NWTC Service-Learning and Civic Engagement 2018-2019 | Page 16

ENVIRONMENT
15
LANDSCAPE HORTICULTURE
Designing environments that
enrich, inspire and refresh.
Every year for over the past decade,
NWTC’s Landscape Horticulture program
has been working in the community
to not only make outdoor spaces
functional and accessible but beautiful. installations and community events. A large
design project was completed by students
for the NEW Community Shelter, where
students created an entire landscape
design for the organization’s grounds.
As the only landscape horticulture
program in the state located on a
nationally recognized botanical garden, the
program is a natural choice for students
looking to enter the field. There aren’t
enough graduates in the program to fill
the number of jobs available, and the
program has produced several successful
alumni that staff design firms and
landscaping companies across the state. The students also worked closely with
Pulaski High School to design a large
area surrounding the school’s onsite
greenhouse, creating more function for
the space and also a mini-arboretum.
Throughout the 2018-2019 academic year,
the students were involved in not only a
handful of design projects but also multiple
From the perspective of NWTC Landscape
& Horticulture instructor Tony Sticha,
service-learning creates a win-win for all
involved. “Every time we get an opportunity
to do a community service type project the
students that participate all seem to exhibit
an undeniable depth of passion and pride
in the project. They take ownership, unlike
any regular assignment they may have.”