Answering nature’s (horticulture) call

By Mary June Emerson

MCCTC horticulture instructor

The horticulture program at Mahoning County Career & Technical Center is looking for students who would rather be running a skid steer loader, planting flowers and trees or creating floral designs than sitting behind a desk.

The “green industry” is growing rapidly in Ohio, and there aren’t enough qualified workers to fill the numerous positions available. MCCTC is ready to train new students for these opportunities right here in the Valley.

The future of horticulture is bright. According to the last Ohio State research study on the industry, Ohio’s certified nursery stock dealers and producers had sales of $4.13 billion. The industry continues to thrive, with groups such as the Mahoning Valley Nursery and Landscape Association (www.mvlna.org) coordinating many activities and educational events along with OSU Extension for local industry leaders and their employees.

The MCCTC Horticulture Program offers four courses over a two-year period in landscape systems management, floral design and marketing, greenhouse and nursery production as well as horticultural plant science. These courses give students the skills they need to be successful in obtaining an exciting, profitable and satisfying job in the horticultural industry. In addition, through our tech-prep program, the horticulture coursework taken at MCCTC can transfer into as many as seven college credits for those qualifying students who wish to continue their education at select area colleges.

The experience in this program is hands-on. One example is the use of our own greenhouse facilities. In this classroom, students grow plants for the spring sale. They learn all aspects of production from propagation to insect and disease control.

If your dream job includes using your creativity to develop beautiful landscape designs, preparing floral creations for weddings, banquets or other social events or owning and managing your own greenhouse or nursery, let our horticulture program get you started on the right path to fulfilling that dream. We are taking applications for the 2014-15 school year and welcome a personal visit, or simply call for more information.

I am the instructor for the program and can be reached at 330-729-4000, ext. 1671. You can read more about our program and MCCTC at http://go.osu.edu/mcctc.