The Board of the Georgia Master Gardeners Association would like to extend a most grateful congratulations to the Fayette County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers for pulling off a great 2022 Annual Conference! The conference provided seamless presentations that attendees from GA and AL thoroughly enjoyed.
Stay tuned to this website for more info and Save the Date for next year’s 2023 Annual Conference in Hall County.
2022 Pre-Conference Activities
The Conference got off to a great start with three educational tours followed by a meet and greet on Friday evening at the Hampton Inn in Fayetteville. A summary of the three Tours follows:
Fayette Education Garden Tour- The Fayette Education Garden is a wonderful way to continue the mission of the University of Georgia by providing a hands-on Demonstration Garden to further community outreach and education. This garden is divided into different rooms to include native, edible, pollinator, perennial, bog, and keyhole gardens. This garden is utilized to conduct many educational classes and tours to give citizens ideas and instructions on proper gardening practices and techniques. It is fully maintained by Fayette County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers. The garden is located near the Fayette County Public Library and in walking distance to the SCT Environmental Center.
Fayette Environmental Center Tour- In 2019 the Southern Conservation Trust purchased the property at 305 Beauregard Blvd with plans to develop a Nature Center facility for Fayette County residents and visitors. The Fayette Environmental Education Center (FEEC) is in downtown Fayetteville offering visitors environmental educational and recreational opportunities within a quick walk from Triumph Station and City Center Park, the Library, restaurants, and other attractions. FEEC visitors can tour multiple gardens, domestic animal exhibits, and interpretive exhibits located on the grounds. Inside the Nature Center visitors can tour exhibits on native animals, agriculture, watersheds, conservation, and art installations. The historic home was re-constructed in the 1890’s, remodeled in 1985, and converted into a public learning space in 2021. Reclaimed materials destined for the landfill have been repurposed throughout the property helping maintain the story of Fayetteville. Development continues at the FEEC which is planned to be a 15-acre space that encourages an appreciation for the environment, food systems, conservation, art, and history.
Dogwood and Real-Life Center Tour- The sole purpose of the Fruit Orchard and Vegetable Garden is to provide fresh produce to the families of the Real Life Center, and it is distributed weekly through our Market. Since nutrition is hard to come by on a limited budget, the Orchard and Garden have been huge blessings! Lester Bray, a local Master Gardener, helped us get started, and experts from all over the state provided guidance and expertise: Pearson Peach Farms, Ison’s Nursery, Mercier Orchards, Master Gardeners, to name a few! The Orchard became a reality in 2011 with the planting of 135 blackberry vines, 300 blueberry bushes, 35 grape vines, 54 peach trees, 150 semi-dwarf apple trees, 12 pomegranate bushes, 7 plum trees, 7 fig trees, 4 pear trees, and 3 persimmon trees. Over 80 volunteers care for the Orchard. All volunteers are asked to pick a team, such as the blackberry team, so they can become experts in that one particular fruit.
2022 Conference
As people arrived at the conference location, everyone received a nice goody bag to take home and lots of coffee and snacks for breakfast. There was plenty of time to socialize and visit the numerous market vendors before the conference began. The host of the Conference, Kimberly Toal, of the Fayette County Extension Office managed a well coordinated event with the able assistance of Cynthis McCrary.
The conference was opened by GMGA President Dr. Phil Williams and followed by a welcoming of all Master Gardeners by Dr. Sheri Dorn of UGA.
We had door prizes between every speaker and LOTS of good things to bid on for the Silent Auction. Very few people left empty handed.
Our First presentation of the day was from Dr. Bethany Harris on ‘Developing an Eco-Friendly Garden’. Dr. Harris graduated from the University of Georgia with her BSES in Environmental Resource Science in 2013 and completed her MS degree in Entomology in 2015. Her master’s degree research focused on the importance and conservation of pollinators and the beneficial insects in southeastern landscapes. She completed her PhD in Horticulture in 2018, where she focused her research on the use of biodegradable containers and their decomposition in landscapes. She currently is the Horticulture Program Coordinator and Instructor at Southern Crescent Technical College.
In her presentation, Dr. Harris discussed how insects play a vital role in ecosystem health, helping to aerate soil, keeping the natural system in balance, and preventing detrimental pests from taking over essential natural resources. She provided information about the right plants, protection, and provision to provide pollinators and other beneficial insects to attract them to landscapes. She discussed a variety of native, annual, perennial plants to include in landscapes to keep pollinators visiting year-round.
Next, attendees explored inside the hive with Mr. Bonnell to see how honeybees keep their hives humming throughout the year. Tom is a member of the Henry County Beekeepers, Master Gardeners, hobbyist beekeeper and gardener. Prior to his current position, he retired from the State of Georgia and Clayton County Georgia. His favorite hobby, beekeeping, offers numerous opportunities to talk about beekeeping experiences with schools, clubs and other affiliations with the hope of increasing the number of future beekeepers.
During lunch everyone had an opportunity to bid on several items at the Silent Auction, visit with speakers, and market vendors.
After lunch, we were treated to another excellent presentation by Holly Campbell, a faculty member with Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, on ‘Wild Harvest’. Ms. Campbell holds a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and a master’s degree in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia. Her outreach work focuses on wildland fire, community forestry/ arboriculture, woody plant identification, and wild harvesting education in the state and southeastern region
In her presentation, Ms. Campbell provided information on how to safely identify, harvest, utilize, and store a variety of edible, native woody plants found in Georgia. Additionally, participants gained hands on experience processing yaupon tea. Just a few of the many plants covered included oak, persimmon, elderberry, pawpaw, and more.
Our final speaker for the day was Dr. Bodie Pennisi, Extension Horticulture Specialist in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Georgia. Dr. Pennisi is responsible for planning and coordinating a statewide Extension program to support the professional landscape industry and conducting applied research with emphasis on sustainable outdoor and indoor landscapes including plant, water, nutrient, and soil interactions. She also assists county Extension agents with landscape troubleshooting, landscape planning, and local programming when needed.
In her presentation, Dr. Pennisi shared information from 5 years of research on native annual and perennial flowers from locations across the state of Georgia. Which species propagate most easily, and which ones grow the best? Which flowers bring the most pollinators? She also shared tips on how to propagate select species from seed and cuttings.
Dr. Sheri Dorn, Dr. Pennisi, and Dr. Clint Waltz on the panel.
To round out our conference, attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions from an Extension Specialist Panel. The panel included Dr. Sheri Dorn, UGA Department of Horticulture, Dr. Bodie Pennisi, UGA Department of Horticulture, and Dr. Clint Waltz, UGA Department of Crop and Soil Science.
The Silent Auction had many desirable items up for bid and all were sold. AAMG Sales had an array of items and sold all of the Bluebird houses – even the display. Representing a variety of products to shop, 13 Vendors were in the hallway outside the Oglethorpe Room.
On behalf of the Fayette County Extension Office, thank you to all volunteers that helped make this conference a success including the Meet and Greet Committee, Room Design Committee, Conference Décor Committee, Registration Committee, Silent Auction and Door Prize Committee, and Refreshments and Lunch Committee.
The Board from GMGA would like to congratulate the Fayette County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers for a job well done. We would also like to thank the Real Life Center for the use of their facility and Chick-fil-A in College Park, GA for providing lunch and all other donors that helped support this year’s conference.