STARKVILLE, Miss.—Three members of the Mississippi State family have completed a leadership program focused on strengthening relationships and advancing development in the Golden Triangle region.

Hosted by the Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce, West Point Growth Alliance, and The Partnership of Starkville, the eight-month Golden Triangle Leaders program recently graduated 22 emerging and experienced leaders who were selected from a group of nominated applicants.

The most recent set of economic, community health and retail data is available to developers working to improve Mississippi counties and towns.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Students at North Bay Elementary School in Biloxi got another hands-on learning component this spring with the addition of a school garden.

NEWTON, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service invites anyone interested in ornamental flowers and landscaping to the third annual Wildflower Trails of Mississippi Field Day on June 21.

The Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station in Newton will host the event, which will include an afternoon field tour of test plots. Keep Mississippi Beautiful, the event’s sponsor, is providing lunch.

Topics include native landscaping, ornamental flowers and milkweed management. Speakers include MSU Extension Service specialists Shaun Broderick and Pat Drackett.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Massive quantities of local economic, community health and retail data gathered and organized help the Mississippi State University Extension Service fulfill its mission of extending knowledge and changing lives.

Alan Barefield, Extension economic development specialist, oversees the process of gathering retail, health and economic data from sources that include the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and several proprietary data sources. The team analyzes this data and provides information to Mississippi counties and towns.

When I think of the beach, I picture soft, white sand and pristine, blue water. But our beaches and oceans have a dirty little secret: trash.
 
That’s right, several tons of trash end up in our waterways and on our beaches every year in Mississippi. In 2017 alone, volunteers with the Mississippi Coastal Cleanup collected 13 tons of trash from 40 sites along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This trash isn’t just unsightly. It threatens the Gulf Coast’s ecosystem.
 

 Gardeners can buy native and naturalized heirloom plants during the annual Metro Master Gardeners plant sale April 28.

POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Designing an app that helps fruit growers know how many chill hours their crops have accumulated earned one Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist a regional award.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Everything Garden Expo, presented by the Oktibbeha County Master Gardeners, will return to the Mississippi Horse Park on March 24 and 25.

It’s National Love Your Pet Day, so give those four-legged family members extra special treatment. More noggin’ pats and extra-long walks are in order. But be careful with the treats. Some human foods can be harmful to pets. For dogs, that includes chocolate. (Photo/video credit: MSU Extension/ Brian Utley)

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service instructor has earned an Impact Collaborative Facilitator certificate from the eXtension Foundation.

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a financial workshop to entrepreneurs and community leaders working with food or food-related initiatives.

VERONA, Miss. -- Professional florists and others interested in the business can learn how to design and market fresh flowers for weddings and other events during an upcoming three-day workshop in Verona.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- Area blacksmiths and metalworkers will demonstrate their skills during the annual Forge Day at the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum.

The event is set for Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Picayune.

If you are planning for your vegetable garden this spring, a salad table or two might be in order. Salad tables are a great addition to a traditional vegetable garden or wonderful on their own.
​(Photo by Kevin Hudson)

If you’d like to volunteer more in the New Year, Extension has some wonderful opportunities. We have volunteer organizations designed for all ages and interests, including gardening, healthcare, natural resources and youth development.

A project by the Pearl River County Master Gardeners aims to help increase populations of monarch butterflies by providing habitat and educating the public.

This past spring, the group revamped a portion of the children’s educational garden at the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum to serve as an official, certified Monarch Waystation. Master Gardener members recently dedicated the garden with the placement of a sign from Monarch Watch, the nonprofit organization that manages the waystation program.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Several Mississippi Master Gardener groups marked the state's bicentennial with near-perfect tributes -- by donating and planting Magnolia grandifloras in their communities.

"The tributes are perfect in a state known for its generosity, service to others and love for the environment," said Gary Jackson, director of the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Did you know 2017 is the year Mississippi celebrates its bicentennial? That’s right—The state is 200 years old! You only turn 200 once, so MSU Extension wanted to do something to celebrate!
 
Since the state tree is a magnolia, we thought it would be great to encourage our Master Gardener clubs to plant one in their communities as a way to honor the bicentennial.