Taking the Demonstration Garden to the Next Level: The UT Gardens Crossville: Plateau Discovery Garden Model

In the United States, public gardens have a well-established history of providing adults and students of all ages with horticultural education and serving as a site for research. These public gardens can take many forms including botanic gardens, arboreta, parks, nature preserves, zoological gardens and display gardens, and several are affiliated with universities. However, it is relatively uncommon for public gardens to be collaboratively developed and operated by university research and Extension personnel and Extension Master Gardener volunteers. The collaboration of these three entities and the vision of those involved has led to the University of Tennessee Gardens- Crossville: Plateau Discovery Garden (UTG-C:PDG). In just over 10 years, what was begun as a demonstration garden has grown into a garden now recognized as one of three branches of UT Gardens, the state botanical garden of Tennessee. The first critical element in the success of this garden was the collaborative partnership between 1) the UT Plateau Research and Education Center, 2) the Cumberland County Master Gardener Association (CCMGA), and 3) the Cumberland County Extension office. Over the years, these three collaborators have focused on mutually beneficial decision-making through an umbrella committee. This joint leadership has enabled the combination of outreach, research, and teaching. Begun as demonstration garden to strengthen outreach efforts, the UTG-C:PDG now delivers year-round Extension education focusing on horticulture workshops, garden events, and participation in UT research field days as well as continually hosting visitors. As an result of these efforts and capacities, research faculty now carry out research on ornamental as well as edible crops in the garden area. To support undergraduate education, an internship program is now in its 4^th year. These multi-faceted internships introduce students to horticultural research and the commercial industry while engaging then in Extension outreach. This presentation will describe the unique collaboration and history of the UTG-C:PDG to serve as a possible model of volunteer, researcher, and Extension contributions that have the potential to directly benefit stakeholders through novel public gardens.