Annual Conference 2024 — Georgia Master Gardeners Association

UGA Griffin
45th Anniversary of Master Gardening

2024 GMGA Annual Conference
October 4 & 5, 2024

Hosted by UGA Griffin and Henry County Master Gardeners

Stuckey Conference Center, 111 Stuckey Dr, Griffin, GA 30501

IMPORTANT NOTE: OUR CONFERENCE IS SOLD OUT SO THE INFORMATION BELOW IS FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED.

Henry County Master Gardeners, invite all gardeners, experienced or beginners, to join us for our annual conference in Griffin, Georgia. It is being held at the Stuckey Conference Center on the UGA Campus.

The day of the conference will be divided into two featured speakers and two breakout sessions where participants will choose from among 4 concurrent sessions. Expert presenters will provide inspiration, ideas and information related to our theme, Think Globally, Grow Locally. Registration includes opportunities to hear nationally recognized speakers, food, fellowship and garden-themed shopping. Our event is open to GMGA members, friends of GMGA at $75 and non-members at $95! Saturday will have informative booths, and vendors selling plants, art, tools and more plus Door Prizes! As usual a Silent Auction will be held with some very nice items for sale.

Friday, October 4th, features an array of tours offered by the UGA staff on the Griffin campus. Tours last 2.5 hours and are offered at 2 different times. The University will be offering a Tram to shuttle participants between sites. Registration for the campus tours are being managed and scheduled by UGA.

Hotel Information

Reservations must be made BEFORE Sept 1st to secure the group rate.

Hotel: Holiday Inn Express Suites
Group Name: GA Master Gardeners
Click here to book your room

Conference Agenda

NOTE: A Friday Night Meet and Greet has not been scheduled this year

October 5th

8:00 - 9:00 AM:
Registration/ Continental Breakfast/Vendor Sales/Silent Auction

9:00 - 9:25 AM:
Welcome & Introduction, General Housekeeping Announcements
GMGA President Opening Remarks & ANR Award
Dr. Sheri Dorn Remarks

9:25 - 10:25 AM
SPEAKER: Brie Arthur, New Era of Foodscaping

10:25 - 10:40 AM
Break/Vendor Sales

10:40 - 11:45 AM
SPEAKER: Mario Camberdella, Celebrating Local Growers’ Contributions

11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Lunch | vendor sales | book signing |silent auction

1:00 -1:45 PM
Breakout sessions I:

SPEAKER 1: Brie Arthur: Cultivating a Cottage Garen in the South
SPEAKER 2: Lyndy Broder: Pinwheel of Perserverence
SPEAKER 3: Niamke Boykin: Worm Your Way to a Great Garden with Vermicomposting
SPEAKER 4: Trecia Neal: Wet Your Beak, How to Attract Birds to Your Garden

1:45 - 2:30 PM
Breakout sessions II:

SPEAKER 1: Elle Barker: Cultivating the Art of Urban Homesteading
SPEAKER 2: Trecia Neal: Plant Myths and Why They’re All Wrong
SPEAKER 3: Mike/Judy Cunningham: No-Till Gardening
SPEAKER 4: Sheri Dorn: Project GROW: A New Curriculum for MGEV-led Programming

2:30 - 3:10 PM
Break, silent auction closed, door prizes and directions.3:00 PM:
Remarks — Thank you sponsors; intro next year's group; silent auction and door prize directions

3:10 - 4:10 PM
SPEAKER: Joe Lamp’l, Growing a Greener World

4:10 PM
Dismissal

Speaker Information

Featured Speaker — Brie Arthur

Brie Arthur- Brie Arthur, a celebrated bestselling author and distinguished horticulturist, captivates audiences with her dynamic presentations and groundbreaking gardening insights. Known for her leadership with the national Foodscape movement and her lively, information packed presentations, Brie Arthur is a celebrated speaker and bestselling author. With two decades of experience as a professional horticulturist, propagator, and communicator Brie shares her expertise with audiences around the country and is a correspondent on the Emmy award winning PBS Television show “Growing a Greener World”. Follow Brie’s gardening journey through her YouTube channel, Brie the Plant Lady.

Featured Speaker — Mario Camberdella

Mario Camberdella - Mario Cambardella has had a diverse range of work experience and training. Mario is the Founder and CEO of ServeScape, a Techstars company that operates as Atlanta's largest online landscape design and plant nursery. His was very involved in overseeing and founding Urban Agriculture Inc in the Atlanta Sustainability project. He was a Graduate student and Assistant at UGA from 2009 to 2013 and project manager at Valley Crest Co.prior to that.

He has a Masters in Environmental Planning and Design and Masters of Landscape Architecture plus a Bachelors in Landscape Architecture all from UGA.

Mario obtained the Professional Landscape Architect certification from the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) in October 2012. Furthermore, they obtained the Level II: Erosion & Sediment Control Plan Design Professional certification from the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission in December 2014.

Featured Speaker — Mike and Judy Cunningham

Mike and Judy Cunningham – Country Gardens Family Farms Mike Cunningham is an Organic Farmer and Horticulturist from Newnan, Georgia. He has a degree in Horticulture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia. His wife Judy pursued a degree in Home Economics and worked as an assistant for UGA Extensio9n Services. They have a 2 acre garden farm and what is sold at the store is raised at the farm. It is truly a family affair.

Featured Speaker — Sheri Dorn

Sheri Dorn – Sheri Dorn joined the University of Georgia Department of Horticulture on the Griffin Campus in June 2012. She serves as Extension Specialist for Consumer Ornamental Plants and as the State Coordinator for the Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Program. As a gardener, Sheri is passionate about vegetable gardening and color in the garden! She enjoys raising vegetables and small fruits with her family. She loves to plant colorful container gardens with annual and perennial combinations, and tries to visit public gardens whenever possible.

As a researcher, Sheri is most interested in the human dimension of horticulture. She seeks to quantify engagement with plants and to describe underlying motivations and benefits for doing so, using a primarily quantitative approach (survey methodology).

Featured Speaker — Joe Lamp’l

Joe Lamp’l is the Creator, Host and Executive Producer of the Emmy-award-winning national PBS series, Growing a Greener World®, Founder of joegardener.com, and creator of the joe gardener Online Gardening Academy™. He is also the previous host of Fresh from the Garden on DIY Network, as well as on-air contributor to Today, Good Morning America and The Weather Channel. Past awards include The American Horticultural Society’s B.Y. Morrison Communication Award, which recognizes effective and inspirational communication—through print, radio, television, podcasts and other online media. He is the author of several books on Gardening.

Breakout Speaker — Lyndy Brody

Lyndy Broder, an avid gardener, transformed a ten-acre pasture near Atlanta into a diverse landscape: three acres of formal gardens, one for native pollinator perennials, one woodland, and five of native grasslands. Her formal garden, featuring hundreds of clematis hybrids, was showcased on HGTV's "A Gardener’s Diary." Lyndy's expertise in native clematis, particularly the viorna section, led her to presidency in the International Clematis Society. She served in various gardening organizations, including as President of the Georgia Perennial Plant Association and on boards for the American Hydrangea Society and Georgia Master Gardeners. Lyndy holds a Certificate of Native Plants from the University of Georgia and is active in several plant societies. Formerly a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she now shares her love for gardening, particularly clematis, with her grandchildren.

Breakout Speaker — Niamki Boykin

Niamki Shropshire-Boykin is an Atlanta, GA based regenerative soil and earth scientist, agricultural researcher, urban farmer, and a college professor who is committed to healing ecosystems through bioremediation. Expert in both soil microbiology and vermicomposting, Mr. Boykin is the owner of GlycoSponge, a soil company dedicated to remediating and enriching contaminated soils with essential minerals lost due to chemical agriculture. He apprenticed at an urban farm in Atlanta and in 2020 went on a sabbatical for two years to Nigeria to study African traditional medicine. Returning in 2022, Mr. Boykin taught Agricultural STEM in the Atlanta Public Schools. Currently, he teaches horticulture at Atlanta Technical College in Southwest AtlantaTrecia Neal – Green Garden Education and Designs. Trecia is a native plant landscape designer who has many years of experience working with wildlife habitats and designing gardens for birds and other pollinators. She design gardens for people interested in pollinators and other wildlife that will transform their space into a thriving ecosystem.

Breakout Speaker — Trecia Neal

Trecia was a biologist at Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta for over 30 years. Her areas of expertise are composting, vermicomposting, ornithology, wildlife gardens, native plants, and pollinators. She started Green Garden Education and Designs. Trecia is a native plant landscape designer who has many years of experience working with wildlife habitats and designing gardens for birds and other pollinators. She design gardens for people interested in pollinators and other wildlife that will transform their space into a thriving ecosystem.

Breakout Speaker — Elle Barker

Elle Barker, an urban homesteader, master gardener, and garden educator for eight years, relocated from Western NY to Georgia in 2010. On her 1/8 lot in East Point, she's created a space for food, education, and inspiration! Elle demystifies urban agriculture, advocating for nutrient-dense, organic local food accessible to all households. Her mission: empower people to grow their own food, regardless of space or resources. Learn more about her in the journey towards sustainable, self-sufficient living right where you are!

UGA Pre-Conference Tour Details

Please note: All UGA tours are sold out. We are keeping the information below available on the website for people that have already secured a spot.

Experience additional pre-conference activities on Friday, October 4, 2024, at the UGA Griffin Campus! Choose from morning, afternoon, or both sessions. Pre-order convenient Chick-fil-A box lunches to enjoy between your activities. Participants in tours and labs should be comfortable navigating short flights of stairs, walking short distances indoors and outdoors on various surfaces, standing briefly, and tolerating interior refrigerated conditions.

UGA CANCELLATION POLICY: There will be no refunds for cancellations. Substitutions can be made before and on the day of the event if space is available, but are the registrant's responsibility.

Tour and Lab Info

UGA Griffin Campus Research Tour

From the founding of the Georgia Experiment Station in 1888, research has always been vital to the University of Georgia Griffin Campus. The UGA Griffin Campus has 3 research centers and 6 research departments. Join this special tour to learn about current work in vegetables, turf, controlled-environment agriculture, and household pests, with a special stop at the USDA Seed Laboratory housed on the UGA Griffin campus.

Note: A Tram will shuttle participants between the tour sites. Please arrive 20 min. before the tour starts to board the Tram. Boarding the Tram will require climbing several steps to get on and off the shuttle.

Tour Duration: 2.5 hours
Tour Limit: 45 people (each tour)
Tour Times: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM; 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Registration cost: $5.00

Tour Sites:

Robotic Mower Demonstration with Dr. Clint Waltz, UGA Turfgrass Specialist -- Mowing is a regular practice of removing turfgrass leaf tissue to maintain an aesthetically attractive lawn. Conventional mowing practices for lawn maintenance involves mowing every 7 to 10 days. With the advent of robotic mowers, it is now possible to effectively mow more regularly and remove less leaf tissue at each mowing, potentially reducing turfgrass stress and improving turfgrass quality.
New Plant Breeding Efforts for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with Dr. Andrew Ogden -- CEA includes greenhouses, high tunnels, and indoor farms or vertical farms. Dr. Ogden will show off some of the breeding projects he is conducting in squash, melons, and tomatoes in his greenhouse.
Structural Pest Control Training Facility with Dr. Dan Suiter -- Georgia Structural Pest Control is licensed and regulated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, and therefore professional applicators must acquire continuing education hours approved by the State of Georgia. The Structural Pest Control Training Facility, located on the UGA Griffin Campus, provides training on bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, and home pests to meet these mandated hours of training and education.
Touring the USDA Seed Storage Facility with Dr. Melanie Harrison -- The Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit (PGRCU) was established November 1, 1949, as a cooperative effort supported by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the Southern State Agricultural Experiment Stations (S-009 Multistate Project). The collections include more than 90,000 plant samples representing over 250 genera and 1,500 species from almost every country.

Plant Tissue Culture Lab

Plant tissue culture, also known as micropropagation, offers a way to propagate plants from small pieces of plant tissue. Propagules are grown in the lab on a sterile media that provides nutrients and hormones that direct cell growth and differentiation. This process provides an excellent means of making more with less since very little plant tissue is needed for a single test tube. It does, however, require specialized training and facilities. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn about and practice propagating plants via tissue culture with Dr. Leynar Leyton, Assistant Professor, and Ornamental Plant Breeder at the University of Florida Department of Environmental Horticulture. This lab will present the basics of the process and give you a hands-on experience to practice with your own.

Lab Duration: 2 hours
Lab Limit: 15 people (each tour)
Lab Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM; 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Registration cost: $30.00

NOTE: This registration link is separate from the GMGA conference link. Register each attendee separately (i.e., spouses register separately). If you have chosen a morning tour or lab and wish to add an afternoon option, use the “continue shopping” button to add an afternoon tour or lab. Add your lunch only once. You may make one of the following selections:

Morning campus tour and afternoon tissue culture lab (use continue shopping button to add second choice)
Morning tissue culture lab and afternoon campus tour (use continue shopping button to add second choice)
Morning campus tour
Afternoon campus tour
Morning tissue culture lab
Afternoon tissue culture lab

Please note that the tour and lab in the morning afternoon are the same. These sessions are offered at multiple time slots to accommodate more participants and schedule preferences depending on travel time. Questions about your registration? Email Sarah Sawyer, sarahdh@uga.edu.

REGISTRATION IS closed because we have sold out for the 2024 ANNUAL CONFERENCE.