| The
Ferrum College Community Arboretum was recently approved for a $15,000.00
grant from the Urban and Community Forestry Grant Assistance Program
of the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF). The proposal approved
for funding is Experiential Education + Demonstration Gardens written
by Trenda Carter Leavitt, Adjunct Professor and Associate Landscape
Architect at Harvey Delaney Landscape Architects in Lynchburg.
The Arboretum is a learning laboratory
within the Horticulture Program in the Life Sciences Division. The Urban
and Community Forestry Grant Assistance Program is designed to encourage
projects that promote tree planting, the care of trees, the protection
and enhancement of urban and community forest ecosystems, and education
on tree issues in cities, towns and communities across the nation. Grants
are awarded through this program to encourage local government and citizen
involvement in creating and supporting long-term and sustained urban
and community forestry projects and programs at the local level.
The purpose of this project is to increase
public awareness of the benefits of urban forests and the protection
and enhancement of community forest ecosystems. The project will increase
public understanding of these issues through design and implementation
of demonstration projects in the Arboretum, to include: Riparian Restoration,
Rain Garden, Buffer Garden, and Tree Planting to increase forest cover.
Specifically these projects will be designed and implemented by students,
staff, faculty, and volunteers and facilitated where applicable through
coursework. 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. Through the Urban and
Community Forestry grant the larger community will enjoy a beautiful
garden while learning ecological restoration techniques. These demonstration
projects have the potential to educate a large population that in turn
can implement demonstrated techniques in their own residential and work
settings.
The idea of a Ferrum College Community
Arboretum was conceived by Dr. Bob Pohlad and approved by the Board
of Trustees in 2000. The Ferrum College Community Arboretum is growing
at a rapid pace through the enthusiastic efforts of staff, students
and faculty, led by: Dr. Bob Pohlad, Professor and Coordinator of the
Horticulture Program in the Life Sciences Division; Dana Newton, Director
of Maintenance at Ferrum College, and Trenda Leavitt. In Summer 2004
alone, several new spaces were created in the arboretum, including:
new planting areas around an existing gazebo near Vaughn Chapel, a new
Wedding Gazebo with adjacent plantings and berms, and a Sculpture &
Sitting Garden created under existing Chaste trees. These efforts are
the results of generous donations of time and materials from local citizens,
businesses and churches, and staff, students and faculty of Ferrum College.
In Fall 2004, 18 Japanese Maple trees were donated to the Arboretum
by Ferrum Alumni Luther J. Derby, Jr. '45.
Donations of plants, time, and materials
are accepted year-round. A team of students can be sent to your home
or business to dig donated plants and pick up materials. Please visit
the arboretum website: www.ferrum.edu/garden
or contact Dr. Bob Pohlad at (540) 365-4367 or by email at bpohlad@ferrum.edu,
or Trenda Leavitt at (540) 874-5459 or by email at tleavitt@ferrum.edu
for more information.
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. |
