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.
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