The Future Farmers of America Chapter at DeKalb County High School is getting a new greenhouse and it has the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association to thank for it.
Leaders of the TNLA presented a check for $1,000 to the FFA Chapter on Tuesday to reboot the Plant Science program at DCHS.
John Flanders, 2nd vice president of Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association made the presentation joined by Bert Driver of Bert Driver Nursery, who is also a member and Legislative Chair/ Ex Officio of the TNLA. Receiving the donation were Morgan Oyster, local FFA Chapter Advisor, FFA President Laura Magness, FFA Secretary Elizabeth Gaines, and DCHS Principal Bruce Curtis.
With DeKalb County being part of the nursery capital of the world, Flanders said the donation to the DCHS FFA program is fitting and he credited Driver with having come up with the idea.
“We are donating $1,000 to the DeKalb County FFA to support the construction of a new greenhouse here at DCHS. The project was originally championed a couple of years ago by past President of TNLA Bert Driver. I was on the board at the time too. I have recycled back onto the board now due to a vacancy. We had a golf tournament that raised a couple thousand dollars and we designated $1,000 of those proceeds to help the kids here at DeKalb County FFA. One of our mandates at the TNLA is to promote education and in agriculture specifically and that is what we are doing here today,” said Flanders.
Oyster said this donation is a big boost to the agriculture program at DCHS.
“This is a huge thing for our program because we are wanting to get the plant science program built back up at DCHS. Over the last 5-6 years the greenhouse really hasn’t been kept up, so this was a goal of ours and it’ll become a huge fundraiser for us to be able to have a plant sale in mid-May every year. In the spring I have a double block of plant science classes so we will be in there (greenhouse) each day beginning in January to May planting thousands of plants. It will give them a hands-on learning experience, but it will also benefit our chapter,” said Oyster.
“We appreciate TNLA and their donation,” added Principal Curtis. “This is something I started last year as far as wanting to get the greenhouse back up and running. Its great for our kids because it is hands on. They are actually able to get out and work with plants but its also a great fundraiser for our organization. I look forward to getting it back up and running this spring,” said Curtis.
Driver, a leader in the nursery and landscape industry in Tennessee, said he is hopeful that a reinvigorated plant science program at DCHS will result in more students being able to qualify for scholarships to advance their agriculture ambitions.
“The TNLA has had an ongoing scholarship program for both high school students and college students for decades and part of that fundraising effort at the golf tournament goes to these scholarships so this public funding for public students to be in agriculture was a thought that maybe the greenhouse here could be upgraded so that those students could apply for the scholarship also. It’s a win-win for everybody involved and it brings some recognition to the program in DeKalb County and to the association which has been here for over 100 years,” said Driver.
Others who may want to support the DCHS FFA program may reach out to the school.
The Tennessee Nursery & Landscape Association was founded in 1905 as an organization where nursery and other related industries would have the opportunity to share ideas, foster research and further educate members in order to benefit owners, employees and consumers.
Throughout its 117-year history in Tennessee, TNLA has seen tremendous growth in membership and services provided. Because of this growth, TNLA has evolved into The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association, Inc.
Today, TNLA hosts an annual trade show (Tennessee Green Industry Expo www.tngie.com), sponsors seminars, offers scholarships, sponsors a field day, maintains a website and more for its members. Currently, over 300 companies profit through their TNLA annual membership. They come from every part of the industry: nursery production, landscaping, irrigation and lawn care.
TNLA goals include making every nursery owner, landscaper, and garden center owner in the state aware of the organization and giving them the opportunity to benefit from the services provided. The ultimate goal of TNLA is to increase the production and marketing of Tennessee grown nursery stock.
