Azaleas Gifted to Nash Community College
NC Beautiful, WRAL-TV5 and Capitol Broadcasting have selected Nash Community College (NCC) to receive 50 azaleas for use in its beautification project at the Myrtle Carter Henry Amphitheater. The award is part of NC Beautiful’s 28th Annual Azalea Celebration, which selects North Carolina community groups for improving their communities through creative landscape projects.
The new azalea garden was planted beside the seating area of the College’s Myrtle Carter Henry Amphitheater. Nash Community College’s new LiveWell and Learn Trail, a 2.5 mile fitness and nature trail winding through the wooded area of campus, will bisect the garden, giving visitors a chance to explore and enjoy the garden.
The College’s Master Gardener Ken White and the Campus Tree Advisory Committee coordinated the planting and student and employee volunteers from the NCC Science Department, Math & Science Club, Student Government Association, and other student organizations assisted. General upkeep and maintenance tasks will also be performed by curriculum students through the Science Department Student Learning Project and by community members taking Continuing Education personal enrichment classes related to horticulture.
Nash Community College has concentrated its efforts on beautifying the campus for the benefit of the students and the community for the past eight years. NCC’s current beautification project, of which the Azalea Garden will be part, is the LiveWell and Learn Trail. Opening to the public in the fall, the trail will wind through the wooded back area of campus. Loops and spurs are currently being added to increase the length of the trail and take visitors to learning and fitness stations and the outdoor amphitheater. The Amphitheater area will include the pond, woodland shelter, and Azalea Garden.
Thirty learning stations along the LiveWell and Learn Trail will feature Quick Response (QR) Codes etched into metal plates mounted on poles. Visitors will scan the codes with a smartphone or tablet to launch an informational webpage about a relevant subject such as botany, local history, conservation, ornithology, or fitness. The College envisions that the LiveWell and Learn Trail will become a favorite destination for families and individuals to enjoy nature, stay fit, and learn about the area they call home.
The LiveWell and Learn Trail and the Myrtle Carter Henry Amphitheater area have been created by the College for the community and area travelers to enjoy. The Amphitheater was built in 2003 and enhanced in 2014 with support from the DeLeon Carter Foundation. A concrete seating platform and bridge were built in early 2013 through two Eagle Scout projects.
