05/19/16 sry
Sixty miles south of Hays, students and Dr. Jean Gleichsner, recently retired associate professor of agriculture from the Department of Agriculture Home Horticulture class, dedicated their time to a service-learning project at the Larned Pride community garden and orchard and at Schnack-Lowery Park.

At the garden, students planted potatoes and tomatoes into the ground and flowers and other vegetables into raised garden beds. They also painted display stands in a nearby shelter area.

In the orchard, students pruned apple and cherry trees and cut back grape and blackberry vines. They also loaded bags of mulch onto a small front-end loader for transportation to the orchard, where they mulched around the blueberry bushes and grapevines.

At the park, a couple students changed the oil in the John Schnack Express train that circles the playground, while four others replaced wood beams that support the track. Others put a base coat on the train tunnel in preparation of a mural that a local artist will paint.

"This service-learning project allows students to integrate community service activities into academic curriculum," said Gleichsner.

The community garden and orchard were created in 2009 by a group of Larned residents with a mission to create a better environment and to enhance the health for those in Pawnee County and the surrounding area.