Horticulture News - STLCC.eduusers.stlcc.edu/departments/fvbio/Horticulture... · Horticulture News Newsle ©er of STLCC‐Meramec ... This is the first edition newsletter initiated

HorticultureNewsNewsle er of STLCC‐Meramec 

Issue 1 • August 2012 

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 20: Fall semester classes begin

October 25: Registration for Spring 2013 begins online and on campus

December 10: Final exams begin

In This Issue

Directors Update Alum and Student Spotlights

Hort Club Update Program Information

Registration Information

Paul Roberts, Associate Professor Phone: 314-984-7714 E-mail: [email protected] Dan Billman, Associate Professor Phone: 314-984-7459 E-mail: [email protected]

Jerry Pence, Facilitator Phone: 314-984-7374 E-mail: [email protected]

Hor culture Contact Informa on

                       Director’ Update                       Paul Roberts

This is the first edition newsletter initiated by the Horticulture Program at St. Louis Community

College-Meramec. Our newsletters are intended to inform you about courses, students and what’s hap-pening in the landscape on campus and maybe a few words on an issue or two. My plan is to send these newsletters two or three times during the year to keep the Horticulture community informed about pro-gram developments.

And the first issue is……is it hot! As I write this I’m watching the thermometer touch 104-F. The main focus of the crew is to keep our gardens alive. When environmental extremes occur whether cold or heat we certainly find out about plant hardiness and the fine line between life and death of our cherished cultivars.

Attached to the newsletter is the Program Information Sheet that is given out to prospective stu-dents. This is the broad brush stroke listing the courses and illustrating the focus of the Horticulture Pro-gram. I will attach this with each newsletter. Please feel free to pass it along to anyone who may be inter-ested in attending the Program. Also, attached is a Rotation Sheet illustrating which courses will be of-fered during the fall and spring semesters. Since it is usually six semesters out students can easily plan out their academic future.

Another feature that I am very excited about is profiling our students, employers or individuals who have generously given their time enabling the Program to grow and develop. In this issue we have profiled two successful alums; Shelia Loyet class of 2006 and Jackson Long, class of 2011 (December). Shelia has been very successful at SFP Landscaping during her 7 year tenure. Mark LaBarge, her em-ployer, commented to me, very recently, how pleased he is with her work at SFP. Jackson Long is off to the University of Missouri to further his education in Landscape Horticulture. Jackson’s focus will carry him through to his bachelor’s degree and beyond. Yes, the Horticulture Pro-gram does transfer! Beside University of Missouri, students have transferred to Southeast Missouri State and Missouri State, as well as Iowa State University, Michigan State University, Virginia Tech Universi-ty, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Ohio State University and Kansas State University to name a few. Jackson is another successful graduate who will carry the good name of SLCC-Horticulture be-yond our walls. Read the profiles; everyone has a story and it is always exciting to see SLCC as a part of their life.

Organizations in the green industry have always played an important role in the Horticulture Pro-gram, a source of employment for students, advisement for the Horticulture Program or helping procure materials to build our gardens. On September 20, 2012 the Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis will cosponsor a field day event with the Horticulture Program. This day is all about education for people in the green industry and is a great opportunity for students to network with business owners and individu-als working in the field and, of course, to listen to our speakers talk about topics specific to their field to expertise.

If you are interested in pursuing Horticulture classes, contact information is included in this newsletter.  

Jackson Long

Jackson is a Hor culture Program graduate from December, 2011.  The 22 year old is bound for University of Missouri‐Columbia to con nue his educa‐on, with a major in Landscape Hor culture.  Jackson a ended MU out of high 

school for his freshman year, with an idea of an Agriculture degree.  When the clas‐ses in his second semester all had 500 students in them, he began to rethink his fu‐ture. 

  In looking at op ons, he decided that SLCC Meramec Hor culture program would be the best fit.  He has family friends who have taken classes in the program and they “raved” about the quality of the program. 

  Both of Jackson’s parents have strong agricultural backgrounds in Georgia.  His mother was raised on a chicken farm and his father was an agricultural sales‐man.  While living in St. Louis, the family bought a farm, 10 years ago, in southern Missouri where they raise ca le and goats.  The experience of being outdoors and agricultural life influenced Jackson strongly.  His mother and grandmother have al‐ways been big gardeners, which caught his a en on. 

  While at Meramec, Jackson learned how the topics in the various classes overlapped.  With a history of working in garden installa on and maintenance, the science and biology of Hor culture were new to him.  He feels absolutely prepared for a return to a university a er taking the responsibility of being a full‐ me stu‐dent seriously.  He feels academically prepared because many of the classes at Meramec are university level.  In summer of 2011, he completed his Coopera ve Hor culture class at the St. Louis Zoo, which was a new exposure to public garden‐ing.  Co‐op provides the student with experience in different areas of hor culture and enables him/her to acquire actual work skills. 

  At Mizzou, Jackson will minor in accoun ng.  With a goal of owning his own business, he knows that this skill will be valuable.  He credits his parents’ successful entrepreneurship and hard work for ins lling this goal.  On the road to that, he hopes to work at a large nursery or landscape installa on company where he can use both parts of his degree. 

Student Spotlight 

Sheila Loyet

Sheila was employed in the banking industry for 18 years before com‐ing to St. Louis Community College.  She was a technical support liaison 

between bankers and the computer systems staff.  She helped staff assess needs, imple‐mented programs and trained users on them.  As banking changed, she found herself pro‐fessionally and personally ready for a change.  Her husband encouraged her to inves gate the Hor culture Program at SLCC Meramec.  She was looking for a degree program that would lead to something more than a hobby. 

She has always been interested in plants as a family legacy.  Her grandmother was an Ozark and Oklahoma wildflower expert.  Her father was a farmer, who became a voca‐onal agriculture teacher.  Her mother grew roses, annuals and containers gardens.  Sheila 

feels she came to love ac ve gardening by osmosis. 

When she began classes at Meramec, Sheila felt that Landscape Design was her pri‐mary interest and the more classes that she took, the more certain she became. She en‐joyed her work in the Greenhouse on campus, as well as Hor culture Coopera ve class, where she worked at Missouri Botanical garden, gaining hands‐on experience, but design is her main concentra on. 

At Meramec she enjoyed all of her classes, par cularly the Plant Iden fica on courses and the four courses suppor ng Landscape Design.  She feels the Hort Program is “a gem” available to the community.  “I like to tell people about it all the  me.”  She thought it was tremendous that “so many courses are offered and that there are day and night courses”.  This allows everyone the same opportunity to complete the program.   

She also commented on how the faculty and staff “make the program.  Everyone who works there wants to be (at Meramec) and the passion is infec ous.”  The small class sizes and rota on of courses help students get to know each other well.  Sheila feels that the shortcuts learned, while mastering design principles, made her transi on to the work‐place successful. 

Upon gradua on, Sheila has been employed at SFP Landscaping and con nues into her 7th season.  She is full‐ me landscape designer.  The company executes design/build projects and installa on in commercial and residen al se ngs. She does design work, as well as preparing proposals and visi ng sites to lay out plants.  She con nues to use the computer design program that she learned at Meramec.  She finds her professional life a sa sfying blend of the technical and crea ve aspects of her personality. 

Alumnus Profile 

Hort Club Update

All Horticulture students, both past and present, are welcome as members of the Hort Club. The Club sponsors a Holiday Poinsettia Sale and a Spring Plant Sale. Plants are grown in our greenhouse on campus, with student work. The funds raised are used for BBQs, trips, and speakers.

Welcome back to a new semester everyone! The Horticulture Club at Mera-mec has got some fun things planned for the future and we’ll be ready to get out and enjoy the fall. The major event for the Summer of 2012 was the Chi-

cago field trip. Nearly 40 students and staff took a bus to Chicago and visited the Chicago Botani-cal Gardens, Morton Arboretum, and Ball Seed. Make sure you’re on our email list for the future events. Give your email to your instructor.

The Poinsettia crop arrives the week of August 13, and the sale will begin November 19. This is open to the public, so please feel free to stop by our greenhouse. This is a great time of year for students to get some firsthand experience in a greenhouse taking care of a crop and bring-ing it to sale.

While it is still early in the semester and a lot of planning still needs done, the Horticulture Program is a co-sponsor of the Hort Co-op Short Course on September 20, and we will be asking for student volunteers to help in preparing the campus, as well as work on the day of the event. We are also currently in the process of developing some beautification projects around campus for fall plantings and working to schedule a social event to welcome in some new members. As with the beginning of any new semester we will be pushing to get new members signed up to our email list to keep everyone informed of future events. If you or anyone you know would like be to signed up for the email updates you can email me at [email protected] and let me know you’d like to receive them. We look forward to getting a lit-tle dirt on our hands with you!

Justin Lee – Horticulture Club President  

Non‐Discrimina on: St. Louis Community College is commi ed to non‐discrimina on and equal opportuni es in its admissions, educa onal programs, ac vi es and employment regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orienta on, na onal origin, ancestry, age, disability or status as a disabled or Vietnam‐era veteran and shall take ac on necessary to ensure non‐discrimina on. Accommoda ons: St. Louis Community College makes every reasonable effort to accommodate individuals with disabili es. If you have accommoda on needs, please call the Access office at 314‐513‐4551 within two working days of the scheduled event. Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may call via Relay Missouri by dialing 711. 

Fall     Spring 

Introductory Hor culture     Introductory Hor culture 

Ornamental Plants‐Trees and Vines     Ornamental Plants‐Shrubs and Evergreens 

Ornamental Plants Herbaceous Perennials     Soils 

Plant Pest Management     Grounds Management 

Soils     Coopera ve Hor culture 

Coopera ve Hor culture       

Fall 2012     Spring 2013 

Landscape Design II     Landscape Design III 

Turfgrass Management     Plant Propaga on 

      Urban Tree Management 

Fall 2013     Spring 2014 

Landscape Design I     Landscape Design II 

Nursery and Garden Center Management     Greenhouse Management 

Landscape Irriga on     Golf Course Management 

Annuals and Ornamental Grasses       

Micropropaga on      

Fall 2014     Spring 2015 

Landscape Design III     Landscape Design I 

Turfgrass Management     Plant Propaga on 

      Urban Tree Management 

Fall 2015     Spring 2016 

Landscape Design II     Landscape Design III 

Nursery and Garden Center Management     Greenhouse Management 

Landscape Irriga on     Golf Course Management 

Annuals and Ornamental Grasses       

Micropropaga on      

Horticulture Course Rotations

Horticulture Core Courses (offered every Spring or Fall Semester)

Course Options offered every other year)

**Chemistry for Environmental Careers will be offered in the evening during the fall 2012 semester; Tuesday 6:00 – 8:50pm and Thursday 6 – 7:50pm.