falling on the campus of Ferrum College, but not in the form of rain.   A water garden has been constructed by students, staff and faculty of Ferrum College. The construction project was part of a Landscape Design & Management course led by Professor Trenda Leavitt and Dr. Bob Pohlad, faculty in the Horticulture/Life Sciences Division.   The course was designed as an experiential design course, with hands-on design/build projects that involve students in real-world application of design.   Experiential education, a mission of President Dr. Jennifer Braaten, enables students to experience the power of ideas to change the world by improving the physical spaces we live and work.   The garden was completed in several class sessions, with students involved in all aspects of construction from initial digging, collecting stones, and soliciting donations, to placing the liner, shaping berms, laying pavers, placing boulders, and planting plants.    Water falls over Leesville quartzite into a pool filled with goldfish and water plants.   A paved area circled by native boulders provides seating to enjoy the garden. The pond and waterfall construction was directed by Loren and Sean Brown of Daybreak Earthcare of Bedford County, Virginia.   The Physical Plant of Ferrum College, led by Dana Newton, provided invaluable time, equipment, coordination and expertise throughout the planning and construction.   The student team includes:   Cornelius Burroughs, M. Brian Darden, Chris Edwards, Heather Logee, Rene Petersen, Mark Sicz, Neil Sigmon, and Christy Wolfe.

The water garden is part of a larger effort underway on the campus to build a Ferrum College Community Arboretum, with the following mission:

The Ferrum College Community Arboretum will be an educational public garden, designed and built through experiential education projects by Ferrum College students, staff and faculty.   The gardens will demonstrate the kind of dynamic spaces that result when science and design are united, and will serve to educate and inspire our community.

Arboretum History
The idea of a Ferrum College Community Arboretum was conceived by Dr. Bob Pohlad and approved by the board of visitors in 2000.   A new horticulture major was launched in 2000, which offered a Landscape Design & Management course in 2001 (AG/HORT 411) .   The course was led by Dr. David Johnson, Dr. Pohlad, Denise Alexander, and Trenda Leavitt, with the first schematic designs of the arboretum produced by students in the course.   Implementation of the design began with construction of a gazebo by Dana Newton and students.   In 2002, development continued through dedication and planting of a dogwood tree, given by faculty, in honor of the new President, Dr. Jennifer Braaten.   Future phases include:   Heritage Tree Program, Herb Garden, Greenway/Pedestrian Links, Buffer Garden, Native Plant Garden, Riparian Restoration.

The motto of Ferrum College, "Not Self...But Others", is aptly realized by having students create a garden for the larger community while learning about design and construction.  

Sponsors
Construction was made possible through generous donations from:   The Doris Dyer Memorial Gardens Fund, Seven Oaks Landscaping, Daybreak Earthcare, Emerson Creek Pottery, Brock and Trish Evans, Mitchell's Greenhouse, Jimmy's Greenhouse, Chris Wright, Sandy Sampson, Carol Fliger, Beechgrove Design and Ferrum College Subway Restaurant.   Special thanks to the following for their expertise and support:   The Board of Trustees of Ferrum College, Ferrum College Physical Plant, Ferrum College Bookstore, Harvey Delaney Landscape Architects, Westlake Golf Course, and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives.

For more information or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please contact:

Dr. Bob Pohlad - 540 365 4367/bpohlad@ferrum.edu or Trenda Carter Leavitt - 540 874 5459/tleavitt@ferrum.edu

LANDSCAPE DESIGN CLASS OFFERED, WATER GARDEN TO BE BUILT

August 18, 2003

     Ferrum College's Division of Life Sciences will offer a Landscape Design and Management (AG/HORT 411) course for students and the community during this fall. The course will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 - 5:45 p.m. This experiential education course will teach the basic landscape design process through hands-on idea development, presentations, conceptual design boards, and actual construction. The course will continue the development of the campus arboretum into a community garden, similar to Virginia Western's Community Gardens and Arboretum in Roanoke, Virginia.

     Water gardening instruction, a booming segment of the landscape industry, will lead students to design and construct a water garden in the arboretum. Students will design several other small site-specific projects in and around campus.

     Local high school students will participate in the construction project, which will allow them to be mentored by college students.

     In addition to hands-on projects, the students will tour constructed residential projects at Smith Mountain Lake, the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, and completed campus arboretums at Virginia Western and Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave. The tours will be guided by the designers and contractors involved with the projects.

     Trenda Carter Leavitt will teach the course. Leavitt has taught landscape architecture at Oklahoma State University, Virginia Tech, and Ferrum College, and was most recently assistant director of the Community Design Assistance Center at Virginia Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Design.

     Ferrum faculty Dr. Bob Pohlad and Dr. David Johnson will coordinate the course. For more information, contact Pohlad at (540) 365-4367/bpohlad@ferrum.edu or Johnson at (540) 365-4364/djohnson@ferrum.edu.

     Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu. # # #