Master Gardener teaches gardening classes at Somerville Public Library
For the Enquirer
The Somerville Public Library now hosts members of the Morgan County Master Gardeners Association to teach gardening classes to the community. Classes are held once a month, and information on the class dates and topics can be found on the Somerville Public Library Facebook page.
Soerville Public Library director, Julea Moats, said, “Our next event is going to be on raising chickens. It is going to be sometime this summer, but the date hasn’t been finalized yet.” Moats prioritizes having a monthly adult class that focuses on hobbies that the library visitors would like to explore. This past Christmas, she sent a questionnaire out to see what adults were interested in learning more about, and gardening was the clear winner. “After I saw the overwhelming interest in gardening, I contacted Becky (Laremore) at Morgan County Master Gardeners, and she said that they were very interested in getting a presence out in this area of the county. We were willing and eager to host classes, and they were willing and eager to present classes,” she said. Master Gardeners are trained on research methods of gardening and provide their community with information and guidance. Through volunteer work, like at the Somerville Public Library and other places throughout the community, master gardeners share their craft and expertise.
Laremore said, “We exist to provide education and information to the community on gardening and plant culture. It’s outreach to the community that master gardeners do, to educate the public about gardening, which is why Julia’s invitation was so timely.” Through her time working with the Somerville Public Library, Laremore has taught the community important lessons that will allow them to garden with minimal space and to make sure that they are giving back to the environment through planting pollinator plants.
“We’ve accomplished so much in our Somerville library classes, including promoting alternative ways of gardening, how to start your plants in a milk jug in the winter, how to build a raised bed for gardening, propagating and floral arranging,” Laremore said. The Somerville Public Library offers many other events that encourage community and lifelong learning. “One of our goals with the library is to build bridges with the community. The library is much more than just a repository of books,” Moats said. “It can be a place for homeschool children to gather to hold classes, and parents to bring their children for story time. We also want to do an outreach to adults, which is why we try to have approximately one pro-gram every month that is aimed toward hobbies.” Laremore sees gardening as an intergenerational hobby and is encouraged by knowing that the adults she is teaching at Somerville Public Library will pass this knowledge to their children. “This is so important because the next generation needs to know how to grow food. They absolutely need to. There’s a movement toward homesteading that includes gardening and beekeeping, animal husbandry and all kinds of things. Folks are going back to the early days of raising their own food,” she said.
