Kennebec Valley Community College

*Grant Funding available, see information below*

9 online classes: Tuesdays 6pm – 9pm via Zoom
3 in-person Saturday classes: 9am – 4pm on September 16, October 14 and November 18 in Blue Hill, ME

This certificate program will provide training for garden maintenance and planning, choosing plants, and understanding soil and water, with a focus on land stewardship. Three days of hands-on labs at Native Gardens of Blue Hill and nine Zoom lessons will prepare participants for employment with nursery and landscaping businesses or increase the skills of professionals in the field.

Grant Funding
50% of course cost, up to $1200 available for eligible frontline workers through the Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce. Organizations must join the Maine Workforce Development Compact to be eligible for funds. Joining is free for Maine-based employers. Start the process here.

About the Lead Instructor - Marechal Brown

Marechal got her start in horticulture as a public garden volunteer in New York City, going on to study botany, horticulture and landscape design at the New York Botanical Garden. She had the great fortune to work for NYC Parks for over 20 years.

Marechal started her Parks career as a gardener in Morningside Park, designed and built in the late 1800s by Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. She developed a horticultural training program for her staff, worked with thousands of volunteers, and developed gardening curriculum for local elementary school students in collaboration with NY Audubon. During her tenure, Morningside Park received landmark status as a Registered Historic Landscape. Marechal went on to direct horticulture operations in North Manhattan Parks—600 acres of parks large and small, including Fort Tryon Park designed by the Olmsted Brothers.

After thirteen years in the field, Marechal became Director of Horticulture for NYC Parks, collaborating with colleagues to oversee 30,000 acres of public parklands. Her first challenge was to develop an agency remediation plan for landscapes damaged by salt water inundation from Hurricane Sandy. In calmer times, she and her staff managed the Garden of the Month program to highlight the gardeners’ impressive handiwork and published the Hort Bulletin, a monthly newsletter for agency personnel. Her team collaborated with the Brooklyn Botanical Garden to offer a Parks Master Gardener program, as well as in-house horticultural training.

Marechal collaborated with colleagues and the New York City Council to develop guidelines and a planting manual to promote biodiversity in New York City. She upgraded agency Integrated Pest Management protocols to recognize an increased need to reduce pesticide use in public open spaces. Marechal worked with colleagues to develop maintenance tracking applications for field staff and managers. She created a Gardener Working Group, brainstorming with Parks staff, managers and administrators to make recommendations for optimizing the work experience and production standards for agency gardeners. She worked closely with the Borough Horticulture divisions to map every horticultural site in NYC Parks, something that had never been realized before her time. In her two decades in public service, Marechal had the immense pleasure of devoting her time to the cultivation of great gardens and great gardeners in NYC’s public parks.