Clemson Extension TEACH Center opens at Citadel Mall

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service has a new center in Charleston to better serve clients and personnel.

The Clemson Extension TEACH Center is in the Citadel Mall at 2070 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., Charleston, SC 29407.

TEACH stands for Training, Education, Agriculture and Community Health. The center serves as a regional meeting, teaching, and demonstration space for community-based Extension programming. The public can also drop by to ask gardening questions or drop off soil samples.

“The Citadel Mall is an ideal location for Clemson Extension to disseminate high-quality, research-based information to a broad audience,” said Amy Dabbs, TEACH Center coordinator and statewide school and community gardening coordinator for Clemson Extension. “This prime location helps us serve our clients and overcome barriers such as limited meeting spaces, parking constraints, and heavy traffic.”

The center, which occupies more than 6,000 square feet of space, serves as a base of operations for the statewide Rural Health and Nutrition Program and the Clemson Extension School and Community Gardening Program.

The Rural Health and Nutrition team provides chronic disease prevention and self-management programs, along with policy, systems, and environmental approaches. It also offers programs to promote healthy lifestyles, such as WalkSC, Yoga for Everybody, Know Diabetes by Heart and Stirring Up Healthy Cooking.

To support the team’s programs, the facility includes a large training room with flexible, classroom-style tables and chairs for 30 students, a laptop, and a large-screen TV. A conference room is also available for smaller meetings of up to six people. Wi-Fi is provided.

A teaching kitchen and workshop space equipped with commercial kitchen equipment, stainless steel worktables, and sinks is planned for the near future.

The Clemson Extension School and Community Gardening Program also operates out of this new location, which offers ample space for activities such as school garden transplant deliveries.

Tri-County Master Gardener volunteers are available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to assist clients with gardening questions and to accept soil samples. Because the center is staffed by Master Gardener volunteers, everyone bringing soil samples is asked to call ahead (843) 730-5205 to ensure a volunteer is available.

The volunteers also help clients select up to five free seed packs from the TEACH Center Seed Library, sponsored by Botanical Interests.

For more information, contact Amy Dabbs at adabbs@clemson.edu.