Demonstration Gardens Research Articles

Promoting the Residential Habitat Garden through Education

As the need to design residential landscapes in an environmentally sensitive manner becomes more apparent, the demand for educational materials and activities that promote the habitat garden is growing. In response to this need, an educational plan, ranging from the publication of a booklet to the implementation of a demonstration garden, has been undertaken. The booklet should serve both the homeowner and the professional designer interested in wildlife-sensitive designs. Horticultural faculty and students are being organized to implement one of my designs on the Clemson Univ. campus to demonstrate the habitat garden concepts found in the booklet. Working with local homeowners by designing and having their yards certified by the National Wildlife Federation as “Backyard Wildlife Habitats” has also served to promote the habitat garden. I am also working with the Dept. of Horticulture and senior citizen volunteers to raise money to build a demonstration garden in the South Carolina State Botanical Garden. The incorporation of written materials, designs, certifications, and demonstration gardens into an educational package has resulted in a community effort to promote the habitat garden.

MASTER COMPOSTERS

“Yard wastes comprise 25% of the average person's garbage,” according to the King County (Washington) Solid Waste Division. In an effort to reduce the strain on landfills, municipalities are encouraging their citizens to compost yard wastes. Several communities in Washington State have organized Master Composter programs. Patterned after the successful Master Gardener program, volunteers receive intensive training in comporting. In return, they deliver this information to the public through lectures, demonstrations, brochures, and composing demonstration gardens.

Demonstration Gardens in the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service

This document is ENH 865, one of a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date June 12, 2002.