Feature Article - for release the week of May 3, 2009

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

A Very Green Class

Spring is the time for graduation, and recently the Okeechobee Extension office kept up with this seasonal tradition.  No, it’s not about our local high school or college students, but our very own Master Gardner Program. Our latest crop of four volunteers has finished their class work and now begins their careers as Florida Master Gardeners. 

Master Gardeners are volunteers that work with the Cooperative Extension Service, bringing research-based information about Florida Yards and gardens to local residents.  To become Master Gardeners, these volunteers spent more than 60 hours in the classroom and made field visits through out the Treasure Coast.  They more time on their own, studying all about plants, soils, pests and problem solving methods.

Through our long cool winter and spring, these dedicated green thumbs learned the ins and outs of Florida Friendly gardening.  Classes often included teleconference training along with hundreds of volunteers all over Florida.  These “Polycom” sessions allowed students to learn from UF Extension specialists based in places like Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Gainesville.  Local Agent Dan Culbert broadcast the Basic Botany lesson from right here in Okeechobee to all parts of the state.

Okeechobee Master Gardeners

Our county’s first Master Gardener was Rudy Suchel.  In 1996, Bill Hendry traveled over to Ft. Pierce to gain his Master Gardener training with other Treasure Coast volunteers.  Since 2003, our Extension program has trained 16 other Master Gardeners. 

This new class now begins to pay-back the public for all their new found knowledge.  They have agreed to provide a minimum of 75 hours of volunteer service during the next year. 

Our new graduates will begin by helping local veterans Terri Lane, Fran Everly, and Wendy Watts who host our Tuesday afternoon Master Gardener Clinic.  This is when all kinds of interesting pest and plant problems are called in from the public. 

Florida Yards and Neighborhood Program Assistant Angela Sachson is also a Master Gardener, but she is an employee, helping to bring Florida-Friendly landscaping ideas to folks in the Heartland of Florida.  Throughout the next year these volunteers are planning to be part of demonstration projects such as the FYN Butterfly Garden in downtown Okeechobee and some other sites they are working on.   

 

Here is our graduating class of 2009 (L to R):

 

• Michael Danielson is an outdoor enthusiast and a devoted family man. His appreciation of all things green stemmed in part from a previous job taking care of commercial landscapes.  His real love is edible horticulture, and plans to use his new knowledge in growing vegetables and fruits in the dooryard.  Mike plans to be involved in helping share horticulture through 4-H gardening clubs and activities.

 

• Kim Underwood grew up in her granny’s garden, and has worked in the commercial pest control business. She now works with landscapes on the Seminole reservation.  Her hope is to improve her diagnostic skills in the Master Gardener clinic and improve the use of Florida Friendly landscape principles with her both her employer and the people she will help as a Florida Master Gardener.

• Maureen Abel has been gardening for over 30 years in many areas of Florida and in Ireland.  She loves to experiment and has a love of learning.  Besides beautifying her own ranch, she is looking at ways to help residents learn about food self-sufficiency through vegetable gardening projects in the community.

• Debbie Davies gained many of her gardening experiences in the northeast US and in Stuart.  She loves color gardening and is a regular visitor to the new Okeechobee Orchid Club.  Working as a designer and a realtor, she is now working in retail sales.  Her hope as a Master Gardener is to encourage the use of lots more color in our Okeechobee landscapes.

 

If you want additional information on the Master Gardening program or would like to be part of the next class, see our webpage http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu, send us an email okeechobee@ufl.edu  or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit with Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons.  Happy Graduation Day & GO Gators!

-30- 

The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Millie Ferrer, Interim Dean. Last update: 04/30/2009.  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert