By Sharon Omahen
University of Georgia
Last year, hundreds of Georgians worked more than 170,000
hours
for the University of Georgia and never drew a paycheck. But as
Master Gardener volunteers, they never expected one.
Graduates of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences’ Master Gardener Program donate their time to help UGA
Cooperative Extension county agents across the state.
Training, volunteer hours
To become Master Gardeners, the volunteers are first trained
for
40 hours by UGA Extension specialists. Then after volunteering
for at least 50 hours at their local Extension office, they
become certified Master Gardeners.
The training is essential as they use their new expertise to
help
with community education projects. It also helps them answer
questions from gardeners who either call or come into their
county agent’s office.
“Our Master Gardeners do everything from speaking to garden
clubs
to visiting home gardens to help consumers solve problems,” said
Marco Fonseca, a UGA Extension horticulturist. He coordinates the
Georgia Master Gardener program. “Master Gardener volunteerism
creates a far-reaching ripple effect across our state.”
Helping individuals, communities
Fonseca says several Master Gardener groups take part in the
Plant-A-Row for the Hungry program. They plant and tend vegetable
gardens and donate their harvests to area food pantries.
“When you figure in the value of their volunteer hours,
including
their travel miles, Master Gardeners contributed $3.2 million
last year,” Fonseca said.
To honor these volunteers and their service to the state,
Georgia
Gov. Sonny Perdue declared March 18 Master Gardener Day in
Georgia. The day honors more than 5,000 Georgians who have earned
the title.
Georgia’s Master Gardener program began in the spring of 1979.
Butch Ferree, then head of the UGA Department of Horticulture,
traveled to Washington state to learn about a popular new urban
outreach program, Fonseca said.
That fall, Ferree began promoting the program in metro
Atlanta.
Under DeKalb County horticultural agent Newton Hogg, three agents
in DeKalb and Fulton counties conducted the first Georgia Master
Gardener program. The first class graduated 140 volunteers.
“We graduated over 100 people per year for the first 15
years,”
Fonseca said. “Since then, the program has exploded. Now we
average 600 graduates each year.”
There are 14 Master Gardener training classes across the state
each year. To see if your county offers the program, call your
local UGA Extension office at 1-800-ASKUGA1.
