Master Gardeners are often long term volunteers for the Extension Service. Agents often find it difficult to teach new skills to veteran MG's once they have participated in Extension programs for many years. Marshall County ANR Agent, Nikki Rhein, researched new opportunities in an attempt to inspire and educate both her seasoned and newer volunteers alike.

On July 12th, 2023, Nikki took her Master Gardeners (MG's) on a two day trip to Jackson, Tn. The trip included 3 educational stops. The first day included a stop at the West Tn. Agriculture Museum. Many participants were skeptical about this stop but surprisingly, after taking the tour, 100% of participants indicated that they both enjoyed the stop and also learned useful information while there.Master Gardener's touring the Agricultural Museum at Milan Tn. The second educational stop was Century Farm Winery in Jackson Tn. Like it's name indicates, the farm has been in their family for over a century. MG's participants enjoyed learning the farm history and the in depth horticultural tour that Nikki requested. Seeing every step it takes to make wine from preparing the ground for planting grapes, all the way to bottling the finished product, intrigued the gardeners. 100% of participants indicated that they enjoyed and learned useful information at this stop. 

On the second day, participants attended the "main event." "Summer Celebration" is a horticulture field day hosted by the University of TN at their research center in Jackson. This educational event, designed for both industry professionals and home gardeners alike, consisted of many opportunities to learn. Participants attended tours, classroom sessions, test trials, a plant sale, the diagnostic tent, vender booths and more! The specialist hosting the event found Nikki and described how tickled he was that one county from Kentucky brought a whole bus of gardeners who were eager to learn. 100% of the Marshall MG participants indicated that they both enjoyed and learned useful information at the field day. Nikki also found the lessons to be beneficial in expanding her horticultural knowledge and looks forward to sharing what she learned with the public. Marshall County Trip Participants posing at "Summer Celebration" 

Out of all the trips and activities she has hosted for her volunteers, Nikki cannot remember an activity/trip/program that was more impactful. The participants raved about the trip and demand that Nikki make this "Summer Celebration Trip" a regular reoccurring event. Overall, not only did 100% of the trip participants report gaining knowledge in horticulture on this trip, they also indicated that they would in turn share what they learned with the public.