Ingram and students deliver plants
He did it again! IAA Instructor and Advisor Ken Ingram has been awarded two Pepsi Enhancement Fund grants for the fall 2014 semester. Pepsi Grants provide funds for programs or events that create a campus community, appeal to campus citizens, and advance the university’s academic mission.
With Ken’s leadership, IAA’s Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) Student Chapter was awarded the two grants, and both grants involve collaboration among students in IAA classes. The projects will be both “educational and lots of fun,” according to Ingram.
The first grant activity, the Green Dorm Room Project, is modeled after this year’s successful Green Office Program in which IAA partnered with the University of Maryland’s Office of Sustainability to supply hundreds of splendid green plants to beautify campus offices. “Basically it is a houseplant giveaway to incoming resident students,” states Kelsie Birney, an IAA student who recently completed a special problems class assignment involved in selecting ideal plants for the project. “The project will conveniently integrate some of the early topics covered in INAG 100: Introduction to Plant Science, which is taught each fall.”
Student volunteers took plant cuttings this spring and 500 plants will be ready for students moving into their dorms in August.
The second “Pepsi Grant” activity, called “We Are Golf,” is modeled after a national campaign conducted by national golf organizations that united to bring the golf industry to the attention of policy makers. “There is a misconception that golf is an elitist sport,” states IAA student and PGMS member Brian Knott. “The truth is golf courses have many environmental and social benefits and the golf industry as a whole has a significant economic impact” Knott extolled.
The event is planned to coincide with the Biennial Ryder Cup Matches which will be at Gleneagles in Scotland September 26-28. Ken plans to involve students enrolled in his INAG 242: Golf Course Design and Construction class with this activity. He says the two-day event will include chipping and putting contests on the lawn in front of Jull Hall, distributions of literature about the value of the golf industry, and a flat screen television for live coverage of the US victory!
Stay tuned for more coverage of IAA students and faculty greening the UM campus.
