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A home is more than a house, of course. The way some University
of Georgia horticulture students see it, even a house is more
than a house.
About 40 students in a UGA residential landscape management
design class recently used their skills to add more value to
some homes renovated in an annual Athens, Ga., community service
program.
Hands On Athens is an Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation program
in which groups of area volunteers get together one weekend
each year to repair homes in historic but low-income neighborhoods.
The UGA Hands On Athens Landscape Renovation Project reworked
the landscapes of four of the 10 homes in the larger program.
As it turned out, the event came on "the worst weekend
for landscaping," said David Berle, the UGA horticulture
professor whose class took on the project. Heavy Friday rains
and high Saturday winds made the work more challenging than
it might have been.
Berle had already divided his class of sophomores, juniors
and seniors into four 10-student teams. Each person had designed
a plan for the landscape, and Berle had chosen the best four
plans and assigned them to teams. The four designers of the
best plans were the group leaders.
Including preparing the plans, the class put three weeks of
work into the project. But the students could easily see the
value of their work in the yards they landscaped.
"The value (of a home) increases an average of 10 percent
with landscape design," Berle said. Each plan in the project
would have cost $3,000 to $5,000 had a landscaper been paid
to do the work..
The residents of the four homes were able to choose the colors
of flowers and plants. Having guidelines and a customer to
work for gave the students a real-world learning experience.
"The best part was getting out there and actually seeing
your work implemented," said Chad Till, a senior from
Watkinsville, Ga., who is majoring in landscape architecture. "A
lot of the time you design plans and never see what goes right
or wrong."
The project got its start through a Scholarship of Engagement
Grant from the UGA vice president for public service and outreach.
Grant funds provided a trailer and tools that will be used
in future classes.
Berle and the students contacted nurseries and businesses
for donations of plants, bricks and other needs. He plans to
make the UGA Hands On Athens Landscape Project an annual assignment
for his class.
Competing
in a Global Economy
The University of Georgia is at the forefront of the globalization
movement in higher education with a wealth of opportunities for
international experiences. Our students are flocking to study-abroad
programs, thriving on the challenges inherent in confronting a
new cultural environment. More and more, students on campus are
also making choices that reflect an understanding of the importance
of global awareness—from living in a residence hall-based
language community to starting a radio program in another language
to minoring in a foreign language. These experiences, whether at
home or abroad, influence how our students perceive the world and
their place in it. We’re producing graduates prepared to
be world citizens—well informed, culturally sensitive and
technologically sophisticated. They’re ready to take on the
challenges of our global society, and they’ll be equally
at home whether in the Peach State or the Republic of Georgia. |
About
40 students in a UGA residential landscape management design class
recently used their skills to add more value to some homes renovated
in an annual Athens, Ga., community service program.
