In a county as populous as Boone County (population 139,000), it is impossible for Cooperative Extension Service personnel to interact with and teach all members of the community. To address this, we need passionate and well trained volunteer leaders. The Master Gardener Volunteer program allows Boone County CES to formalize this volunteer leader position. It also provides the framework to train members of the public in a way so that they are knowledgeable on relevant horticulture topics.

Boone County Cooperative Extension Service hosted a Master Gardener training throughout the 2023-2024 winter and early spring, finishing on April 4th. This Master Gardener training is open to everyone. This year, we had fifteen community members come from Boone, Campbell, Carrol, Grant, and Kenton counties. Master Gardeners from Campbell and Kenton counties are certified in their home counties, however, all are welcome to volunteer in any of the northern counties. The training consists of fourteen 4-hour classes on topics such as botany, composting, tree ID and care, entomology, plant pathology, and many more. The training was taught by 2 University of Kentucky specialists, five extension agents, and four horticulture assistants. 

All fifteen community members who started the training, completed the training and passed both tests. They are now considered Master Gardener Volunteer Interns until they complete the volunteer portion of the certification process. To become fully certified Master Gardener Volunteers, interns must complete forty volunteer hours by the end of 2025. In every subsequent year, Certified Master Gardener Volunteers must complete twenty volunteer hours and ten continuing education hours. Some of the ways Boone County Master Gardener Volunteers have gotten volunteer hours in the past include leading 4-H garden clubs, teaching horticulture classes in conjunction with an agent, writing news articles, gardening with seniors at senior centers, assisting with classes, and caring for gardens at the extension office and local nonprofits.

An evaluation at the end of the training program, which fourteen of the fifteen Master Gardener Interns completed, showed that all fourteen have changed the way they care for their flowers, vegetables, and trees & shrubs. Additionally, eleven said that they have changed the way they care for their lawn and nine have changed the way they care for fruits. The Master Gardener Volunteer Interns also stated that their increase in knowledge will be very useful; twelve said this about botany, eleven about plant nomenclature and horticulture terms, thirteen about plant pathology, twelve about entomology, and fourteen about soil. Finally, Master Gardener Volunteer Interns said they will change their behavior to match class recommendations in; composting (10 said this), plant propagation (12), pruning landscape trees and shrubs (11), pruning fruit trees (9), tree and shrub identification (12), and selecting, planting, and caring for herbaceous plants (14).