Southeast Community College

[Photo:(Above) Josh McPherson of Fairbury discusses one of his designs with members of the Pawnee City Tree Board. ]

It was a landscaper's dream, listening to five Southeast Community College students explain their designs to members of the Pawnee City Tree Board.

[Photo: (right) John DeFreece and Mary Moser listen to proposals from Southeast Community College Advanced Landscape students.]

Five students in Kevin Christiansen's Advanced Landscaping class at SCC's Beatrice Campus got a taste of real-world work that culminated in design proposals on June 3.

Jared Hans of Seward, Jared Jensen of Beatrice, Josh Mammen of Plymouth, Josh McPherson of Fairbury, and Travis Ginther of Stanberry, Mo., each developed a plan for the Pawnee City Branching Out Project, which will enhance the look of the Pawnee Cemetery and add to the City Pond and possibly city parks.

[Photo: (right) Travis Ginther of Stanberry, Mo., presents his landscape projects to members of the Pawnee City, Neb., Tree Board.
The presentations, which took just more than an hour, were given to John DeFreece, a member of the Pawnee City Council, and Mary Moser, a biology instructor at Pawnee City High School who contacted Christiansen about students designing plans.

"This is a tremendous learning opportunity for our students, and it has real-life experiences," said Christiansen, an instructor in SCC's Agriculture Business & Management Technology program.

[Photo: (right) Jared Jensen of Creighton fields a question from representatives of the Pawnee City Tree Board during his landscape design presentation. ]

The project is a grant the city of Pawnee City received called Trees for Nebraska Towns. It is sponsored by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and Nebraska Forest Service.

The students placed their drawings on an overhead projector and took turns explaining their designs. DeFreece and Moser asked questions of each student.

"Are these drought resistant?" DeFreece asked. "How tall do these shrubs get?" was another.

Each student discussed his design for the cemetery, the cemetery's directory, the swimming pool, and the pond.

[Photo: (right) Jared Hans of Seward talks about his landscape designs during a presentation to members of the Pawnee City Tree Board. ]

Bald Cypress, Japanese Larch, Chinese Juniper, Japanese Spirea, St. John's Wort, Tom Thumb and Vicary Privet were just some of the types of foliage proposed in the designs. Others included Bleeding Hearts, Asters, Mums, Black Chokeberries, Day Lillies, Iris, and Silky Dogwoods.

"You'll see butterflies around certain plants," Ginther said during his presentation. "And this one will have good fall color."

[Photo: (right) Josh Mammen of Plymouth points to where trees would be planted on one of his designs for the Pawnee City improvement project. ]

Following the presentations, DeFreece asked the students where they came up with ideas for the designs.

"We've learned a lot in this class on where to put things," Ginther said.

After the students left the room, DeFreece and Moser discussed the projects.

"I think we'd like to take a little bit from each one rather than one whole project from one student," DeFreece said.

"The presentations were really, really good," Moser said.

The Board will now recommend a proposal to the Nebraska State Arboretum for approval. Bids on trees and shrubs will then be solicited.

"I'm very grateful to Kevin and his students for wanting to help us with this project," Moser said.

For more information, contact:
Stu Osterthun
Administrative Director of Public Information and Marketing
(402) 323-3401