This week marked the second session of Grandparents University, where 44 enthusiastic grandparents and grandchildren joined Karen Mitchell and Vicki Stirm for a hands-on floral experience. The session began with an introduction to the HLA, highlighting exciting career paths and programs like Consumer Horticulture and the Master Gardener initiative. Participants then dove into the ever-popular[Read More…]
On July 15th, Vicki Stirm and Karen Mitchell hosted 29 folks of Caleb’s Kin group from Faith East Ministries of Lafayette for a garden tour of the Jules Janick Hort Gardens. We talked about different plants in the landscape, as well as talking about the Bioswale on the corner of the Pao lot and the[Read More…]
On July 17, 2025, Karen Mitchell, Karen Sullivan, and Vicki Stirm led a fun and engaging session as part of Grandparents University. They welcomed about 35 grandparents and their grandchildren, ages 7 to 14, for a special experience on campus. As part of the Grandparents University program, families come to campus, select a “major,” attend[Read More…]
On Friday, June 27th, the College of Agriculture’s Office of Academic Programming partnered with Vicki Stirm to host an exciting hands-on experience for 42 Juntos 4-H students from across Indiana. These junior high and middle school students rotated through 40-minute sessions designed to introduce them to the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (HLA) and[Read More…]
The HLA department kicked off the new semester with their annual Welcome Back Taco Thursday celebration August 22. Students, faculty, and staff came together to enjoy tacos, trivia, cornhole, and a fun photobooth. A big thank you to Gloribel Rosales-Burdin and Brandy Pinkard for organizing this fantastic event. We also appreciate Pam Fisher, the HLA[Read More…]
On Friday, July 12, Vicki Stirm and Karen Mitchell hosted the C-PASA (Cargill- Purdue Agribusiness and Science Academy) High School students. Participants toured the student farm, led by two summer interns. After that, they returned to campus and learned how an orchardist knows when to harvest apples, as well as did a blind taste test[Read More…]
Vicki Stirm, Kathryn Orvis and Karen Mitchell hosted several youth outreach projects in June. On June 13 and 14, 16 youth from the 4-H Academy – Living Landscapes worked with Dr. Kathryn Orvis and and Vicki Stirm on several horticulture activities: plant propagation of houseplants, a scavenger hunt in the Jules Janick Horticulture Garden, and[Read More…]