On November 15th, 2023, Ruppert Landscape’s Lilburn, Georgia landscape management branch partnered with the Georgia Green Industry Association (GGIA) to install all new landscaping around the Newton County Agricultural Center, home to the Georgia Future Farmers of America (FFA). The Lilburn team provided the landscape design, prepped the site, installed irrigation, and helped organize the landscape installation with FFA teachers/community volunteers.
Leading up to installation day, the irrigation crew (Nick Williams, Luis Benjume, and Chris Gramley) installed a brand new four-zone system, each set up with different watering methods (drip tube, rotors, MP rotors, and spray heads). Meanwhile, the enhancement crew (Saul Cardona, Wilfer Salguero, Carlos Paz, and Juliet Chamberlain) prepped each planting area for the volunteer event; grading approximately 5,000 square feet to install sod, tilling 2 beds, spreading 8 yards of soil, installing 2 dry creek beds with 6 tons of river rock, and installing 9 boulders.
The day of the event, 32 FFA teachers from across Georgia came to help install the landscape, which included a mix of sod, mulch, shrubs, trees, and native perennials. Ruppert area managers Ethan Faber and Kurt Myers helped train them on plant installation, sod laying, and irrigation. These hardworking volunteers then stepped in to install every plant, lay the sod, and install the majority of the irrigation heads. Once the installation was complete, Ethan and Kurt also demonstrated how to operate the irrigation system from the clock and how to adjust each irrigation head.
In all, this was an incredible team effort and a wonderful example of community partnership. We hope that this new building and its fresh landscape will help inspire many more future farmers, agriculturalists, horticulturalists, and landscapers to come!