A study relaxation

Rhiannon Keely sat relaxing on a bench, listening to the calming

effects of water trickling down a nearby man-made rock water fall. Later,

she broke into conversation with a friend as the two took a break from

classes at Golden West College on a crisp Tuesday morning.

“I think it’s so beautiful in this spot and a great way to unwind

after class,” said Keely, a freshman student from Westminster.

The area of the Golden West campus Keely is referring to is the new

President’s Courtyard of Honors, a refurbished quad that features new

landscaping and plaques that honor those who have helped contribute to

the growth of the college, now celebrating its 35th year.

The soft landscape improvements include plants such as ferns,

columbines and irises native to California and an upgraded grass area.

The hard landscape is made up of a man-made rock water feature, new

lighting and an upgraded irrigation system.

It is part of a “re-greening” policy under the direction of Lee

Eastwood, vice president of administrative services. Landscape

improvements have taken place in five areas of the 122-acre campus.

The Huntington Beach City Council was also impressed with the

beautification efforts and honored Golden West College with the city’s

environmental award Monday night.

Golden West College President Ken Yglesias accepted the award plaque

and gave a nod to staff members Dan Songster, Michael Hemphill, Rod

Wallbank and Steve Cone.

“This award is due to the beautification efforts of those staff

members in particular and their emphasis on planting the California

native garden,” Yglesias said. “All of our grounds crew is recognized and

commended for their efforts over the last two years, and I also want to

acknowledge Lee Eastwood for his proactive leadership in securing funds

and making this award possible.”

Eastwood has been at the college for the past 2 1/2 years and has

overseen beautification projects that have gone on around campus during

that time. Three major projects have taken place on campus: the painting

of buildings, the resealing of asphalt in parking lots and, most

important, Eastwood said, landscaping.

The buildings, he added, had not been painted in 20 years.

“We identified areas on campus that needed to be spruced up, then we

put the money into the beautification projects and followed through,”

said Eastwood, who put the total cost of the projects at $500,000. “The

money came from a combination of the college’s general fund and the money

earned from weekend swap meets held in our campus parking lots.”

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.