Beautifying the campus
naturally, one day at a time

Keith Lingenfelter works to revitalize the grounds outside the seminary's Wiedemann Center

PHILADELPHIA, PA (April 14, 2005) - In a hurry? Running to class or to the next meeting? Is your day crammed full of activities?

Take a breath of fresh spring air. Spend a few moments with horticulturist Keith Lingenfelter, who teams with John Trew, LTSP's grounds supervisor, to beautify the natural resources on the seminary's 13.5-acre campus. Together, the two of them are ambassadors for and loving caretakers of God's natural handiwork in our midst. On this day, Lingenfelter is revitalizing a bed around a Red Maple in front of the Wiedemann Center. It is one of many stops along his weekly way. Lingenfelter and Trew can be seen working vigorously throughout the day to care for the campus.

Lingenfelter has been at work a year. His significant other, Natalie, is a student on a five-year journey studying to be an osteopathic physician at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic medicine. The two anticipate getting married in October. Lingenfelter earned his undergraduate degree in forestry at Colorado State University. Lingenfelter, a native of State College, PA.

Working on the campus is exactly what Lingenfelter had in mind for himself when he and Natalie came to Philadelphia. "The campus is an unofficial arboretum," he says. He likes the idea of managing everything from the ground up in such a setting. And Lingenfelter likes the strategy that he and Trew and John Kaufmann, registrar emeritus, have been drawing up. He describes the approach as making minimal use of chemicals and "emphasizing biological control and management. It is a longer process," he explains, but it is enormously satisfying. Lingenfelter imagines he will be at this for a while at LTSP, since Natalie's education process lasts as long as five years. "I look forward to working on the landscaping around the new building. What I am doing is certainly part of the whole plan to revitalize a beautiful campus."

Grounds Supervisor John Trew, left, and Horticulturist Keith Lingenfelter prepare to plant spring flowers in front of the Hagan Administration Building.

Lingenfelter has a way of talking about the trees like friends. He points to a tree between the seminary's main driveway and the 1792 Refectory, noting that it is native to Japan. He talks about a Pagoda Tree on the other side of the campus. "It's one of many ornamental trees on the campus." In an interview several years ago, Kaufmann noted that a number of maturing trees on the campus were brought to the campus by missionaries as seedlings from other parts of the globe, China for instance.

His advice to those of us who either walk briskly or meander on the grounds with the squirrels?

"Take a breath of fresh air," he says. "Remember that you are in the midst of an urban forest in an urban setting. Take a look around. Realize how fortunate we are to be around such a grand display in an urban residential area. There's not a whole lot of this around…"

And say thanks to Keith and John while you are at it. Their naturalized development of the grounds is a slow process. "Enjoy the change," Keith Lingenfelter says.