Stellar
Joy Garden honors retired faculty members and sustainability champions
CONWAY, Ark. (March 17,
2023) — Hendrix College Professor of Art Maxine Payne and student volunteers
have transformed a small space within the College’s Art Complex into a pollinating
garden of native plants, creating a healthy ecosystem and a beautiful, natural
space for the Hendrix community to learn, rest, and reflect.
The
garden, supported by the Hendrix Odyssey Program, will provide educational
opportunities for future generations of Hendrix students. Payne named the
project the Stellar Joy Garden in honor of
two retired faculty colleagues, Dr. Stella Čapek and Dr. Joyce Hardin, both
longtime campus sustainability champions.
In
designing the project for students, Payne wanted the garden to “foster a sense
of community with the natural environment on campus, raise public awareness of
native plants and the benefits of pollinators, address the issue of climate
change on a small, local, and feasible scale, and relieve Facilities of the
burden of maintaining the space.”
Payne,
who teaches photography, is also an avid gardener.
“I
have been gardening my whole life. Growing up on a farm in rural Arkansas with
my grandparents taught me how to garden for sustenance because we raised most
of the food we ate. I have had my own garden, no matter where I have lived,
since I was 19,” she said. “While I do not have to raise my own food to survive
now, my desire to experience the world physically, with my hands in the soil,
has grown and is a significant part of how I live.”
She
has been planting native or heirloom trees, grasses, and flowers that are
focused on supporting pollinators on her own land for 13 years. Her property is
Audubon Gold Certified, a certified Wildlife Habitat and is currently in two
long term environmental quality initiative programs through Arkansas Game &
Fish and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation
Center.
“I
adhere to a ‘no mow, no tilling’ policy to encourage the restoration of the
land, which was terraced in the 1930s to grow cotton,” said Payne, who joined
the Hendrix faculty in 2002. Two years ago, she started a cut flower business,
Maude & Payne, and last winter finished coursework and volunteer hours to
become a Faulkner County Master Gardener.
The
Odyssey-sponsored campus project began with preparing the existing plot
(removing evergreen shrubs, day lilies, non-native trees, river rock, and
landscape fiber, as well as soil testing) before constructing the new garden,
which integrates an existing koi pond, wrought iron fencing with a gate, and
pathways made from faux stone and bricks, which were part of the senior gift
from the Class of 2003.
The Stellar Joy Garden also
includes new and repurposed structures, such as sculptures and seating, created
by students and Payne’s Art Department colleagues, that benefit pollinators,
including water and nesting sources, and a place for visitors to sit and enjoy
the environment. It also includes plant and other educational signage for
visitors.
Native
plants for the garden were selected based on their ability to support a variety
of pollinators and suitability for the site. Some of the plants came from
Payne’s own garden, the gardens of other Faulkner County Master Gardeners, and
from Pine
Ridge Gardens in
London, Arkansas, owned by MaryAnn King, a highly respected native plant expert
who has been inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame for her work
growing and selling native pollinating plants, which she has been doing for 29
years.
Because
of the nature of native perennial plants, ongoing garden maintenance will be
minimal.
“Ultimately,
I hope it can serve as a model for restoring more of the grounds on campus to
native planting, which is much more sustainable and environmentally
beneficial,” she said, adding that there is already a sprinkler system
installed in the new garden space, which further minimizes maintenance costs.
“There are so many places on campus to be naturalized, and there is a lot of
potential for changing the landscape on campus to be more sustainable with minimal
maintenance. I would really like to do more projects like this.”
In
addition to inspiring future campus sustainability projects, Payne hopes her
colleagues across campus will use the garden in a variety of disciplines,
including courses in art, biology, creative writing, environmental studies, and
psychology.
The
garden will be at its best in late summer and early fall, Payne said.
Student
participants included project volunteers and those completing 30 hours of work,
reading, research, and reflection to earn Service to the World credit through
the Hendrix Odyssey Program. (See the full list of participants below).
Hendrix student members
of the Volunteer Action Committee who volunteered for the Stellar Joy Garden include:
- Annemarie Bennett ’22
- Andy Bootz ’22
- Landry Dosher ’23
- Kayla Grabinski ’23
- Gillian Henneberry ’23
- Victoria Horan ’23
- Danielle Kuntz ’22
- Madeline Leicht ’21
- Emerson Lejong ’23
- Christian Maddox ’22
- Gabby Naples ’23
- Ashley Nguyen ’23
- Allie Rogers ’25
- Oli Steven-Assheuer ’22
- Tristam Williams Thompson ’22
- Vivian Waldron ’23
- Jovaun Williams ’22
The
following Hendrix students received Odyssey credit for their participation:
Elijah Dilday ’23 (for the pollinator habitat), Emerson Lejong ’23, Jessica
Rickerby ’21, and Ellery Seymour ’24.
Andy Huss, Assistant
Professor of Visual Arts at Hendrix, provided substantial help. His ceramics
class built the insect habitat. Home Energy RX of Little Rock provided additional project support, including a
truck, trailer, and additional volunteer labor. Hendrix Provost Dr. Terri
Bonebright provided additional support for the garden’s plants, and Nate
Cowden, Director of Operations in the College’s Facilities Management office,
was very supportive of Payne throughout the project. Hendrix alumna Mary Nail
Farris ’20 designed graphics for the garden’s signage.