HIdden in plain view at Forsyth Tech
Everything that the blog dislikes about the suburban nature of our city appears, at first glance, to be epitomized by Forsyth Technical Community College, which is located off Silas Creek Parkway near Interstate 40 Peters Creek Parkway. It's great to have a community college, but the buildings - mainly brutal 1970s type concrete - are islands in a sea of parking lots. The campus is accessible only by car and is not connected in any direct way to the surrounding neighborhoods. On a short walk on Sunday evening, however, the blog discovered the Kristin Hartz Memorial Garden, and its view is now a bit more nuanced. This garden, which is maintained by the horticulture students at Forsyth Tech, transforms one of Winston-Salem's creeksides into a place of quiet natural beauty. Here's a brief account from the Summer 2008 Tech Quarterly: The Hartz Garden welcomes students and visitors to the Main Campus, and might be called Forsyth Tech’s most beautiful lab. The garden is named for Kristin Hartz, an honors graduate of UNC–Chapel Hill, who decided that horticulture was her true calling. She was a student in the young horticulture program in 1988 when she tragically died in a car accident. Her family established a trust that has helped the garden grow and thrive. Now that we know the origin of the garden and who tends it, one mystery still remains: Does anyone but the occasional wayward blog ever walk there?
Everything that the blog dislikes about the suburban nature of our city appears, at first glance, to be epitomized by Forsyth Technical Community College, which is located off Silas Creek Parkway near Interstate 40 Peters Creek Parkway. It's great to have a community college, but the buildings - mainly brutal 1970s type concrete - are islands in a sea of parking lots. The campus is accessible only by car and is not connected in any direct way to the surrounding neighborhoods. On a short walk on Sunday evening, however, the blog discovered the Kristin Hartz Memorial Garden, and its view is now a bit more nuanced. This garden, which is maintained by the horticulture students at Forsyth Tech, transforms one of Winston-Salem's creeksides into a place of quiet natural beauty. Here's a brief account from the Summer 2008 Tech Quarterly: The Hartz Garden welcomes students and visitors to the Main Campus, and might be called Forsyth Tech’s most beautiful lab. The garden is named for Kristin Hartz, an honors graduate of UNC–Chapel Hill, who decided that horticulture was her true calling. She was a student in the young horticulture program in 1988 when she tragically died in a car accident. Her family established a trust that has helped the garden grow and thrive. Now that we know the origin of the garden and who tends it, one mystery still remains: Does anyone but the occasional wayward blog ever walk there?
I don't stay to far from there. It is so beautiful and peaceful. I didn't know her but I wonder if that is the type of spirit she had. It is such a Beautiful place. I walk through it every weekend when I'm feeling up to it..
ReplyDeleteYes, she was truly a beautiful person who I will never forget.
DeleteI love in the nearby apartments and this is my little paradise escape when I need a break from the daily. Love it!!
ReplyDelete