It’s easy to warm to Bridget Tuckey, Hall County’s new Master Gardener Coordinator, who started on the job in early January this year. Her wide smile welcomes you to talk and ask questions.
With the new class of Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Trainees starting in January, it was a bit like jumping into the deep end of the pool, but Bridget is proving herself to be an excellent swimmer!
Bridget earned her Master Gardener designation in 2023 in Habersham County. Her family always had gardens she said, but she was most passionate about horses, growing up on a horse farm and in 4-H. She is a graduate of North Hall High School.
When it was time to choose a college, Bridget received a full scholarship to Fort Valley State University near Perry, Georgia, planning to study Agriculture Economics. Fort Valley is located on the second largest acreage of any Georgia University. It has the distinction of being the only university in the world which is at once a University System of Georgia institution, an historically black university, and a 1890 land-grant institution.
A few semesters in, however, Bridget’s experience as a camp counsellor one summer in Colorado drew her to pursue studies in Elementary Education. In 2012, she graduated from Fort Valley with a B.Sc, Early Childhood/Special Education.
What do you do with a love of horses, gardening, Early Childhood Education, and agricultural economics? With her strong entrepreneurial spirit, Bridget became a serial business creator, using her skills to:
Build a home school on a hybrid model in which students spent two days a week with her and three days with parents;
Develop a teaching business for seven years, delivering English as a Second Language instruction, working with students and parents abroad;
Act as a ranch manager, book illustrator, horse trainer, dog trainer, and photographer.
Bridget and husband Trevor also operated a leather products business for almost ten years, selling their hand-crafted dog collars to buyers on five continents. Trevor is an Industrial Engineer for manufacturing company in Cleveland, Georgia.
In 2024, Bridget began her Garden Coach business teaching people to grow and maintain food gardens through consultations and workshops. The business stems from her passion for helping people grow their own food. She knows the increasing importance of greater food independence and helps fledgling gardeners build knowledge and confidence to be successful. She also installs watering systems and offers tilling services with her trusty 1980 John Deere tiller named “Daisy.”
When asked about her goals for the Hall County Master Gardener program, Bridget commented, “It’s already an amazing program, but if anything, I’d encourage people to move more toward raising fruits and vegetables, especially focusing on fruit-bearing trees and shrubs.”
As many of us do, Bridget would like to find ways to extend the Master Gardener program to more working people, especially those in the education field – teachers, librarians and school staff.
Bridget and Trevor live on their White County farm with two dogs, one horse, one donkey and five ducks -- Indian Runners and Welsh Harlequins. Besides providing large, nutritious eggs, the ducks drill into the dirt with their beaks, keeping larvae at bay – a nifty organic pest control solution, said Bridget.
Bridget and Trevor are amid the process of adopting a baby, waiting for that all-important phone call. She welcomes the chance to tell you more.
Now that you know a bit about Bridget, introduce yourself to her soon!