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Helping schools master landscaping
By Rebecca Goetz
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Photo courtesy of
Lake County Master Gardeners |
When Lever Brothers Inc. gave each of the 24 schools in
Hammond, Ind., $500 a year to spruce up their landscaping, students, teachers and school staff all across the city started tearing up sod and poking through plant catalogs. Soon, they also were digging around for advice on what and how to plant.?
The novice landscapers found Purdue Extension educator Stanley Sims and a cadre of Lake County Master Gardeners ready to help. After an initial meeting, each school asked for and received a Master Gardener mentor to work with students and staff. The gardening tutors explained the intricacies of preparing soil, selecting plants, and planting and maintaining landscapes.
"With Master Gardeners' help, students learn the basics of landscaping and how to care for the environment," Sims says. "Master Gardeners also presented a seminar last fall for 125 school maintenance personnel to help them understand the importance of maintaining the landscape."
The landscape lesson plan is also helping the schools get the most for their money. With the help of Master Gardeners, the schools are getting much better returns for the dollars they're spending on plants, according to the manager of a local landscaping company.
Additionally, Sims has extended the partnership into the community as Extension has joined with 15 businesses and organizations in a partnership called "Keeping Hammond Beautiful."
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