ASHS 2024 Conference

New residents in the state along with new gardeners are an increasingly large Extension audience. As our Extension horticulture team discussed the challenges in individually addressing these questions and meeting the needs of these new stakeholders, we realized new models and resources were needed. While Extension has a great array of publications and resources on lawns, landscapes and gardens, there wasn’t a publication that provided a good entry point for those new to the region or gardening. So, we set out to develop a ‘gateway publication’ to provide a general overview and connect folks to further resources without being overwhelming. A magazine format with easy to digest 2-page spreads on the most common areas of gardening was developed titled “Welcome Home: Gardening in Tennessee.” To extend the reach and impact of this new resource and engage Extension agents and stakeholders across the state, our horticulture team developed a new outreach program that paired live, distance teaching with local hands-on labs and activities. In October of 2023, we had a 5-session workshop series where new residents could come to their local office for an hour of teaching from our best horticulture content folks and then take part in a hands-on teaching demonstration with their local agriculture Extension agent. Nearly 300 participants in 32 counties took part in the series. Evaluation data revealed that over 70% of attendees had attended no or very few prior Extension programs. With a fee of only $30-50 locally, attendees reported a value of over $950 received from information delivered in the class. This presentation will focus on the novel delivery model and evaluation data along with perspectives on opportunities and challenges in reaching these new Extension audiences.