Horticulture: Research Programs

The Georgia Master Gardener Program

Marco Fonseca,
State MG Program Coordinator, 2008

In 1972, a growing urban population in Tacoma, Washington was creating an increasing new demand for horticultural information. County Extension Agents (CEAs) with Washington State University responded by training gardening enthusiasts as volunteers to answer gardening and landscape questions. The Master Gardener Program was born. Enormously successful and popular, the program grew to every state and some provinces of Canada within a short period of time.

The Georgia Master Gardener Program came to Georgia with the first class held in Atlanta in the fall of 1979. Since that first class the program has spread to include active Master Gardeners in well over 60 counties, effectively harnessing the good will of community volunteers to address needs for gardening information.

Since the Master Gardener Program is the grass-roots outreach arm of the University of Georgia Extension, it has strived to provide the highest standards of training for volunteer service through Horticulture Department and other College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences departmental resources. Classes are taught by university faculty and specialists, County Extension agents, Master Gardeners and green industry professionals.

Consistent with the highest educational standards of the University of Georgia, the training and certification of Master Gardener Volunteers is a serious and thoughtful process. The emphasis of the training is to prepare volunteers to respond to the demand for horticulture information from the rapidly growing urban population and to become stewards of the environment. As representatives of the University of Georgia, Master Gardeners must be able to provide the public with the latest research-based information.

The Master Gardener training program is primarily conducted in the spring and fall on a yearly basis. Classes are typically 2 hours long and meet twice per week for 10 weeks. Participants are required to attend at least 80% of the classes and must pass 2 written exams. After training, the Georgia Master Gardener Intern must complete 50 hours of volunteer service with Cooperative Extension within the first year. To remain active, a Master Gardener must contribute 25 hours of community volunteer service each year thereafter. Over the years, more than 5000 Master Gardeners have been trained and certified by CAES-Cooperative Extension.

Potential Master Gardener volunteer activities are identified in close partnership with County Extension Agents and are based on community needs. Through these activities, Master Gardeners are encouraged to take an active role in improving community and environmental quality, as well as promoting sustainable gardening practices. Master Gardeners are not intended to provide free gardening labor or consultant services. And, though their mission is primarily as volunteer educators, they truly enjoy being involved in their communities and “getting their hands in the dirt” as evidenced by the many hours volunteered at Extension demonstration gardens each year.

These dedicated volunteer gardeners have developed demonstration gardens, conducted educational workshops, staffed booths at county fairs and flower shows, hosted plant clinics, developed community gardening projects, written newsletter and newspaper articles, taught children and adults how to be better gardeners and operated hotlines at county offices across the state of Georgia. Their enthusiasm for learning and sharing knowledge continues to be shown through their increasing attendance at international, regional and statewide conferences and advanced training sessions.

As the current State Coordinator of the Georgia Master Gardener Program, I would like to express my appreciation to previous State Coordinators Dr. Butch Ferree, Dr. Gary Wade, Dr. Wayne J. McLaurin, and Mr. Robert Westerfield for their contributions to the success of the MG Program in Georgia.