Young volunteers help with landscape maintenance
CHADRON – Of the many volunteers who have helped plant, mulch and prune plants on the Chadron State College campus this spring, children attending the Child Development Center (CDC) are the youngest to chip in, according to horticulturist Lucinda Mays.
Other campus volunteers included the wrestling team, the football team, the Professional Staff Association and Campus Arboretum Volunteers. With 50 new acres of landscape to manage around Eagle Ridge housing, the Rangeland Complex and the Chicoine Center, Mays is grateful for the assistance.
May 14, the CDC children assisted Mays and her crew by carrying branches of forsythia bushes and spirea shrubs removed as part of a rejuvenative pruning project.
Lona Vroman said the service project, the first since she has been the CDC director, was fun for the children.
“They loved hauling the limbs away. We took the opportunity to educate the children about the benefits of trimming the bushes, explaining that this will help them grow better,” Vroman said.
Mays said the CDC children have been interested when she and her crew have planted trees and shrubs in the CDC play yards over the years.
“As we prune and plant, we welcome the help the children provide. I don't know who is more entertained, the kids helping move the pruning pile one stick at a time, or the grounds staff watching the little folks work so diligently,” Mays said.
The shrubs in the north section of the CDC playground are intended as hiding places and were selected based on blooming times so they don’t draw bees and other pollinators into the play area when it is busy with children, Mays said.
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Category: Campus News