Nancy Pollard provides leadership to the Cook South Suburban Master Gardener Program, expanding it and helping volunteers find creative ways to serve their communities. Her program focuses include gardening and nature youth programs, and environmentally friendly landscapes and gardens.
She instructs Master Gardeners in Botany, Insects, Diseases and Integrated Pest Management. Ms. Pollard has worked extensively with both youth and adults on horticulture projects. From the gardens at Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens in Palos Heights, to summer camps in Harvey, she helps people connect with nature in practical ways.
She combines her love of nature, her practical experience working in greenhouses, gardens, and florist shops with knowledge from formal training. She earned amaster's degree in horticulture from Michigan State University and a bachelor's degree in floriculture and ornamental horticulture from Cornell University.
GARDEN PLANNING
School & Community Garden Plan
Brainstorming Phase: We'll work with to you establish goals for your garden planto save you time and money, and increase the joy, beauty and educational value of your site. Adults 60–90 minutes
Optional Implementation Phase: Assists your committee in creating a plan for a youth or special interest garden. Time depends on the project size and scope.
Plan a Landscape that Works
Learn the elements of an efficient, low-maintenance garden plan. Adults 90 minutes
Optional Landscape Series: Create your own landscape design in four, 3-hour sessions spaced two weeks apart. Homework and materials fee. Maximum 16 adults.
Rain Garden Principles
Learn how rain gardens can help reduce run-off. Participate in an demonstration of how water carries pollutants of all kinds across the landscape. Go home with several rain garden plans. Max. 24 adults or high school students. Materials fee. Two hours.
INVASIVE SPECIES
Emerald Ash Borer: Why We Care and What We Can Do.
About twenty percent of the trees in Cook County are ash trees. Emerald Ash Borer larva likely will kill them. Find out how you can be proactive in dealing with the problem.Adults, municipal employees or greens industry employees. 60–120 minutes.
BRINGING NATURE INDOORS
Winter Evergreen Centerpiece
Make and take an evergreen centerpiece to bring the aroma and sights of winter inside. Learn bow making. Materials fee includes container, greens, and accessories. Max. 20 adults with enough strength in hands to use pruning shears and wire cutters. Three hours.
Houseplants
Learn to care for your houseplants. Tips on choosing the right plant for the right location. Plant solutions, maintenance, common diseases and insects will be discussed. Adults or high school students. One hour
HANDS-ON NATURE STUDY
Bare Branch Detectives
Analyze twigs, trunk slices and other tree parts for clues about a tree's identity and its history. Examine slices of stumps to see how the tree grew and how it responded to problems in its life. You will look at trees differently after this. Max. 24, 4th grade to adult, one - four hours
Bug Detectives
While most insects are beneficial, some really bug us. Are they all insects? How do you sort them out? What features are important? Safe exploration into this incredibly fascinating world. Sort-A-Bug, and more. Max. 24, 4th grade to adult, one - six hours.
Pine Tree Detectives
Not all evergreens are pine trees. Using a combination of plant material, photographs, and word descriptions, identify by specific characteristics the eleven most common needled trees in our area. Jr. High to adults, one -two hours.
Water Moving Across the Landscape
Participate in an interactive demonstration of how water carries pollutants across the landscape. See how plants and people can minimize or maximize the impact on the quality of our water supply and environment. Max. 24, 4th grade to adult 1 - 2 hours.
