Extension Master Gardeners (EMG) are volunteer educators serving across the country in local communities. Backed by the University of Kentucky, Kentucky EMGs are dedicated to outreach and on a mission to support successful gardening through science-based horticulture information. 

Eight new EMGs In-Training were trained during Fall 2024 in Pulaski County.  They are completing their volunteer hours during 2025.

EMGs are required to volunteer hours of service back to the community or in efforts to help Cooperative Extension. During 2024-25, 20 Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners (LCMGA) reported about 1425 hours of community service. Using hourly wage data from the Independent Sector, this amounts to roughly $42,000. Master Gardeners are also required to obtain CEUs to keep them up-to-date on horticulture topics. Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners earned just under 200 hours of CEUs this year. 

Master Gardener outreach activities included a seven-session raised bed vegetable gardening series, Tree Week, pine straw sales, the Native & Heirloom Fest, Earth Day at Somerset Community College, Kids Fest at the local lavender farm, providing flower arrangements to a local assisted living facility, and weekly visits to Sky Hope Rehabilitation Center. They also have fun participating in tours of different businesses/farms including a holistic farm, a successful retail greenhouse, and a local vineyard and winery.

Six Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners represented the group at the September 2024 Kentucky State Master Gardener Conference. LCMGA won the Search for Excellence Award for efforts at Sky Hope Rehabilitation Center. Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners will host the statewide event in 2025. 

In planning for the 2025 statewide conference, Master Gardeners have collectively spent hundreds of hours and reached out to many companies and local businesses with sponsorship opportunities with the goal of keeping the conference affordable for attendees while also snagging top-tier speakers and providing good food and fun.

In addition, a committee of LCMGA is planning out new demo beds at the new site of the Pulaski County Extension office. This group has secured sponsorships from local businesses and the Extension District Board to help fund about a $7000 initial Phase I that should be completed July 2025. One Master Gardener designed an automatic irrigation system that will be used for 8 raised beds in the demonstration area.

The Lake Cumberland Master Gardener Association (LCMGA) sponsored all of the Tree Week 2024 activities and LCMGA members helped plan and coordinate events during that week. 

Overall, Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners have lost some members due to life changes. However, new trainees are continually brought into the program to ensure a strong, sustainable program in the future.