WARREN – Jada Sisco began working with soils and landscaping while she was a student at Trumbull Career and Technical Center.
Today, the 22-year-old Warren resident is looking forward to attending the Garden 2012 Conference for Master Gardeners this weekend in downtown Warren. The conference’s theme is “Bloom Where You are Planted” and highlights the burgeoning popularity of urban gardening.
The conference will have an urban flavor and focus on re-imagining public and private space to include horticulture and agriculture.
Article Photos
Tribune Chronicle / Raymond L. Smith
Master Gardener intern Jada Sisco of Warren and Ava Mills, a granddaughter of a local Master Gardener, examine vegetables grown at the Victory Gardens on Warren’s west side.
Sisco is working toward her certification to become a Master Gardener.
“I love gardening,” Sisco said. “I am very hands-on and enjoy working in the soil. I also like introducing young people to gardening.
“You don’t see too many other kids like me gardening,” she said. “I want to bring it back to the neighborhood.”
Sisco spent this summer working with Warren City Schools children at the AGAPE School as a part of an urban 4-H program.
This weekend’s conference will provide workshops for Master Gardeners from the 88 counties around the state to learn about different aspects of gardening. There are more than 3,700 Master Gardener volunteers across the state. Some of these gardeners will be
be coming to Warren for educational training.
Fact Box
When you go
WHAT: Garden 2012 Conference for Master Gardeners
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
SPECIAL: Sessions for the public run simultaneously on Courthouse Square, Warren
More than 31 speakers will give presentations during the annual conference.
The general public will be able to participate in separate workshops Saturday on Courthouse Square in downtown Warren.
“Residents will be able to hear the same people that the Master Gardeners will be hearing in their workshops,” Mike Paquet, a Master Gardener program coordinator from Warren, said. “This is the first time that residents will be able to participate.”
The program is being co-sponsored by the Ohio State University Extension, Eastern Gateway Community College, Warren City Schools, city of Warren, First Presbyterian Church and Trumbull County commissioners.
In addition to the seminars, The Ohio State University Jazz Band and the Warren G. Harding Jazz Ensemble will perform Saturday. There will be tours of local sites.
Trumbull Art Gallery will present “A Garden Like No Other,” artist representations of various items associated with gardening. The platform will be a patch of green with trees and flagstone pathways behind the courthouse. It will be installed between 8 and 11 a.m. and available for viewing until about 5 p.m.
In case of rain, it will be available for viewing in the TAG Galleries, 196 E. Market St.
TAG will be hosting a reception for the public at 4 p.m. Saturday. It will have an exhibit “Special Plants and Pots” by Gilmore’s Greenhouse, which will show cacti, succulents and vessels
“Our goal is to increase the environmental literacy,” he said. “We want to instill knowledge about eating safe and buying locally grown foods. It is reminding people of horticultural techniques that were around 50 to 60 years ago.”
“We are about empowerment through education,” Paquet said.
Will Allen, a former ABA basketball and now an internationally renowned expert on urban farming, will be the keynote speaker at the event. Allen is a McAurthur Genius Award winner for his work with urban farming.
Jackie Mills, a Master Gardener from Warren, will talk about the urban 4-H program that she helped set up in the city schools.
“When people talk about 4-H programs, they generally think about people in suburban or rural communities, not children living in inner city communities,” Mills said. “We introduced sewing, recycling, making hypertufa containers, and other items.
Approximately 400 students participated in the urban 4-H program. They taught the students about using fruits and vegetables, including how to make a tomato, corn and fruit salsas. Plants were grown at the Warren greenhouse.
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