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Summary

Gwinnett County parks and Recreation has 157 employees, and Gwinnett Extension assists in the quarterly training of the employees, as well as publishes a quarterly newsletter for them. The park's Director of Maintenance says the classes and publication have been a great help to his staff, and has recommended to the Department Head Extension continue it programs with the parks.

Situation

The Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation Department is the largest park system in the state. The department boasts 35 parks with 7 more under construction, 8,000 acres of parks total, 2871 acres of passive parks and 123 acres of athletic fields. The department employs 157 personnel and these men and women require educational training in athletic field management, turf care, pest management, water quality, tree care, and soil fertility. Very few of the employees have industry certifications such as Certified Arborist, Georgia Certified Landscaper, Georgia Certified Turf Manager or the Georgia Pesticide License. Industry certifications are a great way to continue one's education throughout one's career. The Gwinnett Extension Service has set as one of its goals assisting parks workers in obtaining various industry certifications.

Response

The Gwinnett County Extension Service has designed an annual education program for Gwinnett County Park employees to be implemented at the department's quarterly meetings. The Extension Service has also created a quarterly newsletter for the parks employees that include timely articles on subjects such as turf care, athletic field management, tree care and pest management. Through the efforts of the County Extension Service, Gwinnett Parks and Recreation employees are better prepared to manage turf, protect water and protect their park plants from pest attack. 100 Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation workers received 9 hours of training from the Gwinnett County Extension Service on turf management, pest management, urban tree care, and water quality/conservation. 157 parks employees received the 4 Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation Newsletters in 2007. I made 6 site visits to various Gwinnett County parks to consult with park managers.

Impact

As a result of the training, County parks department employees “have implemented better safety measures when using pesticides such as wearing protective clothing, having less spills, and reducing the usage of pesticides by practicing integrated pest management techniques,” according to the director of parks maintenance, Eric Horne. He said the classes “were very timely and informative, and increased his staff's understanding of protecting and enhancing the park's resources as well as maintaining the quality and natural beauty of the parks.” He has recommended to Phil Hoskins, the department head, for Extension to continue teaching the classes, and wants to expand the classes for training on additional related subjects for 2008

State Issue

Other Programming

Details

  • Year: 2007
  • Geographic Scope: County
  • County: Gwinnett
  • Program Areas:
    • Agriculture & Natural Resources

Author

  • Daly, Timothy Graham
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Extension Impact