The first time University of Massachusetts offered its Winter School for Turf Managers, The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson was a box office smash, Mount Rushmore was just a rock and Charles Lindbergh was preparing to make the world's first solo transatlantic flight.
That was 1927. And although movies and air travel have come a long way since then, the UMass winter program is still going strong, providing aspiring turf managers with all the benefits of a traditional turf education in a compressed six-week window.Every other autumn for the past three decades, the biennial Green School program has been offering turf and landscape professionals who do not have time for a traditional turf program with curriculum designed to provide a basic understanding of horticulture fundamentals and strategies.
UMass recently announced the schedules for its upcoming Green and Winter schools.
Green School is scheduled for Oct. 24-Dec. 12, in Milford, Massachusetts. Classes will meet twice per week from 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Students have a choice of one of three tracks: turf management, landscape management or arboriculture. Outlines, supplemental materials and quizzes all will be conducted online, so a computer and reliable Internet access are critical.
Registration deadline is Oct. 7, and those who register by Sept. 23 are eligible for an early-bird discount.
The Winter School is scheduled for Jan. 9-Feb. 17 at the UMass campus in Amherst. Classes will meet from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m.-noon on Fridays. This schedule is designed to accommodate weekend commuters who might want to stay in the Amherst area during the week and return home on weekends.
Winter School immerses students in a full-time program, focused solely on the management of fine turf and is taught by UMass faculty and staff. Winter School is a comprehensive certificate program designed to furnish turf managers with the fundamental concepts essential to maintaining high quality turf, while instilling a sense of environmental stewardship and fiscal responsibility.
The application period will open in September and will close on Oct. 31.