Thirteen Schools Scheduled to Compete in 'Field Day'

Students from more than a dozen schools will test their mettle in a variety of events at the Mid-Atlantic Horticulture/Landscape Field Day, which Pennsylvania College of Technology will host on Saturday, April 7, at its Earth Science Center campus near Allenwood.

At last year's Field Day, which was held at State University of New York Farmingdale, a team of students in the Landscape/Nursery Technology and Floral Design/Interior Plantscape programs in Penn College's School of Natural Resources Management recorded the College's 10th first-place finish in 16 years.

In addition to Penn College, schools competing this year are: Blue Ridge Community College (Flat Rock, N.C.), Cuyahoga Community College (Highland Hills, Ohio), Delaware Valley College (Doylestown), Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square), New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, N.Y.), Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture (Ontario, Canada), Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (Wooster, Ohio), Owens Community College (Toledo, Ohio), Suffolk County Community College (Riverhead, N.Y.), State University of New York Farmingdale, Temple University-Ambler Campus and the University of Connecticut.

Competition categories include Arboricultural Techniques, Balling and Burlapping, Botany, Floral Design, Flower and Foliage Identification, Herbaceous Plant Identification, Horticulture Trivia, Insect and Disease Identification, Interior Plant Identification, Landscape Construction Estimation, Landscape Design Problem, Outdoor Plant Identification, Patio Construction (Using Brick Pavers), People Management Skills, Pruning, Sales Presentation, Surveying, Weed and Turf Identification and Wood Construction.

Sponsors include Bartlett Tree Experts, Exton; Bozzuto Landscaping, Laurel; The Brickman Group Ltd., Columbia, Md.; Country Market Nursery, Mechanicsburg; Davey Tree Expert Co., Kent, Ohio; Davis Landscape Ltd., Harrisburg; DuBrow's, Pittstown, N.J.; Fairview Evergreen Nursery, Fairview; Gale Nurseries, Gwynedd; Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction, Midland Park, N.J.; Joanne Kostecky Garden Design, Allentown; John A. Meinert Landscaping, Pittsburgh; London Grove Nursery, Avondale; Moroni's Greenhouse, Elmira, N.Y.; the Pennsylvania Floral Industry Association, Harrisburg; Rave Landscaping, Dallas; Shearon Environmental Design Co., Plymouth Meeting; and Shiloh Nurseries, Emigsville.

The contests are scheduled to get under way at 9 a.m. An awards dinner will be held at 5 p.m.

The Earth Science Center is located off Route 15, about 12 miles south of Penn College's main campus. For more information about the College, visit online.