The overall goal of landscaping at Champaign County Nursing Home is to provide a feeling of home for its residents by providing appropriate landscape for beauty and as wildlife habitat. To achieve that goal, various plants, shrubs and tree have been installed on the property and they need to be maintained using good horticulture practices.

The education program’s goal is to have this person gain knowledge and skills in plant identification, plant and soil care, irrigation, transplanting and plant propagation, and disease and pest management.

The apprentice will:

1.      Identify common native and ornamental landscape plants.

2.      Troubleshoot pest, water, soil and location problems of landscape plants and plantings and take appropriate actions to fix the problems.

3.      Understand the botany and physiology of plants, including the growth patterns and reactions to nutrients.

4.      Identify weeds and the correct control procedures.

5.      Demonstrate thorough knowledge of horticulture tools and their care.

Anticipated time in this project will include approximately up to eight hours each month during the growing season (about April until October) as weather conditions warrant and require.

Initial supervision will be with an experience volunteer. The goal will be that the student will learn enough to continue the maintenance program and to be able to teach all of the above goals to another person.

I need help! Does this appeal to you? Let me know, we are almost into the season!

Jim

jhronek@co.champaign.il.us

So much fun at CCNH! Almost every day, one of the volunteers comes to my office with a huge smile. I hear many stories about spending time with one or more of our residents. One of the volunteers comes in almost every Monday morning and visits with “her” six residents. She is here for only one hour and she has been coming in for more than 10 years! You might think that she would get bored, but that is not the case. Her time here has become a habit for her. It is so good to hear her stories about what she does here.

Jim

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.

Steve Jobs

You are considering volunteering at Champaign County Nursing Home. That is good. We welcome new volunteers. We do not require a definite number of hours here. However, we encourage you to make a commitment of at least three months and come on a regular basis. You don not have to be here for a long time, 30-minutes once a week can mean a lot to our residents. Help us with organized activities, share a talent, assist with office chores, maintain the flower beds, wash windows (we have more than 500!) or scrub the walls in the kitchen. There are many ways that you can contribute to our goal of providing a high quality-of-life for our residents.

Send an email; take some time to do the right thing: jhronek@co.champaign.il.us.

Jim

Life is a sum of all your choices.

Albert Camus