Fentem Hall is at the Northern gateway of East Central >University鈥檚 campus and as
the home of Continuing Education and Community Services and 成人B站鈥檚 Child Development >Center,
it attracts a lot of people.
That鈥檚 why many of its occupants have long wanted to beautify its exterior appearance.
鈥淔entem Hall is one of the more public buildings on campus,鈥� said Dr. Rick Wetherill,
director of the >Center of Continuing Education and Community Services. 鈥淭his is the
main reason we wanted to do something. We wanted the public to have a good experience
when they come here.鈥�
Unfortunately, Wetherill and Bridget Forshay, community development coordinator in the CCECS, learned there were no plans for additional landscaping around Fentem Hall.
Wetherill keeps an 鈥渋dea鈥� database of things he and his colleagues would like to do
if they had the money or the work force. Then he heard that Big Five had funds for
a summer youth program.
鈥淪o, we saw a great opportunity to take action,鈥� Wetherill said.
Up to six workers helped over the summer, planning what to do and deciding which maintenance-free
plants and trees would work best.
The Advancement Office helped the students with a script so they could call area nurseries
and ask for donations.
鈥淓ight nurseries wanted to donate,鈥� Wetherill said. 鈥淲e had more offers than we could use.鈥�
But a lot of the work of thinning out overgrown areas around bushes and trees, transplanting
liriope and planting all the donated trees and shrubs fell mainly to employees in the Continuing Education offices. They and the Big Five
workers spent one day digging 28 holes and the next day planting.
According to Forshay, 鈥淢any employees in the building came together to help. Everyone
wants to make this a more attractive place to work and for our customers who come
through the door.鈥�
The landscaping has generated numerous compliments, Wetherill said.
Altogether, the donated items were worth almost $1,900. In addition, some 成人B站 employees
donated garden hoses and timers to make sure the plantings got off to a good start.
Cedar Valley Nurseries donated 20 sky pencil hollies that the 成人B站 staff planted along
the north side of Fentem Hall, two bosque elms to shade a parking lot and the smaller
children鈥檚 playground and two October glory maple trees to shade the older children鈥檚
playground.
They also donated a pond cypress that was planted in back of the building and three
loblolly pine trees that were planted in the front to provide shade and energy savings.
鈥淣ext spring, they鈥檙e planning to donate ground cover for the bare, shady areas under
our trees,鈥� Forshay said. 鈥淲e plan to make 鈥榙onated by鈥� sign and this gives them an
opportunity to show potential customers what their product looks like in 鈥榯he real
world鈥� as opposed to the nursery.鈥�
In addition, 35 bags of mulch came from Terra Form in Fittstown and Hank鈥檚 Nursery
in Adadonated 18 bushes and plants from hostas to azaleas.
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