Master Gardener volunteers are recruited and trained by land grant universities throughout the United States and Canada. Local programs are coordinated by horticulture advisors at county cooperative extension offices with a primary goal to answer the myriad of questions from home gardeners. Master Gardeners extend to their communities the benefits of horticulture research developed at the University level. "Master Gardeners have been referred to as the public relations firm of the University of California".
The University of California Cooperative Extension is part of the land-grant University system that, since 1914, has provided the citizens of California with information and educational programs on agriculture, natural and human resource development. The land-grant system was established to encourage state universities to better serve the agricultural needs of communities not located near campuses. Cooperative Extension Advisors are "close at hand" representatives of the University of California. See Contra Costa County for local details.
It is estimated that there are over 110,000 Master Gardeners in 48 states and four provinces in Canada. The idea began in Washington in 1972 when the Farm Advisor, Dr. David Gibby and a colleague, were no longer able to handle all the incoming calls from home gardeners. Therefore a group of trained volunteers, whose purpose is to accommodate the needs of the local community and to establish a functional partnership with the community, was established. The program was devised to teach good gardening principals, based on the most up-to date scientific data, to people who in return would take this information to the public.
The program was initiated in California in Sacramento and Riverside counties,
but has now expanded to 36 counties throughout the state. It is estimated that there
are over 6,000 Master Gardeners trained in California. We calculate that the volunteer value to the
State of California exceeds five million dollars based on estimated annual volunteer hours of 40,000.
The Master gardener program was first offered through Contra Costa UCCE by Dr. Kontaxis in 1983. The program has trained over 1000 people within the county, many of whom remain actively involved. Master Gardener projects range from staffing the free advice hotline to teaching the community about less toxic approaches to garden and home pest control.
| Home | Organization | Become a Master Gardener | Projects | Gardening Tips | Gardening Links | Association News | Calendar |