Interning with ACES...

At the end of last month, I gave a seminar to the Horticulture Department here at Auburn about the internship that I completed this past spring with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  Preparing for the seminar reminded me just how great of an experience that was and made me want to share that will all who follow our program.

The first part of my internship was devoted mostly to research and professional development.  During this time, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend two conferences with the Home Grounds Teams at the Extension Service: The Southern Gardening Symposium at Callaway Gardens and Georgia Organics in Atlanta.  Both conferences were highly beneficial and extremely enjoyable.  At the Southern Gardening Symposium, I listened to many speakers on several difference subjects dealing with gardens in the South—I even got to see the author of my most favorite resource for design: The Southern Gardener’s Book of Lists by Lois Trigg Chaplin.

 One of my favorite parts of this internship was shadowing Extension Agents.  Several days I traveled to meet with Dani Carroll or Mallory Kelley and followed them as they went about their days.  I was able to experience first-hand what an Extension Agent in Horticulture actually does—I went on home visits and made phone calls to homeowners and attended Master Gardener meetings and generally helped people.  I learned that this is a real career option for me as I loved every second of it.

My other big task for this internship and extending horticultural knowledge took the form of literary endeavors. I worked with Kerry Smith, Edwin Marty, and, of course, publications from other states’ Extension programs to adapt a Community Gardens Start-Up Guide for Alabama.  This publication should be edited and put into use this year.  I also wrote several Q&A articles and a feature article for Alabama Gardener Magazine, a part of the State-by-State program that releases a gardening magazine monthly in each state.  It was such a joy to be able to impart knowledge to others and to see my name as the author in a magazine.  My seventh grade English teacher was convinced I would become an author—I guess she was right about that!

But, my very favorite experience from this wonderful internship was that of working with Master Gardener classes.  From the beginning of the semester, I helped to facilitate the Master Gardener Intern Class in Lee County. Over the course of the semester, I was privileged to be able to develop friendships with these students and see their horticultural knowledge grow first hand.  I was so glad to be able to teach them about Landscape Design, in addition to 8 other Master Gardener Intern Classes across the state.  We spent 4 hours together and I taught them the basic principles behind landscape design, the design process, and we even got started critiquing some photos! I loved teaching all of these students and can really see myself doing this in the future. 

Public Horticulture is such a great field that allows me to be around plants and to serve others.  I think the Extension Service is such a great resource for all areas including horticulture and it was an honor and a joy to learn about this field during this internship.

Until next time, 

Leah Rogers