Golf courses, soccer fields, baseball diamonds and spacious business lawns all have one thing in common: someone has to take care of them. Usually that someone has training in turf management, and Muscatine Community College (MCC), one of the Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, is now providing that training. The college’s new Turf Management Certificate program is an extension of MCC’s well-established horticulture program.
“The head of our Horticulture program, Janet Freeborn, has years of experience in the field that she will bring to this new program,” said MCC Dean of the College Gail Spies
The classes will be held at MCC’s sister college, Scott Community College, 500 Belmont Road, Bettendorf.
“We are holding classes at the Scott campus because of the many opportunities in the turf management field that are available in the Quad Cities,” said Spies.
The Turf Management program trains students for careers in maintenance of sports-related facilities such as golf courses, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, football fields and all other outdoor sports. Students will also gain the necessary knowledge for careers in lawn care, landscape management, industrial grounds care and more.
Classes will begin Monday, Oct. 21, and will be held in the evening. The program will take less than a year to complete, with students beginning in October and finishing in April.
“The evening classes open the program up to those people who are working during the day, but are looking to start a new career,” Spies said. “And the seven-month format means people can quickly get the training and enter the job market.”
Among the Turf Management classes are: Golf Course Management, Soil Science, Athletic Field Maintenance, Plant Genetics, and Fertilizer.
For more information about the program contact Freeborn at 563-288-6020 or jfreeborn@eicc.edu
Information is also available at www.eicc.edu/turfmanagement