FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2016

For More Information:
Glenville State College
Public Relations Department
(304) 462-4115

GLENVILLE, WV - Glenville State College Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Jeremy Keene will be one of two guest speakers at this year’s annual Spring Flower Swap that is being held at Little Birch Elementary in Braxton County, West Virginia on Saturday, May 7. His presentation will focus on how to grow and propagate gesneriads, the best known of which is the African violet.

GSC Assistant Biology Professor Dr. Jeremy Keene will speak at the Swap on the topic of African violets; he is pictured here with dried plant specimens

Keene, who is originally from southwest Missouri, has been an avid horticulturist and botanist for several years. He started growing plants, including African violets and orchids, as a child. The curious nature of those plants led him toward researching them and sharing that knowledge with others. His research focuses on the events that lead to speciation in several relatives of African violets from around the world. The close of the spring semester will mark the end of his first year of teaching at GSC.

“I am very happy to have been invited to the Flower Swap and look forward to this hands-on workshop. I will be teaching common methods to start seed and cuttings of African violets and their relatives,” said Keene.

This marks the fifteenth year of the swap, which is open to the public. Organizers note that the only rules for the event are that no money be exchanged, attendees bring at least one potted flower, vegetable plant, tree, shrub, seed, bulb, annual, house plant, or perennial to swap, and that any exchanges not begin before the official time. The Swap runs from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and Keene’s presentation is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.

For more information about the Spring Flower Swap, contact (304) 765-2994. For more information about Keene’s research or biology programs at Glenville State College, contact (304) 462-6313.