William (Bill) M. Fountain,
Professor

I joined the faculty in the Department of Horticulture in July 1979 and am currently professor of Arboriculture with an appointment split between teaching and Extension.

My teaching appointment includes identification and culture of woody plant materials in the landscape. This course is designed for Landscape Architecture and Plant Science majors planning on being involved in the nursery and landscape maintenance industry. In this course nicknamed “Track and Trees” because of the extensive labs, students learn to identify over 250 species common to our landscapes, their cultural requirements and the benefits of species diversification, problems of invasive species and problems of not planning ahead in matching the appropriate plant with the site.

The Extension component of my appointment centers around the arboricultural and landscape maintenance industries. I am actively involved in training arborists for the International Society of Arboriculture certification exam, working with the Kentucky Chapter of ISA (a.k.a. Kentucky Arborists’ Association) (http://www.kyisatree.org) to provide educational programs on identification & selection, installation and maintenance, tree risk assessment and mitigation of problems. I work with county Extension agents in training Master Gardeners, identification of plants, and identification of cultural and pest problems in their counties.

I serve on the board of directors for the International Society of Arboriculture (http://www.isa-arbor.org and http://www.treesaregood.org) and the Kentucky chapter of ISA. I have enjoyed traveling extensively overseas preparing arborists in other countries for the ISA certification exam while learning new techniques and practices beneficial here.

I work with youth horticulture programming and have served as National Program Chair, state leader and on the board of directors for the National Junior Horticultural Association since 1979. (http://www.njha.org)

I am a tree-hugger and a soil worshiper who acknowledges that we are here on earth as guests of the plant kingdom. Ahhhh, so many plants, so little time.