Last week, Dr. James DelPrince, visiting faculty from Mississippi State University, presented a workshop at the UGA Griffin Research and Education Gardens where he shared at length about a relatively new Extension program, Master Floral Designer, that he has initiated. Dr. DelPrince shared about the extensive training these individuals receive and the expectation that they, in turn, would support Extension in outreach endeavors in this area. Anyone indicating interest in bringing the program to Georgia can express interest to Dr. Michael Toews, Associate Dean for Extension, caesext@uga.edu. When expressing interest in the program, individuals should clearly communicate the community benefit for the program (i.e., a means of engaging underserved audiences like residents in assisted living or individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, social and therapeutic horticulture benefits, addressing the “Health Benefits of Gardening” state initiative for the Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Program) rather than just interest in improving personal floral design skills.
