Who Are Master Gardener Volunteers?
People all over the country with horticultural skills, a willingness to learn and desire to help others can become Master Gardeners. When the program started, Master Gardeners usually did only a few jobs: answering phone requests for gardening information and staffing plant clinics were typical tasks. In recent years, Master Gardeners work has diversified. Thanks to the perceptiveness of Extension Agents working with individuals in the program, non horticultural skills have been recognized and combined with gardening interests and knowledge to produce a variety of interesting volunteer tasks. The Master Gardener Program is open to all people regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion or national origin. A trainee must attend a minimum of 50 hours of instruction, pass an examination and volunteer 50 hours of service to earn the title of Master Gardener. In order to retain the title, individuals are required to participate in 12 hours of training per year and 12 hours
