Like with any newly built home, the residents soon turn their attention to the landscaping.

At the Rapid City Regional Hospital Hospice House, completed about a year ago, residents are getting some help with that from a varied team of volunteers.

The Pennington County Master Gardeners, the National Forest Service and some students at St. Thomas More High School have been working for several weeks to enhance the aesthetic experience of Hospice House patients and their families.

The grounds serve a multitude of purposes, including respite for patients and families alike, said Barb Vargo, hospice volunteer coordinator.

"I see it as a place where families can come to take a deep breath," she said. "Moments of sacred silence are such a gift."

This "reclamation" project, currently in its first phase, is a joint effort to make the grounds around the Hospice House, at 224 Elk Street, pleasing to look at and low-maintenance, healthy plants.

The Hospice House provides 24-hour home-like care for terminally ill patients.

By clearing the forest and controlling erosion, the project will reduce fire danger and also will provide an outlet for families that wish to donate plants and decorations to beautify the area.

"With the guidance of the Master Gardeners and the Forest Service, we are enhancing the natural setting here at the Hospice House in such a way that it will live forever, thanks to the use of native plants, and also be extremely low-maintenance," said Marcia Taylor, director of home care and Hospice of the Hills.

The Pennington County Master Gardeners developed plans for the site, and Brian Brandt, a retired U.S. Forest Service firefighter, is managing the portion of the project dealing with the timber stand's health and safety.

Former Pennington County Extension Agent Bill Keck and John Ball from South Dakota State University have provided suggestions about tree selection and placement, and Cody Hutchinson with the Forest Service guided the tree thinning and timber health aspects.

Student volunteers from St. Thomas More have worked three weekends so far, pruning branches, hauling slash, laying erosion inhibitors and spreading compost to fulfill their graduation requirement of 40 hours of community service per year.

The students also plan to lay 5,000 square feet of erosion blanket and reseed the area with a wildflower/grass mix developed by the Master Gardeners. Funding for that part of the project was provided by a grant from the Chix in the Stix hiking group.

"Collaborative projects are always the most fun," Master Gardener and hospice volunteer Louise Engelstad said. "Part of our charter as Master Gardeners is to do work in the community."

She said the overall vision of the plan was to keep the site as natural as possible. "It's a reclaiming, enhancement project, similar to what is done in the national Forest Service regarding fire control and clearing out the forest floor."

The student volunteers are getting much more than their required community service hours from participating in the project.

"The boys have had an introduction into what hospice is about," Engelstad said.

St. Thomas More freshman Brandon Fuller agreed.

"I've learned more than just how to properly prune a tree," he said. "It's a lot of team-building stuff that will help us to graduate, go to college and enter the job market. It's a very worthwhile project."

In the spring, work will continue, expanding flower beds and planting the "Peace Garden" in front of the Hospice House, an Eagle Scout project in 2007 by Nathan Forsyth.

Fuller said he plans to see the project through to completion.

"I want to come back and see what we did, find out how it all comes together," he said.

For more information about Hospice of the Hills or to become a hospice volunteer, call 779-7780 or go to www.rcrh.org/Services/HomeCare.