NCTA Horticulture Students Attend Oak Symposium
Hands-on opportunities continue in abundance for NCTA students. Horticulture students and instructors from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture recently visited Bur Oak Canyon as a part of a two-day symposium sponsored by ReTree Nebraska.
Held on the McCook Community College campus, the conference began Monday morning. Instructor Lance Stott had hoped to attend the entire conference noting that it would have been beneficial. Since it was not feasible to attend both days, Stott opted to take the students on Tuesday, September 9, 2008, where morning events included seminars on how Nebraska's hydro-geology may have influenced the history of Bur Oak Canyon. The morning also included a presentation on the role that these Oak trees may have played in the lives of Native Americans of the Great Plains. During the afternoon, participants ventured to the Driftwood Creek area for a tour of Bur Oak Canyon where a native stand of 600-year-old Bur Oak trees have established. Chas Berke, NCTA horticulture student, stated, "It was interesting to see the 600 year old trees in their natural habitat." Berke holds a special interest in habitat and has started her own landscape business in Eustis, NE, called SunValley Landscaping, Inc.
Sports Turf major Mitchell McVicker, of Haigler, NE, was more interested in other aspects of the experience, including weed species and native grass identification. McVicker, who plans to become a sports turf manager, noted, "Seeing all the weeds that can occur in grassland and rangeland will be beneficial within my career." Stott added that many rangeland weeds are also common within landscapes and turf grasses.
A presentation about the growth, selection, and preservation of Oak trees on the Great Plains closed the day. The first-hand look at the species diversity of the native Bur Oaks helped students gain insight into the events leading to the trees' longevity and added to their hands-on educational experience at NCTA. For more information about the NCTA Horticulture program, please call Lance Stott at 1-800-3CURTIS.
