All things bright and beautiful.

• Position: INSPIRING EDUCATION

HPU is going greener - one leaf at a time. Visitors as well as students, staff and faculty now enjoy 18 gardens on campus, which are cared for by a curator of grounds, Jon Roethling working in conjunction with Matt Mahoney, head of the landscape initiative. For the past two years, HPU was named a Tree Campus USA University by the Arbor Day Foundation.

First Lady Mariana Qubein is extremely involved in the gardens. She started the Arboretum Committee -recruiting biology professors, students, staff members and interested community members--and designed a plan for the botanical gardens, which the Board of Trustees named The Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Qubein says the gardens add not only an educational component to the grounds for anyone interested in botany, but a peaceful presence. "They are very inspiring, calming and beautiful," she says. "They provide a retreat for students, faculty and staff to ... find refuge in nature."

Roethling, who has a bachelor's degree in horticultural science from N.C. State University, came to HPU in November and is in the process of cataloging and labeling every tree on campus through the efforts of the Student Arboretum Team. The Tree Campus USA designation is a recognition of the university making a commitment to not only protecting and maintaining the existing trees on campus, but also to expand the tree canopy on campus. 'The numbers of trees that will prosper here in this area of North Carolina is enormous," says Roethling.

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The gardens vary in size and scope greatly. Some are more focused, such as an area named for the late Dr. E. Roy Epperson, which is a reflection of his personal interests, especially the Iris. Others are more diverse; The Faculty and Staff Perennial Garden was populated by donations and divisions given by - you guessed it - faculty and staff.

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Each...