This fall, PCC is adding a Turfgrass diploma to its Horticulture Technology lineup for students interested in maintaining lawns, golf courses, parks, and other recreational grounds.

Jerry Pittman, PCC’s Horticulture Technology Curriculum Coordinator, says the diploma will consist of 36 credits covering such topics as pest management, soil science, turfgrass irrigation and turf equipment management. Students will learn how to select and maintain the right grasses for specific uses, and they will also study warm and cool season grasses and how to control weeds, insects and diseases for both.

“We’ve designed the diploma for students who enjoy working outdoors and the challenge of creating and maintaining beautiful surroundings,” Pittman said. “Once they master the skills we teach, they can become turfgrass managers and establish and maintain grasses used for recreational and ornamental purposes.”

Pittman says PCC created the diploma to “meet green industry’s need” for skilled workers throughout eastern North Carolina. To establish the training, he said Pitt assembled an all-star advisory board comprised of green industry representatives, including Brad Sutton, owner/operator of Eastern Turf Maintenance.

“Our Industry is in dire need of qualified candidates who have had some type of formal education and training in turfgrass and horticulture science,” Sutton said. “We can easily place many candidates locally and nationally who have completed a program of this caliber.”

Pittman says Turfgrass graduates will be prepared for the North Carolina Pesticide Applicator’s Examination and should qualify for jobs associated with landscape operations, governmental agencies/parks, golf courses, sports complexes, highway vegetation, turf maintenance companies, and private and public gardens.

“Our graduates will have the skills to manage people and budgets and use their knowledge of plants and soils to produce high-quality, visually-appealing turfgrass areas,” he said.

Horticulture Students Make the Most of Learning and Networking Opportunity in Greensboro

Lush lawns and leafy trees are probably the last things many think about in winter, but not so for a group of Pitt Community College Horticulture Technology students and instructors.

In January, they were in Greensboro, absorbing all the information they could at the N.C. Nursery & Landscape Association’s (NCNLA) Green and Growin’ 23. Billed as the Southeast’s largest green industry event, the education conference and trade show featured opportunities for students to acquire new skills and earn continuing education units toward industry-related licenses and certifications.

“It was an amazing learning experience and helped our students gain a greater appreciation for green industry’s diversity, size and scope,” said Jerry Pittman, PCC Horticulture Technology Curriculum Coordinator. “It was also an opportunity for them to network with green industry professionals, and some of them were offered internship opportunities and potential jobs.”

Pittman said his students were invited to volunteer with NCNLA during the event. Each day, they assisted with setup and take down, registered participants, introduced keynote speakers, and provided instructions to vendors upon their arrival to the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.

The students also hosted a booth in the trade show, which gave them a chance to share information about PCC’s horticulture and turfgrass programs.

“Our students did a fantastic job representing PCC,” he said. “Due to their hard work and professionalism, Pitt’s already been invited back for the 2024 event.”