Alumni Spotlight: Buddy Hipp

Landscape Design and Implementation students enjoyed a tour of The Hotel at UMD, courtesy of alum Buddy Hipp.

Image Credit: Randie Hovatter

September 25, 2017

Christopher "Buddy" Hipp graduated from the Institute of Applied Agriculture's (IAA) Golf Course Management area of study in 2011. Like many successful University of Maryland grads, Buddy's career has evolved and changed shape since graduation.

As a student at the IAA, Hipp was involved in many student organizations such as the Professional Grounds Maintenance Society (PGMS), Turf Bowl, and the annual Shields Memorial Golf Tournament fundraiser. He completed his IAA internship at Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville, Md.

After earning his Certificate in Applied Agriculture, Hipp moved to Wilmington, NC, to work as a Second Assistant Superintendent at the Country Club of Landfall. He eventually returned to Maryland to work as an Assistant Superintendent at Manor Country Club in Rockville. Although he had achieved his goal of working outdoors and with turf, Hipp realized that working on a variety of sites would maximize his career fulfillment. This led him to his current job as Project Manager with Ashton Manor Environmental in Ashton, MD.

Ashton Manor Environmental specializes in designing sustainable landscaping that helps maintain and preserve surrounding natural resources. With contracts throughout the state of Maryland, Ashton Manor was an optimal choice to design and install the landscape at College Park's newest attraction: The Hotel at the University of Maryland. As the project manager, Hipp oversaw the planning and implementation of native landscaping at The Hotel.

Hipp offered Lecturer Ken Ingram and his INAG 222: Landscape Design and Implementation students an insider's tour of the landscaping at the soon-to-be finished hotel. The landscape plan includes a street-scape of native trees and shrubs planted in numerous bioretention basins designed to collect rainfall and runoff. The basins are connected to an underground cistern for reuse as irrigation water. Hipp also explained the logistics involved with landscaping a fifth-floor enclosed courtyard (accessible from the indoor pool, spa, and fitness center) with 20 native cherry trees and other ornamental plants. The plan also included greenroof plantings alongside The Hotel's penthouse, which offers an expansive view of the University of Maryland campus.

According to Hipp, he enjoys the variety of work sites that he gets to oversee on a daily basis. He credits the IAA with providing him the versatile background in plant science that is needed to excel as a Project Manager at Ashton Manor Environmental.

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