Annual Meeting 2024
As always, a fun time was had at our annual meeting. Wonderful food and door prizes. Officers for 2025 are Tanya Towne, President; Connie Daniels, Treasurer. Julie Griffin , Secretary, and Pat Moberg will continue as the media and email blast coordinator. Suggestions were made for programs and speakers. A $500. donation was approved for the Upstate Native Plant Society for assistance with the recovery of Hurricane Helene.
Team Ecology 2024
LCMGA Members are Educators
Team Ecology is a week-long environmental educational event for all 3rd-gradee students in Laurens County, S.C. The Laurens County Master Gardeners are instrumental in the success of this endeavor. At various times during the week the Master Gardeners taught about clean and dirty air, soil types, composting worms, hiking on a nature trail, watersheds, and litter control and recycling. Check out the photo gallery to see some of the fun!
Six weeks before TE, the Master Gardeners make composting bins for each of the 3rd-grade classes. This year we had a couple of junior high students helping! When the 3rd-grade students come to TE, they count their worms to see how many are alive and if there are any babies!
Spotlight on Agriculture 2024
The Laurens County Master Gardeners
LCMGA members make flower arrangements early on the day of Spotlight on Agriculture. These arrangements are made mainly from flowers in their gardens. About 90 arrangements were made for the dining tables as well as the sponsor display tables in addition to the podium arrangement and the "welcome" arrangement by the entry door. The folks who happen to have programs with a certain sticker on the back got to take the closest flower arrangement home with them.
Joe Adair Chicken Stew Sale
Support Your Local Outdoor Education Center!
You can support the Joe R Adair Outdoor Education Center and its public walking trails by purchasing milk-based chicken stew at their fundraiser. The price is $10.00 per quart and pickup is available at the Center on February 9th between 10:00 a.m. and 2 p.m.. The funds raised from the sale will be used to maintain the Center and the public walking trails.
Please note that the Joe R Adair Outdoor Education Center is located at 110 Scout Creek Rd, Laurens, SC, 29360 1. You can pre-order the chicken stew by calling (864) 984-5492
Enjoy the delicious chicken stew while supporting a great cause!
Tour of Historic Mountain Shoals Plantation House and Gardens
We will be visiting the local historic Mountain Shoals Plantation home and gardens owned by Mr. Martin Meeks and Mr. Bill Cooper. These gentlemen will welcome us into their home and give us a tour of the property on Saturday, October 28th at 2:00 p.m. The address is 105 Parker Road in Enoree. I'm told parking is minimal so if you can carpool, it would be helpful.
LCMGA Annual Meeting
The LCMGA Annual Meeting was held on September 16, 2023, at the Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center. A quorum was in attendance. Food and fellowship were enjoyed by all. Tanya Towne was elected President, Sherry Edwards was elected Secretary, and Connie Daniels was elected Treasurer. We are extremely grateful to our Past President Pat Moberg for keeping the organization together during the pandemic.
Upcoming Program: Bulb Culture by Polly Powell, SC State Master Naturalist, and Master Gardener
- On Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 7 p.m. at the Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center in Laurens. Everything you ever wanted to know about bulbs plus information that you did not even know that you didn't know! Too much sun, too little sun. Too much fertilizer, too little fertilizer. And the bugs.....whatever can we do about them?
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Roses Unlimited Tour April 15, 2023
We had a very pleasant morning seeing the greenhouses at Roses Unlimited. There are so many varieties of roses that it is difficult to decide which one you might light the best! Thanks so much to Bill Patterson for taking time out of his busy Saturday to show us a plethora of beautiful roses! There is a lot to do when you have so many roses that want to show off their beauty.
2023 Team Ecology March 27 - 31, 2023
TEAM Ecology is a program designed for 3rd grade students. It is held annually at the Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center in Laurens, S.C. Topics covered include Soils, Vermicomposting, Recycling, Nature Trail Hike, Enviroscape Watershed model and Enviroscape Landfill model, Puppet Show with Woodland animals along with a nature art project.
This week-long program could not be held without the efforts of many volunteers. It takes a lot of people to make Team Ecology successful. The only requirement to be a volunteer is to enjoy being around children.
Team Ecology is a week-long adventure!
All of the public school 3rd-grade students come to the center to learn about composting, pollinators, recycling, soils, watersheds, and more.
Interested in volunteering?
In 2022, we had 40 adult volunteers! It takes a lot of help to organize and teach 700 third graders in a week.
Click on the Team Ecology logo above to sign up.
Upcoming Program
Identifying and Managing Common Household Insects Feb. 16, 2023 via Zoom
Tired of those pesky insects invading your home? Want to learn how to win the battle?
Laurens County Master Gardeners in conjunction with Clemson Extension Service is offering a webinar presented by Vicky Bertagnolli, Extension Agent from Aiken County, entitled “Identifying and Managing Common Household Insects” on Feb 16, 2023 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) via Zoom.
The program is free and open to the public. To join the Zoom meeting please register for the webinar by clicking the FIND OUT MORE button below
2022 Master Gardener Class Graduation Pot-Luck
2022 Master Gardener Class Graduation Pot-Luck and Annual Meeting
While the current students are taking their final exam upstairs at the Adair Center, the annual meeting of the Laurens County Master Gardener Association will be held downstairs at 6:00 p.m. After the annual meeting and the completion of the exam by the students, a delicious pot-luck dinner will be enjoyed by all!
Where: Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center
110 Scout Creek Court, Laurens, S.C. 29360
When: December 6 at 7:00 p.m. for dinner and 6:00 p.m. for annual meeting
Upcoming Programs
- Here is a fantastic opportunity for all who are interested in learning more about educating our youngsters about the environment which is what we do during TEAM Ecology. Register for this workshop early as there is only space for 50 participants. The fee is $12.00 for the in-person workshop and free for the virtual workshop. If the in-person registration is closed, be sure to register for the virtual program. Take Action SC is hosting TWO Environmental Educators Summer Workshops in July! We are partnering with the Joe Adair Outdoor Education Center in Laurens, SC for an in-person workshop on July 19, 2022. PLUS we will also host a virtual workshop on July 28, 2022. Get ready to dig into the revised Take Action SC Environmental Education Curriculum with the newly aligned lessons to the 2021 College- and Career-Ready Standards for Science. We’d love to have you join us this summer for a workshop – or both!
Laurens County Master Gardener Class Available in Laurens Beginning August 16, 2022
The Laurens County Extension Office will offer an in-person Master Gardener Volunteer Training course this fall. It will be held on Tuesday nights from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. starting on August 16. For more information visit Extension's webpaweb page: https://www.clemson.edu/extension/laurens/mg/index.html
Wonderful Success in 2022
- The Laurens County Master Gardeners plant sale was another successful event. The Clinton FFA students were there selling annuals from their greenhouses. The Master Gardeners had a large selection of perrenials in addition to a few trees! Now is the time to begin planning for next year!!