Through September 2, the University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University Extension of Cheatham County is taking applicants for the county's master gardener program.
Based in Ashland City, the program trains and certifies volunteers who provide related community services through the Cheatham County Extension Office.
All volunteers are trained with approximately 40 hours of horticultural classes and return 40 hours of volunteer community service with the goal of increasing the availability of horticultural information to improve the quality of life with community garden/ landscape programs and projects.
Coursework will include topics like: basic botany, soil, insects, lawns, herbaceous ornamentals, diseases, vegetable gardening, landscape design, backyard wildlife, and lawn and garden equipment. Classes are all taught by either Extension Agents or master gardeners.
According to Sierra Knaus, local Extension agent, Cheatham County is home to approximately 50 active volunteers.
"Locally our volunteers make about a $50,000 impact on Cheatham County," she says. "Master gardeners have a love of gardening and a passion to share it with others."
The master gardener program will be held on Monday evenings beginning on September 16; it will conclude on November 25.
Registration packets are available onhttps://cheatham.tennessee.edu or by calling 615-792-4420.
