Kenney gate gets a makeover

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carrie M. Peasinger
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The Kenney Gate Beautification Project is under way with a plan to spruce up the landscape.

The project consists of cleaning up the existing vegetation and planting more than 900 plants and flowers.

The project was as an idea of Victoria McLachlan, an Offutt resident. When she moved here she thought the Kenney gate looked distinguished with all the flags, however she felt the landscaping was past it's time and needed something more.

After becoming a member of the Bellevue Garden Club, Mclachlan pitched her idea to Col. Andrea Tullos, 55th Mission Support Group commander, and the proposal was accepted.

The 55th Wing agreed to provide the materials and volunteers to help and the Bellevue Garden Club would provide expertise in landscape design, flower and plant choices and soil preparation.

This project has become a great community outreach project, McLachlan said.

For instance, local suppliers were used, along with the tools and manpower provided by the Bellevue Garden Club, 55th Civil Engineering Squadron, the Company Grade Officers Commission and many Offutt volunteers.

Civil engineering started the project in August, demolishing and removing old planting materials and providing the necessary tools for the project.

Next, the Bellevue Garden Club prepared the flower beds by adding Omagrow and tilling the soil.

On Sept. 13, more than 20 volunteers helped to plant over 400 plants.

"We thought it would take from 7 a.m., when the plants arrived, to 5 p.m., but all the plants were planted by 11 a.m. All the volunteers worked very diligently, McLachlan said.

The next planting day is planned for Oct. 17, when volunteers will plant 500 daffodils.

The plants will bloom throughout the year, providing color for three seasons, McLachlan said.

"This is going to add color to the gate and be very sustainable for people to enjoy for years to come, said Capt. Lyndsey Schaet, a member of the Company Grade Officers Commission.

All the plants are native to the area and are all easily sustainable, requiring low maintenance. Civil engineering will maintain the plants by watering them and mulching annually.

"It was nice to see how many young troops were here today and if later in their careers they return to Offutt, they will be able to see the plants flourishing and say that they were a part of that," Mclachlan said.