GMC News
GMC garden four years in the making
By ANGELA WOOLEN — awoolen@macon.com
Posted: 11:03pm on May 22, 2012The_Telegraph
Biology club members Matthew Durst Scarlett, left, and LeDaun Evans, right look at Golden Pond GMC Jr. College in Warner Robins, GA, with Biology professor Ben White, middle, Monday, May 14, 2012. WOODY MARSHALL — wmarshall@macon.com
WARNER ROBINS — Scenic views along a pond are the result of a nearly four-year project.
Georgia Military College’s biology club, with the help of professor Ben White, has created a garden setting near the school, located on Duke Avenue. Along with Keep Warner Robins Beautiful, the program has earned the Department of Agriculture’s “People’s Garden” award. The club and the garden have received the Georgia Urban Forest Council’s Outstanding Student Award. White said the garden started out on a smaller scale between two buildings on campus. When the college expanded, the garden had to be relocated. “We had the idea of an interpretive trail,” he said. Throughout the paved trail are 15 signs depicting some of the native species of wildlife and plants seen throughout the garden. Not all of the species of plants grown are native to Georgia, however.
“We used what Lowe’s gave us,” said White. The biology club gives tours to elementary-aged schoolchildren throughout the year. There is a three-hour program, which includes examining water from the pond under a microscope to see the organisms living there. Jason Shipp built some of the signs and upgraded others for his Eagle Scout project.
Another Eagle Scout built a kiosk that houses brochures that tell about the garden. More than 100 hardwood tree seedlings were given by Keep Warner Robins Beautiful and the Georgia Forestry Commission, which were planted around the circumference of the pond, said Debra Jones, executive director of Keep Warner Robins Beautiful. There are also memorial plaques and benches that can be purchased to help fund the cost of the upkeep of the garden. The next plan, White said, is to tackle the smaller pond with a trail, which he hopes can start in the fall. Read more here: https://www.macon.com/2012/05/22/2033486/gmc-garden-four-years-in-the-making.html#storylink=cpy
