The trees along the Pennsylvania Turnpike may still be bare this time of year.

But inside the Hickory Run Service Plaza, travelers will soon experience lush greenery year-round, thanks to art students from Panther Valley Junior Senior High School.

This fall the students spent more than a month working with a professional artist to create four “hanging gardens” which will be displayed inside the service plaza.

“It’s the green that we sometimes miss in the winter, or when you’re inside school all day — when you want to feel that connection to nature that all people are intrinsically linked into,” said artist Mallory Zondag, who spent six weeks working with Panther Valley students to create the work.

The students brought the greenery of Pennsylvania’s forests indoors with their work. They turned wool into hundreds of leaves which make up the four pieces, representing the forests surrounding the Jim Thorpe area.

They were led by art teacher Kim Burkett and Zondag, who studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

The project was funded with a grant from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and Pennsylvania Council for the Arts.

The piece is set to be unveiled on April 6.

Other turnpike art installations have remained up for years. Even if the students go on to pursue careers outside art, they will have a piece hanging in public for many years to come.

To turn wool into more than 800 felt leaves required an all-hands effort from 143 art students in grades 7-12.

A smaller group of advanced art students created laser-cut wood ornaments which adorn the finished piece.

At times, the work was repetitive. But Zondag reminded the students to learn about how large-scale art installations require many artists to come together to create something really big.

“It takes a lot of work and a lot of effort from a whole group of people to create something so large, and something that really changes the space. I think they all enjoyed it,” she said.

Zondag shared her background in fiber arts with the students. She taught them the process of wet felting, where wool is rubbed together until it knits into felt fabric.

She also taught them how to use a needle to push one color felt through another to create designs.

Wet felting is more often found in college art courses than high school. The students were excited to get a chance to learn something outside of their regular curriculum.

“I usually like to draw or paint. This is a new skill with the wool, seeing how you can shape it, and it becomes art,” said Brianna Cabrera, a senior.

Zondag’s art often involves using wool to create pieces which appear to be made of living plants.

She likes to bring the outside into indoor spaces.

Wet felting was developed centuries ago. But the project also incorporated a technique which is very modern in the laser-cut wood ornaments. Students were encouraged to choose designs which reflected their personality and interests. Some chose camping or other outdoor activities.

Freshman Selena Bauder chose a cassette tape because it reminded her of car rides around Jim Thorpe and listening to music.

“I liked that we could do that with the project and add our own piece to it,” she said.

Because the project was meant to reflect the Jim Thorpe area, the students met with the famous athlete’s grandson, John Thorpe.

He brought some medals which served as inspiration for some of the ornaments.

Burkett said that having Zondag at the school was a valuable resource for the young art students.

They learned skills which would normally cost a lot of money to learn at a camp or college course.

Zondag said that she got something out of the project as well. While she has experience doing installations with other art students, the six-week project was longer than usual and she got to know the students during the time they worked together.

“Getting to stitch and talk with them in that setting was one of my favorite parts. It was a very relaxed way of getting to know the kids and also sharing art and sharing projects together,” she said.