GENESIS OF AN IDEA
Like many local government offices, UCCE offices usually have too much work and too few people to do it. It was from this need that the training of Master Gardeners concept was born. One day in 1972, an overworked extension advisor in the state of Washington hit upon an idea: since many of the questions he fielded daily were basic in nature, why not train a group of volunteers to answer the most commonly asked questions about home horticulture?
Once he had successfully implemented his idea, the extension advisor found he had more time to conduct the research required by his job, which, in turn, enabled him to become more effective in his work. For the volunteers, the program offered the chance to get expert training in horticulture and pest management, along with the opportunity to help others. The Master Gardener program was created.
Extension advisors across the country soon were abuzz with news of the program's success, and the idea began to spread. Since its initial inception in Riverside and Sacramento counties in 1980, the Master Gardener program has spread to a total of 36 counties in California.
The program tends to attract volunteers who have a passion for gardening, and it is the extension advisor's responsibility to make sure these trainees are given accurate, up-to-date information on home horticulture issues and taught how to properly research and respond to questions they get on that subject from local residents.
APPLICATIONS POUR IN
In San Diego, the Master Gardener training course is popular - and given only once every two years. With a limit of 40 trainees per class, once word gets out that the application process has been opened for the next training session, applications start to pour in. For the 2008 training class, the most recent, more than two hundred fifty applications were received.
Persistence does pay off, though. Applicants not accepted into the latest training class are encouraged to reapply when the next one opens up. More than a few of the current members of the local Master Gardeners group had to apply more than once before they were accepted.
For a nominal fee to cover the reproduction costs of classroom materials, Master Gardeners in Training embark on a 50-hour program over a five-month period. Each training unit is taught by a specialist in that field to ensure that MGs receive top-quality, expert instruction. In addition to the classes, each Master Gardener must volunteer at least 50 hours of time during the first year following training, helping to educate the public and answering questions on home gardening and pest management, in order to receive certification.
Once certified, it's not unusual for Master Gardener volunteers to stay in the program for several years, fulfilling the required number of volunteer and education hours they need for recertification each year. MGs can meet their volunteer requirements in numerous ways, including staffing the Master Gardener hotline (858-694-2860) that the public can call between 9 a.m. and 3p.m. Monday through Friday with home horticulture-related questions.
Inherent in the title "Master Gardener" lies the challenge to continue learning and to help other gardens grow - it's a challenge that everyone who has graduated from the Master Gardener program is committed to meeting.
San Diego Master Gardeners
UC Cooperative Extension
5555 Overland Avenue
Building 4
Suite 4101
San Diego, CA 92123
