Students from North Georgia Technical College's Horticulture program had the opportunity recently to experience the magic of Disney - and how it relates to the green industry.
Professor Craig Thurmond was a guest on the Afternoon News Wrap with Russell Brown earlier this week. He explained how Disney World in Orlando, Fla., was relevant to a career in horticulture.
"There's 44,000 acres of land they manage - part of it theme park, part of it natural preserve. Someone has to take care of it," Thurmond said.
He explained there were varying jobs all through the park and those 44,000 acres that needed horticulturists to maintain the magic. "The beautiful flowers you see walking through the park, all the topiaries you see as you drive through on the monorail, the water gardens, everything revolves around horticulture."
Thurmond said students were able to go behind the scenes and learn about the varying facets that go in to Disney's horticulture. They were able to speak with the Tim Salin, the CEO of Cherry Lake Tree Farm which is the world's largest supplier of trees to learn about root development systems. The visited Epcot's "The Land" exhibit and got a behind the scenes lesson on hydroponics, tissue culture research and food production. They were also able to take a "Behind the Seeds" tour in the agricultural sciences part of Epcot.
The students not only had fun at Disney, but they also enjoyed getting to see the value of a career in the green industry.
“This was a great experience getting to see the green industry at its finest and being exposed to such a beautiful area of landscape,” said Michal Pundt, a student from Clarkesville. “I definitely learned a lot about career options and the scale of work at Disney," said Christian Nelms, a student from Toccoa.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/3/508159/north-georgia-tech-horticulture-students-learn-about-industry-at-disney-world