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Community digs in to support horticulture program

Contributed by: Erin Feese/YourHub.com on 6/2/2008

Signs reading "Don't bury the horticulture program," "Plants and students grow best here" and "Don't let our program wither and die" lined the entrance to Warren Tech's Garden Center on May 30 during the last day of the horticulture program's existence. Former students and community supporters gathered for a Dig In to protest the program's closure.

Former horticulture student Clint Hoy said he wouldn't have graduated high school if it wasn't for the program. He said he was heading down a path that would have likely ended in prison and the program helped him turn his life around.

"I would not be the person I am today without this program," Hoy said. "It taught me more than plants -- it taught me about myself."

The horticulture program has suffered from declining enrollment over the last few years, and there simply wasn't enough students signed up for next year make the program viable, said Melissa Reeves, news media specialist for Jeffco Public Schools . The program needed 40 students, and only about 22 were enrolled, so the principal made the decision to cut the program, she said.

Former student Lizy Muscia said she was "very upset" when she heard about the program being shut down. Now studying horticulture at Front Range Community College, Warren Tech helped her discover her passion, she said.

Liz Muscia, Lizy's mom, said she drove her daughter to Warren Tech from Thornton for two years so she could take horticulture classes. The program helped boost Lizy's confidence so much that she is now a straight-A student at Front Range, Liz Musica said.

Jenny Wyser, of Lakewood, is familiar with the program because her aunt and uncle would hire horticulture students to work on their Lakewood farm. She said she has bought plants at Warren Tech for 15 years.

"It will leave a big hole," Wyser said of the program's closure. "There will be no place for kids to learn about this stuff."

The horticulture program was founded 35 years ago by Bill Hobkirk and Jim Foster. When they created the program, the idea was to not only prepare students for jobs in the horticulture industry, but also make them proud of what they were doing, Foster said.

"It's been a great career for me," said Foster, who retired from Warren Tech a couple years ago. "I think the kids really loved coming to school."

At the Dig In, Foster was greeted with hugs and expressions of gratitude from former students.

"It's sad the program is closing," he said. "I regret that the district is choosing to let something with such a great history fade away."


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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Katherine Jerome
posted on 6/2/2008 @ 1:49:11 PM
Rated Story
I have been buying plants there for many years, and always walked away feeling so great about this program. What a shame for it to end. Thanks for sharing this Erin.
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