Liquidambar styraciflua 'Lane Roberts' - Amber Tree 'Lane Roberts'
Association of Weihenstephan Engineers: Generations in Exchange - with Enthusiasm for the Profession
The Association of Weihenstephan Engineers, one of the oldest alumni institutions of the University of Applied Sciences, donates an amber tree (Liquidambar styraciflua "Lane Roberts") in the arboretum. For the sponsor portrait, we spoke with the long-time chair of the association, Katrin Kell. According to her, she enjoys contact and exchange with people. And it is precisely this social interaction and the regular personal meetings that form the core of the association's work.
The Association of Weihenstephan Engineers has existed since 1949 and has accompanied the Higher State School of Horticulture, the School of Horticulture Engineering, the Weihenstephan University of Applied Sciences and the HSWT for over 70 years. He has linked students, graduates, professors, staff and friends of the Horticulture and Landscape Architecture departments and brought together companions and pioneers. Over the years, this has resulted in a stable social network that supports alumni events such as the Landscape Architecture Day or the University Forum on Horticulture.
Another focus is student support. "It is an affair of the heart for us," explains Katrin Kell. Students are supported during their studies and provided with contacts in the field who remain experienced contact persons even after graduation. That not only strengthens Horticulture and Landscape Architecture on a national level: By working together, strong leaders in the sector develop. Against this background, Kell also emphasises the importance of the prizes for social commitment that the association awards once a year. The so-called Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Awards of Honour are presented annually to former students of the HSWT who have rendered outstanding services to the University of Applied Sciences or have distinguished themselves in their profession.
In addition, further education seminars and events are part of the association's work, as is a regular newsletter with personal news and the most interesting Weihenstephan information.
As chair of the association, all these tasks are part of Katrin Kell's daily work. A passionate horticulturalist at the University of Applied Sciences, she raves about the association's sponsor tree: "I love its autumn colouring - a fantastic red." She declares trees to be plant personalities living in a completely different space dimension and time than humans. Plant personalities that would definitely be noticed by humans. She wishes the future visitors to the arboretum to enjoy the trees and to understand nature as a miracle through them.
Distribution: Southeastern North America to southern Illinois, west to eastern Texas, south to Florida, riparian forests, mixed deciduous forests.
Size: 20 metres high
Leaves: deciduous, alternate, maple-like, 5-7-lobed, 12 to 15 cm wide, deep purple, purple-brown, yellow-orange, wine-red in autumn
Flower: green spikes, pendulous long-stalked spherical heads
Fruits: spherical, woody capsules
