Norfolk Aggie - Plant Science

The Horticulture Program provides students with a strong foundation of skills for a variety of career paths within landscaping, ornamental horticulture and arboriculture. Students who choose to major in Horticulture are prepared to continue their education or enter into the workforce. Students are offered a varied curriculum that explores careers, presents technical and botanical knowledge and develops an awareness and appreciation of our natural resources. Students in the Plant Science Program can focus on the following concentrations: Urban Forestry, Landscape Management, & Horticulture.

Career Pathways

Entry Level

- - Retail
  - Production and sales
  - Public Gardens
  - Landscape Construction
  - Hardscape Construction
  - Plant and Tree Care Workers

Trade/Technical

- - Industry Consultant
  - Pest Control and Management
  - Communications and Publications in Industry Manuals
  - Landscape and Hardscape Design

Professional

- - Marketing
  - Research Technology in Plant Pathology
  - Teaching and Education
  - Government Inspection
  - Landscape Management and Ownership
  - Hardscape Management and Ownership
  - Tree Care and Arbor Management and Ownership

Certifications

- OSHA 10
- Tree Care Academy

Eligible Certifications once the student turns 18 years old

Massachusetts Certified Arborist
Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist
Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professional
Hoisting Engineer's License
ISA Certified Arborist
Pesticide Applicators License

Skills

Horticulture majors learn a variety of skills for college and careers. Among the skills taught and learned are…

- - Establish and maintain a healthy work environment
  - Develop effective management practices and organizational skills
  - Develop a commitment to professional standards
  - Ability to work effectively across disciplines as part of a team within the Horticulture industries.
  - Teamwork through hands-on and on-the-site fieldwork
  - Development of creativity and crafting landscape designs
  - Mathematical skills such as measurement, algebraic formulas, and geometric shapes
  - Develop and maintain physical activity
  - Ability to explore and analyze weight, texture, density, malleability, and permeability of materials
  - Development in the knowledge of species, organisms, and botanics

Projects and Field Trips

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
Harvard Museum of Natural History Glass Flower Collection
Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Working with the town Tree Warden of Walpole on Tree Inventory systems

Work Based Learning

Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum

Articulation Agreements

Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst will award 3 free credits to any graduate of the Norfolk Aggie Horticulture program who is accepted to a Stockbridge bachelor degree program.

Keene State College

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