GROUNDED IN RESEARCH, ROOTED IN EXTENSION Edited By: Ellen Bauske Contributors Tami Boyle Kris Braman Richie Braman Willie Chance Wayne Gardner Becky Griffin Beth Horne Todd Hurt Contents Center Technology: Meeting Industry, Extension, and Consumer Needs . 5 Agent Development and Master Gardener Training........................................ 6 Turfgrass Worker Training - The Key to Sustainable, Healthy Turfgrass . 7 40 Gallon Challenge Water Conservation Program ........................................ 8 Arborist safety training..........................................................................................9 Landsapes, septic systems, and Master Gardeners........................................ 10 Local Food, Local Impact - Healthy Life Community G arden..................... 11 Healthy Life Community Garden - Local Food............................................. 12 Conservation Garden - Bee, Butterfly and Beneficial Insects..................... 13 Professional Improvement for Landscapers and Nurserymen........................14 Connecting Students to Urban Agricultural Careers......................................... 15 The Green Team and Center Event Coordination........................................... 16 Homeowner Association Newsletters: A Natural Conduit For Extension Information ..................................................................................... 17 On-line Study Tools for Professional Certification........................................ 18 Pesticide Applicator Recertification - New Certification - New Resources.................................................................................................. 19 Landscape Alerts.................................................................................................. 20 Pest Control A lerts..............................................................................................21 Safety Training for Hispanic Landscape Workers: Good for Workers and Good for Business.........................................................................22 Pizza Farm: Connecting Urban Youth with Georgia's Agriculture and Good Nutrition.........................................................................23 Our Landscape, Our Stream, Our Watershed: A Multi-State Advanced Master Gardener Program Addresses Urban Water Issues........ 24 Distance Diagnostics Through Digital Imaging System.................................. 25 Sustainable Strategies Support Cut Flower Production.................................. 26 Research and Education Garden...................................................................27-29 UGA Faculty Contribute to National extension Collaborative Efforts .... 30 Tools and Tactics to Enhance IPM Adoption by Small Vegetable Market Growers and Home Horticulturists........................................................31 Industry Economics..........................................................................................32 Master Gardeners Increase Capacity: Advanced Training in Homeowner Integrated Pest Management....................................................... 33 UGA Urban Forestry Issue Team Compounds the Impact of their Trainings.................................................................................................. 34 Awards, Publications and Funding.................................................................... 35 Publications.....................................................................................................36-45 Urban Center Collaborators......................................................................... 46-47 Index................................................................................................................48-50 Notes..................................................................................................................... 51 THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA C o lleg e of AGRICULTURAL & E nvironmental Sc ien c es CENTER TECHNOLOGY: MEETING INDUSTRY, EXTENSION, AND CONSUMER NEEDS Center development prowess has contrib­ he Center website (ugaurbanag.com) uted to many projects. houses hundreds of convenient, cu­ Trated, and easily searchable articles covering GardenPro uses QR tags in stores an expansive list of landscape, garden, and to provide accurate and concise pest topics. information for shoppers and con­ nects them to the local Extension Businesses can access office. rainy day - any day train­ ing. Urban Ag profession­ GardenSource helps users identify als can: insect resistant plants. • Register on-line The Center iPAD lab (over 40 iP- for Green Team ADs, traveling hotspot, and Pro- workshops. Scope mobile microscope) have been used to train agents, take • Register and field data, test certification appli­ order study cants, and orient new faculty. materials for the Georgia Center wikis organize training Certified programs and coordinate activities Landscape Profession­ Center websites support nation­ al and Georgia Certified Plant Profes­ al meetings, house training pro­ sional programs. grams, and support special proj­ • Sharpen their skills with on-line gal­ ects. leries and quizzes. For more information contact rbraman@ • Prepare for exams with the easy-to- uga.edu. use on-line platforms. • Access Supercrew and bilingual land­ scape safety training program videos, study guides, and evaluations. Extension agents can access resources to assist in county program efforts. Available on the Center website are PowerPoint presenta­ tions covering hundreds of topics. Ready-to- go programs in turfgrass training, water, 1PM and other topics; links to time saving guides and relevant newsletters; and source materi­ al for newsletter/newspaper articles are made available for agent use. 5 IfjfcUGA w extension AGENT DEVELOPMENT AND MASTER GARDENER TRAINING developments, new rban Agriculture and Natural Re­ programs, person­ source (ANR) agents must be on top nel changes that J g A g e n t Uof the latest developments in many diverse,affect agents, use­ T r a i n i n g technical areas. They need to be intellectually ful apps. handling armed to answer questions on a variety of top­ difficult people and Master Gardener T r a in in g ics, from kudzu bug infestations, tomato dis­ permitting issues). eases, potential soil contamination, tree care, and water quality topics. It is important for The most recent UGA Extension Urban ANR agents to master technology that Agent Update was ^ I M P A C T M can help them serve their hroad and diverse held at the Gover­ clientele. They need the opportunity to work nor’s Mansion in collaboratively on complex issues. Atlanta. Agents toured the house and the grounds and provided illustrative hands-on examples of tree care, ornamental beds, and unique turfgrass. Center training efforts have also reached out to include Master Gardener (MG) Exten­ sion volunteers. These MG volunteers often handle homeowner questions and concerns in urban Extension offices. They conduct vol­ unteer projects and interact with the general public. Center programs have provided ad­ vanced training to Master Gardeners in urban Since its inception, the Center has pro­ water issues, integrated pest management, vided a venue at which agents can hone their tree care, and septic system maintenance. skills and interact. Two to four Urban Ag Up­ dates are held annually which address these For more information contact ebauske@ issues and many topics (e.g. the latest research uga.edu. 6 THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA a COLLEGE of AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES TURFGRASS WORKER TRAINING - THE KEY TO SUSTAINABLE, HEALTHY TURFGRASS he public’s interest in low water use and sustainable Tturfgrass is increasing. Poor installa­ tion and maintenance can adversely impact water use of turfgrass. Work­ ers on the job site are frequently temporary, seasonal workers, and rarely attend tradeshows and other educational venues. Yet they are often directly responsible for the sustainability of turfgrass in the landscape. Trainings were developed with ing. The participants received a Certificate of funding from the Georgia Specialty Crop Completion. Block Grant Program. Trainings provid­ ed information on turfgrass installation and In addition to the educational impact, su­ maintenance in clear, simple language and pervisors and business owners noted other promoted sustainable, low water use turfgrass measurable benefits. After going through systems. The trainings were short, none ex­ training, several groups decided to sharpen ceeded 30 minutes, allowing them to be easily their lawn mower blades more often. Two incorporated into the workday, either before groups planned on calibrating mowers to crews left in the morning, at lunch, or after make sure mowing heights were adjusted crews returned in the evening. to the turfgrass species. Another compa­ ny used the training to teach their employ­ Trainings were held in 16 counties in ees to change damaged irrigation sprinkler Georgia, often on-site at landscape compa­ heads, freeing up supervisors for other duties. nies. A total of 2,251 workers received train­ Workers mastered the material, improving 30% on post-training evaluations. Business owners and supervisors frequently asked for additional training. One supervisor noted, “Everyone commented on how in­ formative this session was ... they gained a lot of knowledge.” All re­ sources created for these trainings are available on-line. For more information contact [email protected], cwaltz@uga. edu or [email protected] 7 fylU G A 'H r extension 40 GALLON CHALLENGE WATER