3 minute read
Students discover that volunteering and learning go hand in hand
Plants & Trees Inspire Bright Futures
Students discover that volunteering and learning go hand in hand.
By Tracee Patterson, Associate Director of Volunteer and Employee Engagement
For nearly 20 years, volunteers assisting at our Cleveland Botanical Garden campus in the early morning hours may have seen a somewhat sleepy-looking group of teen volunteers hauling plants, tools, books and backpacks on their way to Hershey Classroom.
These are the students of Excel TECC.
Excel TECC (Technical Education Career Consortium) is an innovative career program designed to prepare local high school students for technical careers. Holden Forests & Gardens relationship with Excel TECC began in 2003, when Cleveland Botanical Garden began hosting students from the Gates Mills Environmental Education Center (GMEEC). During the academic year, Lead Instructor Kim Haydu would bring 12 students to the Botanical Garden and the Midtown Green Corps Learning Farm. They would receive traditional classroom instruction as well as hands-on experience that enhanced their learning and provided much-needed volunteer support to horticultural staff, contributing about 3,500 volunteer hours annually.
Director of Gardens & Glasshouses Andrew Pratt was serving as Grounds Manager in those early years and worked with the students
and Haydu. “They helped with projects, mulching, changing out plants — anything you can think of that staff would do, they did too! Our gardens were their learning laboratory, and Kim’s gentle but no-nonsense teaching style really prepared the students not only for careers in horticultural, but for life. It was great to see she was still with the program when I returned to Holden Forests & Gardens this year.”
However, the 2020 pandemic brought concerns about the health of staff and students working in the close proximity of the Garden campus. Excel TECC administrators and HF&G staff quickly reimagined how to continue the students’ experiential learning and their volunteer support.
Director of Arboretum Horticulture Annie Rzepka “jumped at the chance” to transition the program to the more open spaces at the Holden Arboretum. “Having a dozen students dedicated to assisting with day-to-day garden tasks like planting or covering polyhouses or packing plants for sale is an immense help, especially when we’re without seasonal staff. They bring strong backs and a youthful perspective when we need it the most!” With some creative adjustments, a few new safety protocols and the commitment of HF&G staff and leadership, the Excel TECC partnership continued. Rzepka, Pratt and Haydu also speak of an added benefit of the partnership — the opportunity it brings to nurture the next generation of horticulture professionals. Haydu’s favorite Excel TECC memories are from after the students graduate: “When our alumni come back to visit, I love hearing their stories about how this program began their journey. Many continue their horticultural education in college, others work on ground crews or as arborists, and some pursue owning their own landscaping business.”
For Rzepka, it’s personal: “My first real experience with horticulture was at Holden Arboretum as a senior in high school — it shaped my studies, my passion and my career. I am ever grateful to the people here who nurtured my love of plants by sharing their love of plants. I hope we can spark the same passion in the Excel TECC students by connecting them to the wonder and beauty of plants!”
— Kim Haydu
MEET THE STAFF
Tracee Patterson is the Associate Director of Volunteer & Employee Engagement. Her prior work in volunteerism involved administrative and teaching positions at John Carroll University and Kent State University, where she coordinated and implemented service-learning programming and classes for students. Tracee was the 2020 recipient of the Volunteer Administrator of the Year Award by the Forum for Volunteer Administrators.
