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Western’s Landscape Horticulture students have truly benefited from the partnership between the college and Hillview. Greenhouse space is vital to the program’s hands-on learning experience.
A NEW GREENHOUSE
The Horticulture Education Center will be located between 6th and 7th Streets on Vine Street, a fitting location for plants, students and the community to entwine. The structure will combine outdoor spaces and natural light interior spaces for efficient teaching areas. The building will feature an open outdoor patio and an outdoor gardening area.
Other special design features include overhead curtains to control heat loss and roof vents that allow natural release of excess heat. These controls will enable instructors and Landscape Horticulture students to easily maintain the greenhouse environment. The facility will also allow students to use new and current technologies to make decisions about watering techniques, fertilizer and plant choice.
Landscape Horticulture is an associate’s degree program that pre- pares students to become landscape designers, greenhouse growers, landscape technicians, landscape construction technicians, grounds managers, turf grass managers and garden center specialists. The program introduces students to conventional and organic practices. Classroom experience includes use of landscape design software, and students work hands-on in landscape construction, horticulture pro- duction and landscape maintenance classes.
Additionally, agribusiness and culinary arts students will have access to the facility. Some herbs and foods grown in the greenhouse may also be used by Western’s Union Market food service.
SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH LEARNING
AND PARTNERSHIP
When the Hillview Urban Agriculture Center (Hillview) was looking for alternatives for its 100-year-old greenhouse, an exceptional collabo- ration came together: Hillview, Western Technical College, Mayo Clinic Health System—Franciscan Healthcare and the La Crosse Community Foundation. Their vision was to bring Hillview’s programs into West- ern’s new greenhouse and, in turn, construct energy efficient homes where the Hillview Greenhouse once stood on North 24th Street. Today, that vision is becoming a reality.
HillviewUAC.org
SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE
Western Technical College is enlist- ing community, business, nonprofit, and government partners to form a Sustainability Institute that will help meet the growing need for education on urban agriculture, organic farm- ing, wind energy, alternative fuels and related topics. One of the goals is to guide a culture shift beyond recycling programs to improve our quality of life socially, environmentally and economically.
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PHOTO: Bruce Defries Photography
ILLUSTRATION: HSR Associates