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A resolution recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Master Gardeners of Davidson County.
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WHEREAS, the Master Gardeners of Davidson County (“MGofDC”) organization was founded in 1986 to promote gardening and home horticulture through education, environmental stewardship, and volunteerism; and
WHEREAS, the MGofDC is an extension of the Institute of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee. Each Master Gardener is trained with 40 hours of horticultural classes and complete 40 hours of volunteer community service through the Agriculture Extension office; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, the MGofDC began its first volunteer project to restore an abandoned cemetery. The group also participated in a Recycling Fest held at Centennial Park by having a compost display; and
WHEREAS, in 1992, several members of the group displayed their gardens on the Volunteer Gardener TV program and Southern Living Magazine featured the Master Gardeners Flagpole Hill maintenance; and
WHEREAS, MGofDC hosted the first Junior Master Gardeners Day Camp in 2003 for kids between the ages of 8 and 14 to learn about home horticulture. This camp has since been replicated in many counties throughout Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, volunteers from MGofDC have completed landscaping for Habitat for Humanity and have participated in booths at the Tennessee State Fair and the Nashville Lawn and Garden show; and
WHEREAS, the MGofDC provides ongoing maintenance and stewardship of educational gardens throughout Davidson County, including the Nashville City Cemetery gardens, the Sunnyside Gardens at Sevier Park, the Meigs Middle School Garden, the Demonstration and Educational Gardens at Ellington Agricultural Center, the Heirloom Garden at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum, and the Hanging Gardens at Belle Meade; and
WHEREAS, through these educational gardens and programs such as the Speakers Bureau, native bee farming, and Ask a Master Gardener, the MGofDC provides research-based horticultural education to Davidson County residents on topics including gardening, composting, native plants, and pollinator stewardship; and
WHEREAS, for 40 years, the Master Gardeners of Davidson County have promoted environmental stewardship and community service through the practice of home horticulture.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That the Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as honoring and commending the Master Gardeners of Davidson County for the organization’s 40 years of supporting gardening horticulture in Nashville and Davidson County.
Section 2. That this Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.