Author: Annette Heisdorffer
Major Program: Master Gardener
Green River Area Extension Master Gardener Association plays an integral role in Daviess County. In the fall of 2019, we conducted an evaluation of individual and community-level impacts of GRAEMGA. We found that individuals participating not only increased their garden and environmental education competency, but they also gained leadership skills in teamwork, communication, and working with diverse populations. They also developed new social networks with organizational partners and fellow volu
Author: Lori Bowling
Extension Master Gardener volunteers help to expand the outreach efforts of the Horticulture program in Boyd County. They are a vital part of Cooperative Extension Service in the community by helping to present educational programs using their gardening experiences and knowledge they have gained through the Master Gardener class and the educational programs they have at their monthly meetings. They volunteer to help plan and execute such extension programs as Farmers Market, the Holi
Author: Deborah Stumbo
Due to the Covid-19 virus, there are many individuals interested in gardening and producing as much vegetables as possible. Most inquirys are from individuals that had never grown a garden before and think it takes a large amount of land to develop a home garden. The Master Gardeners decided to develop a small "demo garden" on the Extension facility grounds. The Master Gardeners designed new areas and developed some existing raised beds to demonstrate how a small area
Author: Kara Back-Campbell
The motivation and retention of volunteers are increasingly important to organizations that depend on adult volunteers (Van Horn, Flanagan, & Thomson, 1999). Effective training programs enable volunteer leaders to develop sets of skills, receive rewards, and experience social affiliation. These are all key motivators for adult volunteer leader participation and retention (Hall, 1995; Rouse & Clawson, 1992). A considerable amount of time and resources, on the part of both volunteer a
Author: Amy Aldenderfer
Hardin County has almost 40,000 households with over 105,000 residents. Extension Master Gardeners enable residents to access research based information as an extension to the county Horticulture Agent. The Extension Master Gardener Program consists of 12 classes of intense training in various areas of interest to a horticulture enthusiast. Each member was required to prepare a 10 minute presentation on a horticulture or Extension topic of personal interest. After the classroom traini
Author: Kelly Jackson
Master Gardeners is a program run by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service to train citizens in many areas of horticulture. Upon completion of the Master Gardener education program, participants are expected to return 30 hours of community volunteer service through organized projects within one year to earn the title Master Gardener and 15 hours annually to maintain their volunteer status. During the 2019 program year Master Gardeners volunteered:466 hours of service in planti
Author: Sarah Imbus
Programming this year has been challenging locally, state, nationally, and internationally as we as nation and communities strategize creative ways to continue to be a resource for families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Extension more so than ever, has stepped up forces to continue to provide to communities and families. As more people are staying home, horticulture has increased contact with individuals interested in improving their home landscape, growing the
Author: Andrea Stith
The Kentucky Extension Master Gardener program is a volunteer organization dedicated to teaching and training people about horticulture related topics. This program is a part of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and assists county extension agents in providing education and outreach in the community. Master Gardeners are required to undergo training and complete 40 hours of volunteer service in their first year before becoming certified. After the first year, Master Garden
Author: Jamie Dockery
The Master Gardener program is a CAFE featured program and a major initiative for participating counties. Many Master Gardener volunteers assist county agents by accepting samples, completing homeowner site visits, fielding phone calls from homeowners, and/or providing general diagnostic assistance. As diagnosis of plant problems is a challenging and often intimidating process, many volunteers are timid to participate in these programs. In order to provide Master Gardeners with additional educat
Author: Bethany Wilson
Since 2000, the Extension Master Gardener (EMG) Program has been offered to Pulaski County and surrounding counties. Master Gardeners are required to volunteer hours of service back to the community or in efforts that help Cooperative Extension. Over the course of this fiscal year, the Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners have volunteered almost 1150 hours of community service. Using hourly wage data from the Independent Sector, this amounts to roughly $
Author: Gina Ligon
Boone County: Master Gardeners Staying ConnectedMaster Gardeners Staying Connected was a virtual program developed to keep Master Gardener volunteers engaged, once the Covid-19 regulations began. Forty-seven Master Gardener volunteers are invited weekly to engage using zoom. During our staying connected zoom meetings, Master Gardener volunteers have the opportunity to educate others about plants in their in their yards and University of Kentucky horticulture publication review.Allow
Boone County: Advanced Master Gardener ProgramMaster Gardener volunteers are asked horticulture related questions when serving the community. To refresh their memory of the material they learned in their Master Gardener Program, re-certified Master Gardener volunteers had the opportunity to enhance their landscape problem- solving skills, review the Kentucky Master Gardener Manual, and presented their landscape design to other Master Gardeners. Each week eighteen Master Gardener&rsqu
Author: Adam Leonberger
Kentucky’s spectacular environment and beautiful landscapes have helped to shape our economy, culture, and history. The demand for information from Franklin County residents has risen sharply as the society has focused more on climate change and failing ecological systems. These residents understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to be good stewards of the land to protect and restore our natural resources’ quality and diversity that make Kentucky a great place
The Kentucky Master Gardener Program is an intensive thirteen week series of classes focusing on various aspects of horticulture. While it does benefit the participants, the primary goal is to train new volunteers to be better gardeners and stewards of the land, as well as grow in their leadership skills and in community involvement. Each person who completes the program must return 40 hours of community service through the Cooperative Extension Service during the first year after the completion
Capital Area Extension Master Gardeners have held an annual plant sale for over 10 years. This sale not only provides the bulk of the revenue for outreach activities and an academic scholarship, but also provides an opportunity for county residents to obtain plants at a very affordable price. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the traditional in-person plant market. The Capital Area Extension Master Gardeners worked closely with the Franklin Co Extension staff to successfully transiti
Author: Kimberly Leonberger
Author: Nicole Rhein
The Marshall Master Gardener Association has worked diligently to bring quality research based information to the people of Marshall County. In an effort to meet this goal, the gardener's present a gardening series at the local library yearly. The programs teach clientele about timely gardening topics. The gardeners hope the clientele will use the information they learned successfully in their home gardens. Pictured: Master Gardener, Johnnie Davis presenting information on Herbs at the
