|
|
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. -- Thousands of people drive through the tollbooth just west of Chambers. Not as many see the plaza just to the north of the toll takers on E-470.
If they did, they'd see fields of flowers and trees.
And if they pulled into the office area, they'd see a curving berm that is primary evidence of the six-year drought. The slender branches of coralberry and snowberry bushes hang weary. The old mulch has grayed.
"They've stood up pretty well considering the drought," said Bill Cary, horticulture instructor at Pickens Tech, an occupational training school in the Aurora Public Schools system.
But not well enough for E-470 officials. A major project will soon start to revive the area.
Three of Cary's students will be primarily responsible for the new look. They are Christina LaCroix, 37, Centennial; Derek Horning, 17, Parker; and Asnoldo Benitez, 20, Aurora.
Walt Arnason, E-470 operations manager, had asked Pickens Tech to come up with designs for other parts of the plaza. So he went back to the well, asking for designs.
Each of the top three was given a plaque and money for their efforts. LaCroix took first place and $300, Horning second and $150 and Benitez third and $75.
Their designs will be merged and incorporated into a plan.
The drought drove LaCroix's design more than the specs, which called for "lots of plants," she said.
"A lot of plant material is kind of a slap in the face to people who can't water," LaCroix said. "Whatever's done needs to be natural and xeriscaped so it doesn't stand out as this wonderful landscaped hill."
So she went with spruce trees and a lot of rock "so it can look very beautiful without looking overlandscaped and overwatered."
Horning and Benitez incorporated rock and trees into their designs as well.
The students are working toward their certificates in horticulture management at Pickens Tech.
LaCroix owns a hairdressing business and has already done some landscape design for friends.
Benitez wants to get a job in horticulture management to pay his way through Community College of Aurora. But he's always been interested in plants.
"Trees, forests make me feel calm. I thought it would be good to work in them," he said.
Horning, a Ponderosa High School student, wants to get into irrigation design for areas like subdivisions and golf courses.
The students learned from each other and offered suggestions. They also learned something about themselves.
"I didn't know I could draw. I kind of thought I sucked at drawing," Horning said. "But Bill said I wasn't. So I kind of done did it."