News about Landscape/Horticulture

About 30 students from four area schools participated in Penn College’s 2022 Horticulture Field Day on Friday, hosted at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center by the School of Engineering Technologies and its Diesel Technology & Natural Resources Division. Competitors from Berks Career & Technology Center, Cumberland Perry Area Career & Technical Center, Franklin County Career & Technology Center, and Wellsboro High School vied for awards in a variety of events, including equipment operation, floral design and sales presentation. Making the day run smoothly were Carl J. Bower Jr. and Justin Shelinski, members of the horticulture faculty; Justin W. Beishline, assistant dean of diesel technology and natural resources; and horticulture students and alumni (who served as contest judges and showcased their businesses). The day coincided with the college’s final Open House of the Fall 2022 semester, and included tours of the Allenwood area campus and presentations by Admissions Office staff.

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The neon T-shirts of students, chaperones and volunteers sufficiently chased away the gloom and allowed a rainy Thursday’s “PA Build My Future” to flourish unimpeded.

A construction career day and industry showcase not held at Penn College since 2019, the event introduced nearly 1,000 students from more than 30 high schools and career and technical centers to the breadth of occupations available in construction and design – thanks, in turn, to scores of exhibitors in and around the Carl Building Technologies Center and other campus sites.

WBRE/WYOU’s Jazzmyn Allen and WNEP’s Chris Keating interviewed organizers and attendees for their respective newscasts, and the event also merited front-page coverage in Friday’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

“PA Build My Future” is co-sponsored by a Homebuilding Education Leadership Program grant, with additional assistance from Construction Specialties, the Pennsylvania Builders Association, West Branch Susquehanna Builders Association and Zartman Construction Inc.

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A second week of Pre-College Programs, providing an absorbing midmonth bill of fare, winningly delivered eight more options for teenagers looking for purposeful summer diversion. Attracting both the well-traveled and the close-to-home, the latest Penn College sessions covered a range of career-focused opportunity: Automotive Restoration; Design, Build & Grow (landscape and horticulture); Diesel Truck & Heavy Equipment; Fundamentals of Emergency Response; Graphic Design Summer Studio; the first-time offerings of Have Your Cake & Decorate It, Too and Non-Destructive Testing; and Thingamajig Fabricators. This photo gallery provides a sampling of the visitors’ enlightening encounters with their potential futures, with a slightly heavier dose of the inaugural cake-decorating camp … because who doesn’t want an extra helping of cake? (Readers can also relive the first round of Pre-College Programs, published elsewhere on PCToday.)

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Recent graduates of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s landscape/plant production technology program were chosen for both of this year’s Fred Winter Memorial Awards for Excellence in Horticulture from the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture.

Rebecca Cornish, of Lewisburg, and Faith E. Mitchell, of Sunbury, will each receive $1,500 in conjunction with the awards, established as a long-term way to honor one of PSPA’s longtime members. The applications from Cornish and Mitchell “rose to the top of the pile” as the selection committee’s four judges sorted through a slate of excellent candidates, a society official told the winners.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center holds such a special place for alumna Elizabeth M. Getchen that, when it came time to arrange her wedding flowers, no other venue could come close to warmly honoring the occasion.

Getchen holds two associate degrees from the college – floral design/interior plantscape (2007) and ornamental horticulture: landscape technology emphasis (2009) – and obtained administrative permission to return to the Allenwood-area campus in advance of her nuptials.

She and fiancé Ian J. Mowatt are to be married Saturday, May 21, at Sacred Oak Vista in Jersey Shore.

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Thirteen students of Karen R. Ruhl, horticulture instructor and last year’s recipient of a Part-Time Teaching Excellence Award, recently completed their final projects at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center – all in one day of real-time accomplishment – and displayed them at The Madigan Library. Helen L. Yoas, librarian for metadata and discovery initiatives (and whose duties as liaison librarian to the School of Engineering Technologies include the Diesel Technology & Natural Resources Division), captured the students’ imaginative spirit and also photographed the completed work once installed and appreciated on the library’s first floor. Ruhl’s The Art of Floral Design (HRT 260), a popular elective, is open to all academic majors.

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On May 1, 80 Girl Scouts and community members helped to plant 400 trees and shrubs of 12 species on the grounds of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood. The event was part of the college’s Arbor Day celebration and the Girl Scouts’ Tree Promise.

For Earth Day 2022, Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania is planting 2,022 trees. It is part of Girl Scouts USA’s mission to plant, protect or honor 5 million trees by 2026.

In addition to learning about the importance of the trees they were planting, children visited the Pennsylvania WoodMobile, took part in hands-on education stations staffed by students and faculty, received gardening gloves from Penn College and swag from the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, and earned the GSUSA Tree Promise and Chesapeake Bay Foundation Clean Water Grows on Trees patches.

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On the 52nd annual Earth Day, Pennsylvania College of Technology hailed a phenomenon only slightly younger: the Schneebeli Earth Science Center, home to memories, marvels and the makers of a million tomorrows. Observing the milestone golden anniversary of the Allenwood area campus on a beautiful spring afternoon, attendees reveled in “this special place” known as the ESC.

“It is more than a place or a building, though,” said alumnus Justin W. Beishline, assistant dean of diesel technology and natural resources. “This is a place where you were possibly introduced to your career passion. This is a place where you met mentors who fostered your talent and helped you to become a professional. This is a place where, after you left high school, you met people with similar career aspirations and built lifelong friendships. If you came here right from high school, you left a home of 18 years to forge a new life, and the people at the ESC became your new family for two years.”

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The public is invited to register K-12 children and join in a tree-planting from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, May 1, at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood. Participants will help plant 400 trees at the event, which is sponsored by the college in conjunction with Girl Scouts of the USA’s “Tree Promise” movement. Twelve species of bare root trees will be planted, and participants will learn the role of riparian buffers and why each tree was chosen for its location.

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Nine Pennsylvania College of Technology horticulture students recently journeyed to North Carolina State University for the 46th annual National Collegiate Landscape Competition.

A number of them turned in noteworthy performances in their respective categories, and the team finished 19th among 43 schools. Brigham Young University-Provo was the overall winner.

As part of the three-day event, five Penn College students (two of whom were in attendance) shared scholarships totaling $6,500 from the National Association of Landscape Professionals Foundation.

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Jonah G. Howe, public relations manager for Chief Oil & Gas LLC and a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology, received an Alumnus of the Year Award at Thursday’s 21st annual Education Celebration hosted by the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.

The award – part of a Williamsport Country Club event that recognizes the interconnectedness of school districts, colleges, and business and industry – is given to graduates who have significantly contributed to the quality of life in Lycoming County, have excelled in their professions, and are active in their communities.

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Ten Pennsylvania College of Technology students – including three who graduated in December – obtained state Department of Agriculture Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator Certification after testing during the fall semester.

“This definitely will give the students an advantage over others entering the workforce, as many employers look for this type of certification,” said Carl J. Bower Jr., assistant professor of horticulture, who traditionally incorporates the exam into his Insects and Diseases of Ornamental Plants class at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center each November. “Whether these students apply pesticides or not, certification is valuable for the understanding of the safety and process.”

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Two Pennsylvania College of Technology horticulture students have received a total of $8,000 in 2021-22 scholarships from the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association Foundation.

Faith E. Mitchell, of Sunbury, enrolled in landscape/horticulture technology: landscape emphasis, was awarded $5,000, and Sophia G. Wiest, of Butler, dually majoring in entrepreneurial innovation and landscape/plant production technology, received $3,000.

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The annual poinsettia sale at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center greenhouse begins Wednesday and runs until this year’s limited inventory is sold. The hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays (closed Saturday and Sunday), and all sales are on a first-come, first-served basis. Prices are $10 for 7-inch plants and $8 for 6-inch plants. There will be no early sales or holds, and everything is “cash and carry.” (The ESC is at 203 Allenwood Camp Lane,  Montgomery – about 10 miles south of main campus, just off Route 15.)
Photos by Marci M. Hessert, office assistant to the assistant dean of diesel technology and natural resources

Twenty-two Penn College students who enjoy volunteering their time – including members of student organizations and the Wildcat women’s basketball team – gathered with Shannon L. Skaluba, student organization specialist, in CC Commons on Saturday to write heartfelt messages of gratitude in nearly 450 holiday cards for military personnel. The cards were donated by Sarah R. Yoder, coordinator of admissions operations, and her husband, Adam J., an industrial technology specialist with Workforce Development; as well as Chet Beaver, coordinator of veteran and military services; and Skaluba.

The cards will be distributed with the help of Sarah, who has worked with the United Soldiers and Sailors of America program for the last several years. Her brother, Michael Shott, is a first lieutenant in the Army on active duty, currently serving stateside following a recent deployment.

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