When horticulture seniors designed and constructed their senior capstone project this spring they got plenty of practical hands-on experience in their trade and provided an attractive focal point as people enter the campus.
Their project was constructed on what they call the “Strine Slope,” otherwise known as the steep hill below the Strine Learning Center.
Their design was intended to make a portion of the hill attractive as people enter the campus and also to give the seniors experience in finding a way to slow down erosion.
The main feature of their design are well-placed boulders, creating a gully to allow rain run-off to flow off the hill with a minimum of erosion on the steep slope.
The hill is also full of a large variety of plants intended to give the hill more fall and winter colors, with fall foliage and many winter floral stems, berries, and varied evergreens.
Tony Dufour, landscape construction and management instructor, said “The intention of this hort capstone project is to give the students experience in designing and building a landscape project from start to finish. We also wanted to create what would be a major, attractive focal point as you enter the campus. This project will also be something we can use to teach future classes.
“Building this project was a challenge with weather delays the biggest problem. We had bad late winter weather to work around and a very steep slope to work on, which made it difficult to move materials across. We had to be extra careful to avoid falling.
“The students worked very hard in a difficult area. They worked well together as a team and were great at problem solving. This project gave them the opportunity to utilize the skills they have learned in their three years at Williamson.”
The horticulture seniors have created a point of beautify for all to enjoy for many years to come.
