By Sydne Moody

University of Georgia

A home is more than a house, of course. The way some University
of Georgia horticulture students see it, even a house is more
than a house.

About 40 students in a UGA residential landscape management
design class used their skills to add more value to some homes
renovated in an annual Athens, Ga., community service program.

“Hands On” Horticulture

Hands On Athens is an Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation program
in which groups of area volunteers get together one weekend each
year to repair homes in historic but low-income neighborhoods.

The UGA Hands On Athens Landscape Renovation Project reworked the
landscapes of four of the 10 homes in the larger program.

As it turned out, the April 1-3 event came on “the worst weekend
for landscaping,” said David Berle, the UGA horticulture
professor whose class took on the project. Heavy Friday rains and
high Saturday winds made the work more challenging than it might
have been.

Student-designed landscapes

Berle had already divided his class of sophomores, juniors and
seniors into four 10-student teams. Each person had designed a
plan for the landscape, and Berle had chosen the best four plans
and assigned them to teams. The four designers of the best plans
were the group leaders.

Including preparing the plans, the class put three weeks of work
into the project. But the students could easily see the value of
their work in the yards they landscaped.

“The value (of a home) increases an average of 10 percent with
landscape design,” Berle said. Each plan in the project would
have cost $3,000 to $5,000 had a landscaper been paid to do the
work.

Homeowner input

The residents of the four homes were able to choose the colors of
flowers and plants. Having guidelines and a customer to work for
gave the students a real-world learning experience.

“The best part was getting out there and actually seeing your
work implemented,” said Chad Till, a senior from Watkinsville,
Ga., who is majoring in landscape architecture. “A lot of the
time you design plans and never see what goes right or wrong.”

The project got its start through a Scholarship of Engagement
Grant from the UGA vice president for public service and
outreach. Grant funds provided a trailer and tools that will be
used in future classes.

Berle and the students contacted nurseries and businesses for
donations of plants, bricks and other needs. He plans to make the
UGA Hands On Athens Landscape Project an annual assignment for
his class.