University Park, Pa. -- The new view surrounding the Hintz Family Alumni Center is breathtaking. A colorful array of plants, shrubs, trees and flowers combine with a wide expanse of grass to create a one-acre garden oasis in the heart of the University Park campus.
From the pond and white gazebo to the stone sitting wall and the bronze sculpture of children playing, the Alumni Gardens has evolved and grown in the three years since construction began. It started in 2003 with the planting of the Secret Garden, one of the five separate and distinct areas in the Alumni Gardens. The gardens grew in 2004 with the addition of the Rainbow Garden and Water Garden, along with the Ridge Riley Footbridge spanning the two. And just this June, the final three gardens were completed: Alumni Garden, Obelisk Garden and University House Terrace Garden.
The Alumni Gardens were funded entirely by private donations along with a gift from the Penn State Alumni Association. Major donors included Richard Dugan '63 and Sue Molina, Nancy and Ron Ewing '59, the Parmi Nous Alumni Interest Group, Catherine Shultz Rein '65 and Anne Riley '64, along with an anonymous donor.
It also was a unique learning opportunity for more than 140 Penn State students majoring in landscape contracting, who assisted in the design of the garden and did much of the planting. Through participation in this project, the students were able to develop horticultural, construction and project-management skills well beyond that which could be accomplished in a traditional classroom setting.
To view photos of the Alumni Gardens, visit the Alumni Association's Web site at http://alumni.psu.edu/events/scrapbook/ online.
For additional photos of the project nearing its completion this summer, visit http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2005_07_11_hintzgarden/index.html online.