ST. LEON, IN — When you visit East Central High School, and you enter the building at the Performing Arts Center entrance or the east entrance you will notice new landscaping that was completed by East Central High School Horticultural Science and Landscape Management students as a part of a $3,000 National FFA Organization Living to Serve Grant that the FFA chapter received in the fall semester of 2020. This is part of an ongoing project called EC Re-Leaf, and was done without any costs to the school. EC Re-Leaf promotes the use of native plants in the landscape.
The Landscape Management students began the project by removing old juniper shrubs from the existing planting beds with help from the Sunman-Dearborn maintenance staff and workers from Maxwell Construction. An initial design was drawn up, and plants were ordered from Natorp’s in Mason, Ohio. Plants were delivered in September to complete the landscape beds at the Performing Arts Center entrance, and in May to complete the project at the east entrance. Students correctly planted the shrubs and perennials, and also mulched the areas. Landscape Management and Horticultural Science students will provide continual care and maintenance to the plantings from now on.
The plants consist of 86 native, deciduous shrubs, and 96 native perennials which included flowering plants and native clump-forming grasses. The shrubs were planted by the Landscape Management students, and the perennials were planted by the Horticultural Science students. All of the plants will provide not only an attractive landscape, but also food and habitat for bird species, pollen, and nectar for pollinators, and will give visitors to the high school a chance to see how native plants can be used in the landscape.
This area will also have signage to identify the plants and will have barriers to keep guests and students from walking through the beds.
This planting is a welcome addition to the high school and provided students in the ECHS agriculture program and FFA chapter another practical, real-world experience.
Questions about the project can be directed to Roy Johnson, Agriculture Instructor & FFA Advisor by email at [email protected].
(East Central High School FFA press release)
