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The Freedom Memorial Garden at the Clarion County park is a project that has been in existence for several years. The main goal of the project is to establish and maintain a garden at the base of the flagpole located at the Clarion County Park. The garden was started with an "America The Beautiful" grant and conceived in remembrance of the tragedies of 9-11. Located between the tennis courts and the main park building, the circular garden surrounds the flag pole and is divided into four section. Each section commemorates one of the tragic locations that were attacked on September 11, 2001 - each tower of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in Shanksville, PA. The garden maintains a red, white, and blue theme with flower of those colors. [Top]
The Children's Garden
The Children's Garden at the Clarion County Park is an ongoing project designed to provide educational opportunities to children who attend the park. The gardens were originally funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and administered by the County Commissions. Mike Johnson is employed by the county to act as the park superintendant and therefore supervises the development of the garden. Rayburn Smith, also employed by the county and who is a Master Gardner, has been appointed the task of being the garden's curator.
The garden is divided into many sections by paved pathways creating smaller plots to be planted with a variety of vegetation. This spring
(2009), planting was done in several sections by Master Gardeners. Included in those sections are the Pollinators Garden and the Vegetable Garden with a section devoted to the planting of the "Three Sisters" (corn, beans, and squash).
Several other groups will be assisting in the planting and maintenance of some of the other gardens. Riverview IU 6 will help with a section, as will the Clarion Garden Club, a local Brownie troop, and an Herb Club from the Knox area. [Top]
Proper Care and Use of Pesticides
Several of the Clarion County Master Gardeners received training on how to present Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to elementary school children. The program involved the use of a robotic car with an interactive "pest" as its driver. D. B Pest, as the driver was know, was capable of answering children's questions and give instruction by way of a remote control device complete with a microphone and voice devices. Designed by Penn State, the entire program was intended to help students meet certain science standards on the 4th grade Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).
Classroom activities included discussions about good bugs/bad bugs, identifying the warnings on a label, contacting the poison control center, and identifying methods of pest control other than the use of pesticides.
During the summer of 2008, D. B. Pest and his "handlers" visited several public libraries in the Clarion County area. Each visit tried to make children more aware of the dangers that surround pesticides. In addition to handout materials about "Mr. Yuk", the participants were directed to a Penn State web site designed for this program. Hopefully, D. B. will make his appearance in some of the local elementary schools at some future time. [Top]
A recent addition to the Master Gardener program has been the composting seminars. At various locations, information designed to help promote the creation of compost, its possible uses, and necessary material needed has been presented by Clarion County Master Gardeners. The development of this program shows that the Master Gardeners can help increase garden productivity as well as reduce the amount of garbage going to a landfill. [Top]
Clarion County Master Gardener Conference
On April 25, 2009, the Clarion County Master Gardeners presented their bi-annual gardening conference. As in the past, the event was held at Clarion University of Pennsylvania in the Gemmell Center. The conference was open to the public and offered sessions on a wide variety of interesting subjects to promote gardening education and practices.
The day began with keynote speaker Greg Burns, Elk County Science Education Instructor. Greg was a past Regional Horticulture Agent and County Extension Director. He is also the author of "Growing A Heritage, Our Own Small Farm Story" and the newly published "Mediations From the Land". Greg's topic as a keynote speaker was centered around the needs and concerns of "Local Sustainable Agriculture".
After the keynote, the breakout sessions began. There were two sessions before lunch and two sessions following lunch. Topics include:
Growing from Seed - Presented by Louise Rumbaugh, Master Gardener
Organic Gardening - Presented by Maggie Robertson, Master Gardener and proprietor of M&M Robertson Farm
Soil Composition - Presented by Dave Gordon, proprietor of The Briar Patch
Container Gardening - Presented by Elizabeth Beal, Master Gardener, Clarion County Garden Club
Herbs and Uses - Presented by Kathy Deible, proprietor of the Herb Shed, Member of Herbal Quest
Green Garden Practices - Presented by Sandra Anderson, Master Gardener
Local Sustainable Agriculture - Presented by Greg Burns, Keynote Speaker
Earth Building - Presented by Claire Orner, Quiet Creek Herb Farm and School of Country LivingThroughout the sessions various vendors were displaying their wares. A large number of materials and prizes were donated by local businesses. [Top]
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