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“You can grow ’em, eat ’em, and plants don’t talk back,” said Weinkauf.
So she was delighted when Western Technical College opened a new Landscape Horticulture program last fall.
February is Career and Technical Education month, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education.
At Western, new programs like Landscape Horticulture grow out of student interest and community need, said Bill Brendel, dean of agriculture apprenticeship and technology.
Or they can be sparked by employers or emerging occupational trends, said Peg Doudreau, vice president of instruction at Western.
But before any program starts, Western must be certain graduates can make a career in that field, said Brendel.
So the college conducts surveys and focus groups to determine if the program is needed in the district, said Doudreau.
Western sent out about 150 surveys to businesses in western Wisconsin, asking about hiring projections over the next decade and what skills they seek in employees, said Brendel.
If they decide a new program is warranted, the proposal goes on to the Technical College System office for final approval, said Doudreau.
Every degree program has an advisory committee as well, made up of people who work in that field, said Doudreau. The one that helps guide the Landscape Horticulture program has about 15 members.
Field experience will be a big part of the new program, instructor Pete Bemis said.
Students will plan landscaping for three homes Wood Technology students are building in La Crosse as part of the city’s Housing Rehabilitation program. They also will develop a planting plan for Western’s courtyard, and will help on a courtyard design when the Lunda Center is built.
Another class within the program is developing a campus greenhouse proposal. Students will propose a couple of designs for Crowley Park and Emerson Elementary School, such as where trees, plants and shrubs will go, plus playground equipment, lighting, benches, tables and other fixtures.
“It is hands-on experience in the real world for students, and La Crosse benefits because they are getting input from a different area,” said student John Petri, who was working on the park layout. “The more people looking at a project, the more creativity.”
Bemis agreed.
“The college wants us to get out in the community, and there is a stronger educational benefit to working with actual sites over hypothetical sites,” said Bemis, who has been in landscaping for more than 20 years and won awards for his work at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Weinkauf looks forward to her future degree.
“There is such a broad field of what I could go into afterward,” she said. “I could be an urban forester, a greenhouse manager, own my own landscaping company ... or even not do anything and be someone that knows about plants, because everyone wants to know somebody that knows something about plants.”
KJ Lang can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or klang@lacrossetribune.com.
