FORT WALTON BEACH — The end of one longstanding program at Choice High School and Technical Center will help bolster other programs there.
Friday and Saturday, longtime instructor Sandy Lichauer will oversee the sale of hundreds of plants, shrubs and trees cultivated by him and students over the last three decades in the school’s horticulture program.
“Anything we can sell, I’m selling it,” Lichauer said Thursday as he took a break from tending hibiscus plants in the school’s greenhouse. “We want it to go.”
A variety of perennials, tropicals, ornamental grasses and exotic flowers will be available during the two-day sale. Stepping stones and lawn ornaments also will be sold.
All the money will go to help other programs at the school, according to Al Gardner, who oversees Choice.
Gardner said the school decided to end the certification program this year because of lack of interest and Lichauer’s pending retirement.
“We’ve struggled over the past few years with enrollment,” Gardner said. “It’s just not one of those programs that has a lot of appeal for young people.”
High schoolers or adults enrolled in horticulture can choose another program at the school, he said.
Current and former students were sad about the program ending, and many have stepped up to purchase plants.
On Thursday, student Lawrence Gurly was picking up some bamboos he’d helped plant and a few other odds and ends.
“Where are you going with that?” Lichauer asked Gurly as he watched him heft up a large plant.
“I’m buying it,” replied Gurly, who plans to make a career out of horticulture and landscaping.
Lichauer, who always has been drawn to gardening, said it took some effort for the Okaloosa County School District to persuade him to teach horticulture, but he has never regretted it.
Through the years, he’s taught courses ranging from landscaping to ecology to nursery management.
“I truly have loved every minute of it,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun.”
CHECK IT OUT: The plant sale will be from noon to 5 p.m. Friday and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Choice High School and Technical Center at 1976 Lewis Turner Blvd, in Fort Walton Beach.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.
