Cultivating a community and planting connections, the Long Beach City College horticulture program hosted its annual welcome back event on Sept. 14 at PCC.
Attendees were able to venture through the horticulture program’s lush greenhouse and professionally landscaped grounds; which consist of a koi pond, rose garden, fruit orchard, organic vegetable garden, annual and perennial garden, and an established tropical garden.
“It’s a living lab,” said Moises Gutierrez, Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Mathematics. “It’s tactile and everything is changing. Its ambiance is designed to spark curiosity.”
The Long Beach City College Horticulture program was founded in the mid-70s and offers hands-on classes that explore the science and art behind cultivating plants.
This welcome back event featured hot drinks and crepes in hopes to unite the program’s new students and alumni, as well as any curious friends or family.
The program offers classes such as Basic Horticulture, Greenhouse Management and Operation, Principles of Landscape Design and Turf Management, Plant Identification: Trees, Shrubs, Tropicals, Herbaceous, Landscape Construction, Integrated Pest Management, Hort/Animal Science for Disabled Students, Plant Propagation, and Principles of Pruning.
Their available courses are transferable to 4-year universities, along with dual enrollment courses and a two-year program to receive a horticulture certificate.
In the garden, students actively engage in planting fruits, vegetables, and seeds such as jack fruit and passion fruit seeds.
“There is a lack of space at the LAC campus, it’s very well saturated. We’re branching out to students and schools with land. We’re hoping to plant seeds in places that are willing,” Gutierrez stated.
Beyond fruits and vegetables, former students in the landscape class spent the semester constructing an outdoor patio and zen garden.
“At the end of the day, this event was made for the students to feel welcomed. It’s an opportunity to share the garden with whoever,” stated Jorge Ochoa, a Long Beach City College Horticulture Professor. “If we get many students to come, that’s great. If we only get one student to come, that’s still a success.”
In the upcoming future, the Horticulture program will be hosting an end-of-the-year party to celebrate and congratulate those who have completed the course. It’s open to anyone who wishes to attend.
Those interested in enrolling in the Horticulture program can find more information by calling (562) 938-3092 or visiting their website at www.hort.lbcc.edu.
The horticulture department’s greenhouse houses greenery at the Pacific Coast Campus in Long Beach. The horticulture program hosted their annual welcome back event on Sept. 14, 2023. (Kassie Sainz) 
A horticulture student’s project is on display at the Pacific Coast Campus in Long Beach. The horticulture program hosted their annual welcome back event on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (Kassie Sainz) 
The horticulture department’s greenhouse houses greenery at the Pacific Coast Campus in Long Beach. The horticulture program hosted their annual welcome back event on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (Kassie Sainz) 
The horticulture department’s greenhouse houses greenery at the Pacific Coast Campus in Long Beach. The horticulture program hosted their annual welcome back event on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (Kassie Sainz) 
The horticulture department’s greenhouse houses greenery at the Pacific Coast Campus in Long Beach. The horticulture program hosted their annual welcome back event on Sept. 14, 2023. (Kassie Sainz)